waterton national park

nadia and i decided enough (rain!) was enough so we loaded up the van with camping gear, firewood, beer, wine, Indy and Jaunette and headed for the border and into waterton for the weekend. we were treated to remarkably beautiful weather, no wind at all, hot temps during the day, and probably the quietest campground i've ever been in. very nice.

view of canmore alberta



the rest of the pictures from the ride can be found here. the day was perfect, warm temps, bright sunshine and super-yummy pints in banff. needless to say, the ride back from banff was interesting with all that beer and mexican food rolling around in my tummy!

calgary stampede 2008

here is a link to the rest of the photos and video from the calgary stampede parade today.

quite by accident, it seems that coming down to watch the annual stampede parade has become a bit of a tradition for andreas and myself, and as usual we rolled down later than anyone else and - of course - nabbed a sweet spectator spot atop a traffice signal box. not only do i get "rockstar" parking all the time, everywhere - it now seems i can add "rockstar" status to my parade effort too! all the usual suspects were present - clowns (creepy!), shriners in ridiculous hats (what the hell are they all about anyway?), army dudes complete with tanks and f-18s flying overhead, and of course, about a million horses/pony's/mini-horses/ass's of all descriptions - pulling all sorts of wagons and floats - it is the stampede after all! my favorite is always the pipe bands - i grew up in the classic canadian/scotch/irish traditions and the pipers always give me chicken skin and brings tears to my eyes - love it! afterwards, 'dre and i b-lined it over to the ship and anchor patio to meet up with my buddy joeboy and have some lunch and a couple drinks. 17th ave was in its glory.

happy belated canada day!

in an effort to get all the various bikes/frames/parts that are floating around in my shop put to some use i have completed another custom bike. i am proud to present to you "ratrod" - inspired by those flat-black muscle cars and old land yachts that seem to be everywhere in calgary these days. i know, i know - she doesnt look like much - thats kiinda the point - whats important is whats under the hood - or in this case, whos pedalling it!

here are some specs for ya...
- dyno glide frame, fork, and chainguard, flat black
- found 26" wheels donated by mr. glass (thx bud!)
- found old-skool schwinn stem and bar, flat black
- dyno 1-piece crank and dyno pedals
- nirve 26" whitewall "badass" tires and nirve grips
- electra headlight and old-skool horn

she rides real nice with a position on the bike that is similar to some of the original track bikes and motorcycles. can't wait to ride it around this summer!