Out For A Walk?

Sometimes, when I see a small person with a really big dog, I wonder who is walking whom?

Of course, if the dog is leashed to a bike, neither the canine nor the cyclist are walking each other.  But I have to wonder whether the dog is pulling the cyclist:

What's that about a dog's life?

Ebony, Ivory....And Rubies

Did Stevie Wonder and Paul McCartney go to the North American Handmade Bicycle Show?

They probably didn't. But Helio Ascari did.

Of course, he brought something he crafted in his Brooklyn workshop.  The Brazilian-born custom bike builder is probably best known for wrapping leather string around his frame tubes to make them look as if they're woven, like baskets.  While the work is eye-catching, it's probably not surprising when one realizes that Ascari has made furniture and leather goods, and restored antiques.

The "something" he brought to the show takes his showmanship to another level.  It draws on skills acquired in other work he did before he became a bike builder:  as a fabricator of steel goods, and in the fashion industry. 

The bike in question, which starts with one of his leather-wrapped, Columbus-tubed frames, includes dynamo hub lighting and a Brooks B17 saddle with large copper rivets.  All right, those things are nice, but not terribly unusual. 

There's more copper-- and brass-- in accents on  the frame.  Oh, and carbon fiber-reinforced beech wood Ghisallo rims.

But the pieces de resistance are the brake levers made of gold and ebony--and 13 rubies applied on various parts of the bike, including the levers.

For only $38,000, it could be yours.  Or Paul's.  Or Stevie's.

Where You Can Get Your Kicks

"You shouldn't let other people get your kicks for you."

That, of course, is a line from Bob Dylan's "Like A Rolling Stone."   When I was growing up, people said that whatever they did for pleasure was how they "got their kicks."

And, of course, there was that famous Nat King Cole song, "Get Your Kicks On Route 66."

I don't hear that expression much anymore.  But if I were to use it, I would say that cycling is one of the ways I get my kicks.

If I manage to get out to Missouri and Kansas, I must might be able to "get my kicks on Route 66."  Officials in those states are working to have part of the iconic highway, much of which fell into disuse after the Interstate system was built, as a bicycle route.

 

Joplin, Missouri bicycle shop owner Debra Johnson says designating a stretch of Route 66 as a bicycle route would be great for business.

So far, it seems that Missouri is closer to that goal.  According to a report, the designation could occur in the "Show Me" State some time this year.  To be fair, Kansas, which has the shortest stretch of Route 66, isn't far behind.

If efforts in those states succeed, we might be able to get our kicks on Route 66 in a way that Nat might not have imagined.  And we would be following Bob's admonition.