Dream Wheel Update & Burning Man Countdown!

15 days 'til blast off! Just two weeks left until we pull out onto the highway and start the pilgrimage to the Playa! I've been packing and organizing all week to try and get the bulk of the "usual" items loaded and ready to go. Sweet Pea's been away all week at Lark Camp in Mendicino, California and has an art show the first weekend she's home................ maybe, if we're lucky, the final week will be relaxing :)

The Dream Wheel project's been coming right along. The main wood frame is finished up. I drilled and installed the final bolts last night. When Sweet Pea's home, we'll figure out what kind of final jazzing up we'll do on the frame. I've got a pile of ideas and sketches, but this sort of project tends to be organic in nature and just sort of unfolds as I go along, so it's always a bit of a surprise to see how it all comes out in the end. The interesting thing is that the main frame is nearly identical to a sketch that I made as we drove home from the Playa in 2005, and not much like the sketch I made just before starting this project.............


I've assembled the wheel components and painted on the "wording" around the top and bottom of the main wheel. It's looking great! Again, when Sweet Pea's home, we'll decide on any final art for the wheel. I still have to build a holder for the 3" x 5" index cards and pens that will be used for folks to write their own dreams, prayers and wishes for the wheel. I'll also do a little philosophical / descriptive sheet that I'll install under plexiglass to explain the concept behind this wheel and how it relates to the community.

This afternoon's it's out to the boat to install running gear on top of the pilot house. Burning Man and boats all week! The Bernadine will be in the Port Townsend Wooden Boat Festival this year, the weekend immediately after we get back from Burning Man! Hope I haven't bitten off more that I can chew this year :) Here's the link to the vessel description page for the festival:

http://www.woodenboat.org/boats/Boat_Detail.aspx?processID=344

New Burning Man Shade and Art Update

Well a heat wave finally found its way to Port Townsend and with all that heat and sun, it was tough to ignore the final countdown to the burn! A flurry of activity ensued!
I set up the new shade structure......... success! It's going to work out great, but it's definitely a two person operation to set up. Tons of room inside and with the two zippered openings, it ought to get good air flow in a breeze. I can't wait to try it on the Playa! Here are a few of the first "yard shots" of the beast. You can see our little trailer that we take to Burning Man parked in the forefront, and to the left. The trailer's 10 feet long....... for a little comparison perspective.



The art project is also coming along........ "The Dream Wheel". The main wood frame is assembled and ready for "artification". The wheel is built, painted and ready for final assembly. I have plans for quite a bit of hand painted art that will be painted on the wheel and on the wood frame as well. More to follow!



(The wheel is actually upside down in the picture..... It will be turned over when it's installed in the frame)

Work Cruiser..... Old School Style

Well I'm back to the blog........... we've had a little "internet-interuptus" at the old homestead these days, so I'm blogging in the field. So....... here's a little catch up on the bike scene.


Without getting into all of the "bullshit" politics and and arbitrary decisions at work regarding bike parking.............. suffice it to say that we are required to park outside, in the weather, on an old, outdated, and unsecured bike rack and walk into work. Year-round! Just a tad screwed up! I decided that the GT was not going to be sacrificed to the weather gods just yet, so I parked it and pulled out the Burning Man bike for the first "protest ride" to work. One day was all it took to rethink that plan! I pulled out a vintage Specialized mountain bike that dates back to the first year or two they sold them, somewhere around 1982 or so! I fitted it out with my panniers and my good Brooks saddle with springs. WAY COOL ride! It's great riding retro-style....... even though I still miss the full suspension ride of the GT. With the suspension Brooks saddle, I can keep my butt planted the saddle as I bomb down the trail. The springs do a great job sucking up the bumps.


Too bad about the bike parking situation..........Oh Well....... in this case it's not worth "fighting City Hall".....

A Field Of Wild Flowers

Well now that Summer has finally found its way to the Pacific Northwest, I thought I'd give everyone a little glimpse of the gorgeous wild flowers that I ride past on my commute to and from work. The yellow lupine smells like pure sugar in the air and the wild Nootka Roses have the most amazing sharp rose scent........... When the air is still, it's like riding through a sea of scents :) These are just the "big ones", if you get down close to the ground, there are dozens more varieties!

Lupine, vetch and yarrow....

These flowers line the trail all the way from work until I hit the tree line and head up through the woods. Simply amazing!

Salmon Berry

California Poppies

And my absolute favorite, the wonderful Nootka Rose!

Bike Snob

Here are the first "DIY" stencils for my new t-shirt / punk patch designs..........
Keep your eyes peeled, these babies won't last long when they start "rolling off the press"!


Just in case you're wondering, the "C" is the Cinelli logo and the "flying wheel" is the Campagnolo logo.

An Ocean Of Dirt & Bricks

For the last couple of weeks, Sweet Pea's been excavating for a new patio addition. Today the diggings done and she has started on the brick laying...........It's looking great and it even has a fire pit! I've been standing in as support on the brick portion, hauling dirt and bricks over, but the entire excavation, design and brick laying have all been Sweet Pea's :)

In the course of the excavation, she uncovered two little boats! One is a little U.S. Coast Guard patrol boat and the other is a "Rum Runner"..............


Boats, boats, boats............even when it's bricks, bricks, bricks.

Big Bike Weekend

This last weekend we were over in Fremont-Seattle for the Solstice Festival. Sweet Pea was selling her jewelery at the street fair and and I was "support" for the weekend :)


N8 had given me his Cinelli, LOOK Team Issue road bike and I picked it up while we were over there. All I can say is WOW! After one ride on this magnificent machine, I am now officially a "Bike Snob"! Cinelli frame, Campagnolo dropouts, chromed fork and rear stays, Campagnolo drive train, Fulcrum race wheels, Nitto drop bars............... Way smooth and WAY FAST!!!



On Sunday at the fair, I needed to find a T-shirt........ I took a little trek out into the fray and found an alley around the corner next to a vintage clothing shop. They were having a bulk clothing garage sale. The alley was lined with piles of clothes with a sign that said everything was under five dollars. I found a brand new Canondale bike jersey and a LeMond bike T-shirt, both for $1.00 each. I also picked up a vintage Filson jacket from the pre-WWII era for $4.00 !!!!!!! Not bad for six bucks :)



Great weekend, great time, and to top it all off, the sun is out and shining! The weather service is calling for hot summer weather all through the week and next weekend! Wahoo!