North American Handbuilt Bike Show

The hour draws near in which Jim and I will be heading for Richmond, VA for the 2010 NAHBS (I think I've mentioned that enough, sorry for the repetition) and I'm getting psyched outta my mind for it! Many will argue a frame is a frame. Whether it was painstakingly brazed together by a skilled man/woman or placed on a conveyor belt, you get a frame at the end of it. However, for me, I enjoy things created with the hands of a person with passion. I had the great fortune to work with Jonny Cycles, ZR Cycles, Rack Lady and Banjo Cycles (both used to build bikes/racks for Velo Orange) early on in my bicycle career. Just being surrounded with such pieces of work all the time is a wonder to experience.

I can go on with all the stories and knowledge they bestowed on me, but that's just cumbersome for me to do and too boring for you to read. It's just I know these people and I know their heart goes into everything that they build. To me, that is just such a basic and beautiful human characteristic; to love what you do. I see the same heart in Bike Polo teams and in Trick Events around the world. People setting up games, events, and housing dozens of kids into small apartments. Making friends, building culture, and more importantly, getting people that love bicycles to keep on making bicycles/parts. That's why, to me, bicycling can only get bigger. There are too many people that love all of this and are pushing bicycles to be a much more essential part of our society.

There's my two bits, if you love this bike thing, keep on keepin' on with it (or should I say "Life's a garden, you gotta keep on diggin." Ha! I'm only slightly mental). Hope to catch some of you there. Trick Jam is gonna be sick.


Earl