Field Trip - Disneyland

Things I learned at Disneyland.

Mallards are just as interesting when in a theme park, and more interesting than many of the "attractions":
How to wash ones hands:

don't most people learn how to wash their hands before they can read?

$6.50 kid-sized burritos are truly lilliputian:

portion fail

Girls can be silly:

daughter-of-a-friend Lux on left, Celeste showing off her "snake teeth"

Vending machines can be far too realistic:
It's possible for lawyers to ruin everything:
Cotton candy is good:

You can run into long-lost friends:

Stump and the grrls

Oh Happy Day

I've been fondling for the last hour it in ways that would likely get me arrested in most southern states. Or Utah.

Down On The Street

Yet another VW Doka, this one a bay window version, paired with a Karmann Ghia and found in an Oceanside neighborhood.
Lots of oil stains on the driveway and street. These old 'Dubs have certainly been marking their territory.

And A Cherry On Top

Now where's my frame? And 110mm stem?

More Bike Bits Arrive

Here's what Santa-In-A-Brown Suit delivered this morning:

Easton EC90 stem, SRAM PC1091R chain and Force front derailleur. It's all coming together, I'm just waiting on two more shipments before the fun of building up the dream machine can commence.

UPDATE: And I goofed up and ordered too long of a stem. Damn. I should have followed the old saying - measure twice, order once. Or something like that.

Down On The Street

Hey look - yet another nice VW Splittie spotted in North County.
This one is a quite rare double cab truck (aka "DoKa"). In nicer shape than this one.
Sitting near the trailhead at Elfin Forest. "Jesus beams" an extra photographic touch. That's what I get for shooting directly into the sun.
Me likey. I'd just replace the chrome hubcaps and front VW embelm with sage green painted versions.

Texans Trying To Pronounce Wisconsin City Names

(thanks to Eric B. for the tip!)

Fork Yeah!

One more piece of the puzzle arrived today.
From China via Utah with love, I present the ENVE Components Road 2.0 fork. 1.125" steerer, 40mm offset. It should be a great match for the Vamoots CR.

Down On The Street - Swoopy Super Sedans of San Diego

Something old, something new. In the old camp is this fine 1960 Jaguar Mark 2, taking a Sunday trip to Vista's Home Depot.
Grace, pace, space, as powered by a 3.8 liter, 220 HP six. And drop-dead sexy sixties styling.

nice rump on this original California car
love the "Disc Brakes" emblem on the bumper; advanced tech for 1960
and what's a Jag without a Leaper?

Fast-forward fifty one years for a modern, German interpretation.

Spotted in San Diego a couple of weeks back is a new Mercedes-Benz CLS63 AMG. Mercedes must have been having a press launch as this car will not be on sale in the US until May.
Or maybe it escaped from the Mercedes' Carlsbad Pacifica design studio. Either way, it has manufacturer plates...
...and cross-drilled carbon ceramic brakes the size of pizza pans.

real carbon fiber mirrors with integrated signals

And even though Mercedes calls the CLS series a "four-door coupe", it doesn't make it right. Coupe = two doors, sedan = four doors. Last I checked, the CLS had four. But I'd still enjoy burning up der Autobahn in this Stuttgart speedster (speedster = two-seat convertible w/chopped-down windshield).

Bike Build - It Begins

The first shipment of the bits to build the forthcoming Moots has arrived.

Most of the parts will come from the second cracked Plastic Bike, but some new cables, bar tape were among the necessary purchases.

Meanwhile, in Steamboat Springs, CO, progress on the Vamoots CR frame is coming along nicely:
I'm truly hoping that this is a "lifetime" frame for me, a bike that I'll still enjoy riding ten or fifteen years from now. It should be ready in a few weeks.

Down On The Street

Spotted in downtown Encinitas on a beautiful Sunday morning was this nicely-restored 13-window VW Station Wagon variant of a VW Bus.

Someone put please replace that missing hubcap!

It's hard to beat an ivory/green combo. And hey, look, it's my friend Graham popping out from behind the drivers-side mirror.

Not captured - the smell of fuel leaking on the pavement. Hope they get that fixed before they end up with a car-b-que.

But not to be outdone, this even-finer specimen was captured in the wilds of the Del Mar dog beach six days later.
Yeah, people like my mom will scoff at the notion that this Bus, rich with patina, is nicer than the green machine above...
...but with wrap-around rear corner windows (and jailbars)...
...Porsche Fuchs wheels and an Baja excursion-sized luggage rack, I certainly know which one I'd rather have in my personal fleet.
Oh, and for those keeping score, it's a fifteen window splittie.