Anyway, here's the first of the projects:
I had some shiny metal Velo Orange fenders on the Rivendell Betty Foy, but they bothered me. To my mind, they just looked too flashy for a bike I've named after my mother (Frances). My mother was not a flashy person.
So I ordered some elegant cherry fenders from Woody's Custom Cycling Fenders:
Once I put them on, however, the bike rack looked pretty pedestrian. I decided that the thing that would spice it up (without making it look too flashy; see above) would be a matching cherry deck. So I cut a couple of book matched slices from a chunk of scrap cherry:
Cut an annoying "lip" off the rack (annoying because it was always getting in the way of my seat bag) and added a brace from some aluminum bar stock:
Finished things up by adding some cherry buttons to keep the rain out of the tubes, et voila!
The cherry has a little curl/flame in it, and over time, it will darken into a rich amber, close to the color of the leather saddle. Cherry is magic like that, and magic is good, in a non-flashy way.
What a great example of how we can deal with our blue emotions. Love your ingenuity. Miss our chats even the ones at Cowamongus:)
ReplyDeleteHey there, Jordan! Yes, I miss those chats, too--especially the ones by the river. Hope you and your family are doing well.
ReplyDeleteThat is such an elegant bicycle. I'm very impressed, and I think you were absolutely right about the rack.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Victoria! I do like the way the cherry looks against the turquoise of the bike.
ReplyDeleteNice addition to your bike. Adds a little extra personal touch and that is allways good.
ReplyDeleteHey there, David! I knew you'd appreciate a woodworking post. ;-)
ReplyDeletethis is really a thing of beauty.
ReplyDeleteFABULOUS! But no, not too flashy :)
ReplyDeleteSarai and Eileen--Thanks!
ReplyDeleteHow lovely!
ReplyDeleteOh, quite lovely, especially the detail of those spherical buttons to cap the open tubes. I hope your mother's spirit is smiling at your work.
ReplyDelete