I found this kind of interesting

It's funny the stuff you come across when you can't sleep. It's 4:30 AM in Chicago. I've already taken a shower and somehow, having a beer felt like a good idea. I keep a laptop pretty close to me, so futzing around the world wide web, naturally, go's hand in hand with being wide awake and having a very early morning beer. I stumble upon this little Newsweek article:
100 Places to Remember before they Disappear.
It's a list of places that if climatologists are right in their predictions of climate change, may disappear or at least be radically changed.
There are some beautiful photos of places around world. I decided to click on North America. There's a dot right around Lake Michigan, I'm thinkin wow, that's the west side of the lake so it ain't Detroit. Of course this would be 100 places to visit and no one visits Detroit unless they grew up there. Most of them only visit when the absolutely have to. I forward the photos and there it is, number 4 Chicago:



Chicago can be quite a beautiful metropolis. That's a great photo for sure. The caption go's on to mention:
4. Chicago, Illinois, U.S.A.
The Windy City has been the Midwest’s center of transportation, industry, finance, and entertainment since it was founded in the 1830s on the shore of Lake Michigan. More than 9.5 million people now live in the metro area, making it the third-most-populous city in the U.S. In the coming years, the city could experience a gradual yet dramatic increase in heat waves and flooding.
I'm not so sure about industry being here. The shit mayor pretty much drove that away a long time ago.
What I do know is... lot's of people here, yep. 9.5 million. Guess how many cars? An approximate 2006 figure was 3,791,182. Almost 4 million. That's too fucking many. I can just here all the lame ass excuses people give for not cycling. Mother Fuckers, Jesus... Ahh.. can't you just taste those emissions?
Sorry, I think the beer is getting to me.

Cute Bag

I'm normally not the soft type. I recently rebuilt a bike for Emily. She's co-owns a Chicago company that makes cycling bags for ladies. These can be found at a number of bike shops locally. Or perhaps, even better directly from their website. www.pocampo.com Since I'm only a fan of a few the shops that sell them. I have to admit, it really dressed the hell out of her bike. Here's a picture of what the bike looked like when I finished.



Hot for sure. I't didn't at all seem naked to me until I looked at the photo I took as she prepared to take her maiden voyage on the new setup. She had added her bag and, well...


Looks so much more lady like. Takes the raw steel look and completely softens it. I'm a fan. Call me soft.

Lately.

Lot's going on right now. I submitting my entry into the "recycle greener" exhibit. If you have not been to Pilsen recently, I'd suggest doing so. The Friday art walk was pretty cool. Some of the bikes on display are quite nice. They will be there through the month of April. Mine is at 18th and Halsted, on the west side of the street.
Here's a photo of it. It's a late 70s RRB, handmade frame frame that was a rust bucket when I got. Seatpost, bottom bracket and stem were all seized. It appeared to have been left outside for many years. The photo's taken from behind the glass, so it's a not so great image.



Our good friend Billy David has an entry right next to mine. It's really gorgeous in real life. 1971 Raleigh Competition completely restored. Again the glass makes for a poor photo.



I'm finally done with my "next girlfriends bike. Kinda kicks ass, looks wicked in the sunlight. It's a Motobecane Mixte. Take a look:







This lovely bike was restored for Emily. She co-owns the ladies cycle bag company, www.pocampo.com Should look very sweet on her web page. It's a Schwinn Letour mixte.





this could also have been a next girlfriend competition entry. I love this bike.

If you have nothing to do Friday evening

This will be a pretty cool event. Art walk in Pilsen. Friday night is the opening. I have a bike on display. See if you can pick it out from the others, without looking at the info tag. A good place to drag your friends and lovers. Drinks afterwards? Hell yeah.

See ya there.