My Single Speed Project... Complete!

During my months of pretirement, I've operated with the almost daily goal of trying something new. That attitude guided my (ill advised) decision to take apart my 21 speed road bike back in May with the aim of turning it into a single speed bike. Though in all honesty I had no idea what I was getting myself into, I'm proud to introduce you to the final product... my new self-assembled single speed road bike.

The bike is constructed from an old early '80s vintage Univega frame and most parts are recycled as they were stripped off my old bike.

You may be wondering why I wanted to do this and why someone would want to reduce their ride from 21 shiftable speeds to 1 fixed speed. To answer the latter part of that question, many bike purists consider a single speed road bike to be the most efficient way to get around town. I won't get into too much technical detail, but when all the extras are removed from a bike (gear shifters, derailers, extra cogs, and a longer chain) you're left with a streamlined and much lighter ride. If this interests you, read this article by Sheldon Brown that initially piqued my interest.

I'm not sure I have a definitive answer to the former part of the question. I guess my desire to make my own single speed came from a bunch of different motivations. On a purely aesthetic level, I think single speeds look amazing. Their uncomplicated and streamlined and pretty much non-technological compared to modern bikes. And though I hate to admit it, single speeds and fixies are a staple in hipster culture... and deep down there's a little bit of hipster in me. On another level, I just wanted a new project.

To complete this project, I've been walking into Cambridge bike shops for around 2 months asking very stupid questions about bikes in an effort to get free advice. Later I would go home and try out what I've been told. Most of the bike shops' hipster workers have treated me like a complete idiot. Here's a typical transaction.

Kevin: "Hi, um I'm looking for one of those, uhh you know bolt things that attaches to the pedal arms???"
Hipster Bike Shop Worker: "Haaa pedal arms? Um do you mean a bottom bracket?"
Kevin: "Sure?"
HBSW: "(Long annoyed sigh) Ok... yeah well I don't know what you need, so you should just bring your bike by and we'll do it for you. BTW, rad Celtics t-shirt. Is that vintage?"
Kevin: It's TJ-Maxx.

I was almost ready to give up on local bike shops until I met Tyler at Paramount Bicycle in Somerville, MA. On a rainy Tuesday in July I walked into Tyler's shop only to find a guy sitting in the back of an empty store drinking what seemed to be his 7th High Life. Literally the first thing out of the guy's mouth... "Damn you're a little &%@$# like me... you probably have a $#@&@ huge Napolean Complex like me." This was no normal bike shop.

Despite his explicit crudeness, Tyler was the first guy in the area that treated me like an adult. After going through the normal litany of bad questions about bikes, Tyler offered his shop, expertise, and tools to me... free of charge. For two days, I worked in the back of his shop while he barked orders to me about what I needed to do next to my bike. When I cut my finger and asked for a band aide, he called me a pansy (censored) and threw me a greasy towel and a beer. When I nearly stripped one of his allen wrenches, he threatened to shoot me with his taser... seriously he had a taser in his shop and he pointed it at me.

Though this may sound like a rough experience, I was oddly at ease with this guy and his generosity was unmatched. I recommend him to anyone... he really, really knows his stuff. If you'd like more of a review on Tyler, check out his Yelp.com reviews here. Specifically, read Ricardo A's review. His take on Tyler is priceless and dead on.

Had to throw in some Lititz, PAride on my bike. This is a bumper sticker celebrating Lititz's 2009 inclusion in the Dozen Distinctive Destinations.
I hope you enjoyed my rambling recanting of bike project as well as the photos I took outside my apartment. I'm extremely happy with the end result and can't wait to zip around town on it. As usual, I'd love to hear from you if you enjoyed this post.

Demum Veris: A goodbye to winter

Saturday marked the first day of spring... and though I am excited for the return of warm weather, later night falls, and navigable sidewalks, I'm most excited that my camera will be coming out of hibernation. If you haven't totally tuned out from visiting The Viewfinder, you've undoubtedly noticed that there has been about a two-month lapse during which no new posts have been shared.

Though I regret this, I must admit that the lack of activity was due to a lack of creative inspiration and most importantly, a two-month catalog of new images that I just did not really believe in. Thus, I've decided to put behind me my photography drought, and share only a few images from the last few months as a way of saying goodbye to winter.



Beacon Hill after Boston's first full night of snow.


One of my favorite parts of this winter was visiting my childhood hometown of Lititz, Pennsylvania in January. It's funny how the combination of distance and time can make one nostalgic, but for me a visit to Lititz is like chicken soup. The above photo is the famed Wilbur Chocolate factory, out of which wafts a daily aroma of melted chocolate. In these moments Lititz becomes a Rockwellian setting in which you walk the streets fully expecting to run into George Bailey himself.

Pittsburgh served as another brief destination this winter. After witnessing the inauguration, we worked our way across Pennsylvania for a quick visit with my parents, and later to Pittsburgh to visit our good friend Matt Desjardins (blogging shout out). Matt recently left Boston for a masters program in international espionage at the University of Pittsburgh... no joke! If the photograph above is any indication, we hung out in Pittsburgh on probably the coldest weekend of the year. The following weekend, inspired by our visit, the Pittsburgh Steelers won the Super Bowl.


Dear The Viewfinder Blog, please stop blogging about Barack Obama. Yours truly, The Internet.

Okay, I promise to expand the scope of topics on my blog in the coming months, but I would be remiss if I neglected to follow up on my coverage of the inauguration. Beyond the already told stories of massive crowds, history-making speeches, Aretha Franklin's hat, and a botch-job by Justice Roberts, the real story of the inauguration for me was the monumental, yet nearly noiseless catharsis felt while huddling shoulder to shoulder with millions of my fellow citizens as we bared witness to history. Now I am well aware that due to my age and my ancestral background, I am someone who cannot fully and personally appreciate the total importance of Barack Obama's election. Thus, the catharsis I speak about is one born from a lifetime of presidents who, to me, have placed reelection before the country, and in the process have bargained our security and prosperity for poll numbers and personal gain. More simply, I've only seen politicians, not statesmen become president.

Obama is only 63 days into his presidency, and though the impact of his policy shifts are still months and years away, the tenacity and urgency with which his administration has addressed our pressing issues confirm to me that Obama is more statesman than politican. And the photo above, my literal place in the history of Obama's election... reminds me that I played a part in arguably the most important political seachange in the history of our country. It does feel like we are coming out of the winter.