turning sixteen. . .

The highlight of turning sixteen for most kids these days is getting to sit behind the wheel of a car without their parents there. They can drive wherever they want, or at least wherever they need, and they can enjoy freedom (or what at sixteen seems to be freedom).

Then there's the kid (usually a boy) who is so excited that he gets himself into trouble in the first few minutes. After spending hours and days grooming and polishing and vacuuming, the perfect car is ready to drive. And during the inaugural drive. . . crash.

Now imagine a 21 guy who has spent hours and days painting and building a beautiful fixed gear bicycle. Meet The Grape. . .


The Grape, as you may have guessed, is the frame hanging in this picture. Possibly the best loved bike in history. After hours of sanding and painting and sanding and painting, and sanding and painting. . . JB (a close friend of mine) finally finished his masterpiece. I wish I had a picture of the final product. It's absolutely beautiful.

Tuesday night. . . the long awaited process of assembling the whole thing and going for the first ride would be completed. But--it rained on Tuesday night. A very defeated and slightly frustrated JB would have to wait until the next day. Wednesday morning. . . the new first ride. And, you probably guessed it. . . the first crash. I'm in no way making any statement about JB's riding skills, it was a technical error (his pedal fell off and the nature of fixed bikes made it nearly impossible to stop without his pedal). However, I smiled at the way a few scraps of metal, some paint, and a chain can make us all feel like we're sixteen again.

I haven't crashed my new baby, but here she is. I know the last photo was less than desirable so here are a few more.