PHL -> NYC Shop Visit Extravaganza!

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For some time now I have been itching to undertake a more significant destination ride. A few weeks ago I took some time off to ride from base camp in Doylestown, PA to Brooklyn for a few days of friends, food, music and most importantly, BIKE SHOPS. Cities I have not yet been to excluded, NYC, Brooklyn specifically, is the mecca of bike shops. While I was in town I made sure to stop by the three at the top of my list and happened to have my trusty K1000 on hand.

Deluxe Cycles

The first stop and quite possibly my favorite shop, Deluxe!  This is the first time I've been to their new location, a larger room in the same building. Deluxe always has an incredible collection of old steel and I think it's so rad that a majority of the new bikes they carry are from companies building bikes right here in 'merica (Wraith, ///LOW, No. 22, Affinity, etc.). I love that there is always someone hanging around the shop excited to take time and chat.

Maglia Rosa NYC

Next stop Maglia Rosa! I first found out about this shop at the Philadelphia Bike Expo. The owner had Chris Bishop build a bike for him which was then painted by VeloColour. The bike was in the Bishop booth and absolutely stunning; I knew I had to check out the shop.  Maglia Rosa is a really cool coffee shop (Nutella waffle highly recommended) with a few unique old builds hanging on the walls, the tiniest Bianchi I have ever seen and a very special collection of custom bikes from upper echelon builders like Seven and Festka. THERE'S A COLNAGO IN THE BATHROOM.

King Kog NYC

The final stop on my Brooklyn bike shop extravaganza was King Kog. Originally from Oakland, CA, King Kog had some of the wildest track frames and complete builds I have laid eyes on; Zipp trispokes, HED discs, Super Record, Phil Wood, AARN, bling from wall to wall.  They also helped me out with a loose spoke that seemed to develop over the course of my journey and had the most pleasant Chihuahua watching the door.

Until Next Time NYC!

Details: ESPO's Art World

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Steve Powers is someone I've been following since I first learned of his work in the documentary Beautiful Losers. I was immediately drawn to his ubiquitous lettering style. It's so simple, fitting seamlessly into any place and any time yet is somehow immediately recognizable as ESPO. A few weeks ago while exploring Brooklyn on my bike I stopped at ESPO's Art World to check out what he had going on. It's absolutely a dream to have a space of my own to fill with art and bikes and old film cameras and it was incredibly inspiring to poke around someone else's dream space.

From Where I Ride Part 1: When Death Dies

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I have recently become fascinated with the concept of hedonism. Hedonism, according to Google, is the pursuit of pleasure; sensual self indulgence. Sensual self indulgence, let that one stew.

In an act of extreme hedonism, when the mood strikes, I have decided to strap on my K1000 and bring it along on longer rides. You may be thinking, "That doesn't sound like sensual self indulgence." but I can assure you, it is the pinnacle. The rhythm of the pedals, the snap of the shutter, I could die brimming with endorphins and adrenaline.

This brings us to From Where I Ride. A segment that I hope to maintain, From Where I Ride will include a series of photos taken over the course of a single ride and a Strava map showing the route that I took with basic ride stats. So without further ado, From Where I Ride Part 1: When Death Dies.

Full Bloom

Ever since blindly shooting over a roll sent across the pond from Danny Marsh, I have found myself slowly becoming more and more fascinated with multi-exposure photography. The lack of control and unexpected nature of the results are exhilirating.

I have yet to figure out a way to keep the film completely still when advancing my Pentax K1000 and with the misaligned frames you really never know what you're going to get. SURPRISE, spring is beautiful!