Geneva Lakes Wooden Boat Show (or Wooden Boat Overload!)

My very good friends Rob and Peg were fortunate to be able to make his annual pilgrimage to the Geneva Lakes Wooden Boat Show last weekend. Basking in the beauty of mahogany and one of the Midwest's most beautiful lakes while I was stuck in the air conditioned ashtray of Las Vegas.

I don't know much about these beautiful boats, but I certainly know how much I would have loved to have been able to see them first-hand. I can almost smell the sweet fresh water of Wisconsin's second-deepest (and second-prettiest) lake. Man I miss my boat and Wisconsin.



































All photos: ©Rob and Peggy Hamilton, 2010

Crash Update

It's been over a month since I hit the pavement hard on a stretch of Carlsbad's Coast Highway. The bike is all back together, no worse for wear (thanks to Don and George) and a shiny new helmet was sitting on my desk upon my return from Eurobike (thanks again Don!). Body-wise, I'm mostly recovered, all of the scars have healed - even if the skin is still bright pink in pieces. Some slight discomfort is coming from my right shoulder, I think there's a hematoma under the surface too.

The best news is that the City of Carlsbad sent me an email last week, letting me know that they will be taking care of the road imperfections based on my experience. I'm looking forward to checking out the scene after giving them a week or so to do the work.

Something Special From New Mexico, Via Texas

Just as my mom sends me my favorite BBQ sauce and my Wisconsin friends bring my favorite brews, I am very fortunate that our friends Eric and Rebecca in College Station, Texas send us fine New Mexico chili powder.
So much more earthy and flavorful than any other chili powder that we've ever had, this "dime bag" should last us a good six months. And it happened to arrive as we are on the cusp of chili season, nevermind the fact that it was an unseasonable 102 today.

Thanks Eric and Rebecca!

New Ride

After a delay of a few weeks, I was finally able to pick up my first-ever surfboard this morning:
It's a Craig Hollingsworth shaped 9' longboard. This one was crafted with a beginner in mind and is also a board that I should be able to use for a very long time. Putting it in bike terms, he called it a cruiser. Something fun yet slow that everyone should have in their stable. Waaay back at the end of May, I uploaded this original surf post. Over the summer, I was fortunate to be able to use Craig's personal longboard while mine waited in the queue.
Well, this one is even better. Prettier as far as I am concerned, but then again, I was able to pick every aspect. Including the triple stringers shown above.
Since Craig shapes for Hansen, among others, I was able to select this storied mark for my personal board. I just love the classic logo and overall aesthetic of the board. I think "Master" is short for Master of Disaster. If not, it should be.
And while the shade of green isn't *exactly* what I had in mind - I had requested forest green, It's still a beautiful shade. Kind of reminds me of my favorite lake...
Nice pinstripe work, hand-painted in Oceanside by a skilled craftsman who cares.
Hopefully the fins keep me up as well as allow me to turn. Actually I rode the board this afternoon at the Oceanside pier. Success - I was able to get up every time I tried. Count that up to a board with more rocker and buoyancy than the board I had borrowed all summer. That and a relatively mild day with 2-3 footers. A kook has to start somewhere...
Signed by the artist.

Down On The Street

Downtown Encinitas was overrun with classic woodies today. Since most were in motion, and since I was out for a road ride, I didn't go out of my way to hunt any down. However, this gem was parked on Coast Hwy:
A classic 1949 (I think) Ford. Probably one of my all-time favorite American cars.
This one looked just about perfect, basking in the late-afternoon sun in a quintessential Southern California beach town. Note the widened rear steelies. Subtle but a nice mod. Let's check out that wood in detail:
Seems to me that every classic woody owner has a collection of surf decals on the back windows. And why not?
Inside we see some mild customization work in the form of modern speakers and door hardware bolted to the door panels. I'll take mine with a hidden stereo and crank widows please.
Front novelty plate references Huntington Beach - aka "Surf City USA".
I would venture to guess that the communities of northern San Diego County have the highest concentration of classic woodies (and VW vans) of anywhere in North America.
Unintended palm reflection shows up in the "Custom" badge photo above. And my replacement Easton EC90 front wheel. I'll happily trade my wheels for these.