Now not everyone is an artist per say but many who are not still have a knack for doing SOMETHING creative.

Right now I am spending money squeezed hard to restore three bikes I have. One is an old Moto 1 Diamondback I had since the 1980s. I went everywhere on that BMX. I am having the frame and forks rechromed as well as other parts and bought a whole slew of new parts for it. Restoring bikes is a lot cheaper than cars.

Likewise I have a copper plated 70s era Schwinn Beach Cruiser that i just scored new knock off rims. They are not original but they are made to look EXACTLY like the original rims. Trimmed in gloss black with red and orange pin stripes and black and orange accessories and a leopard spot seat cover and this reflective beauty will be ready to grab a lot of eyeballs.

The other bike which I JUST got back from a dip in caustic soda for two days to get rid of the rust and now is basking in primer is the other project, my King Krate. I as a kid wanted one of the Schwinn Krate bikes, preferably the Apple Krate (the red one) but never had the money since back then it was a $450 bike. Well, here I am all growed up. I am too big for an Apple Crate or a Pea Picker or Lemon Peeler. So I decided to make one. I have been gradually amassing parts to make an adult version of the Krate Bikes and do it with all original Schwinn Parts. Right now the only problem I am having is finding someone who can make the longer strut tubes I need for the springer forks to maintain the frame's 'positional designed geometry' becasue I am also trying to find the parts to make a 20" drum brake front rim. I have the rear five speed drum brake rear rim already. I also have to make a special springer sissy bar for the banana seat. I want it to have a back rest.

This is the bike I am making an adult version of...



So how do you show your creative side?

I put a bunch of bodi...err...I color...

Bad Azz huh???

TFF!

Im building a tool shed out of all my empty vodka bottles.

i paint.
i sculpt.
i sketch.
i cut.
i glue.
i create.

That bike would look pretty awesome after it is done though, I made my own bike back when I was 10 from bits and pieces of other bikes...only thing I had to buy was a gear shifter for a five-speed and a chain. Painted it all black (was orange and brown or some sort of ugly combination of orange) and used it as a BMX for years.

I am so relieved you didn't say "I Cut Myself!"

That would have been a scary joke. It would be worst if it was the truth!

Then again I bet you have a dark enough sense of humor to say something like that...

...And you didn't.

Now I feel confused!

Well, let's see.

Once upon a time, in a land far, far away...

I had one of those when I was really young. It had like shocks and chit. Very cool........

hahahahaha
Don't work in there naked :-)

yeahhh.
i looked at that.
and thought,
people are going to think i cut my skin.
since artists are suppose to be crazy and what not.
but nope.
i dislike blood.
and pain.

I sew and do crafts...write occasionally

I had an old Haro I called my TANK becasue it was heavy like one. Damn thing was bullet proof though. A friend of mine had made a crazy high jump hill in a field behind his house. The damn bottom was 15 feet down. I didn't hit it with enough speed to clear the crest properly and wound up hovering down the face of the hill instead of leaping far enough to clear it properly so I made contact too soon on my rear tire and folded the rim under me. Served me right for taking the Skyway IIs I had on it off for some cheapy rims to lighten the bike. I had cleared teh hill before dozens of times but after I made that one change I paid for it. Now I ate it on a no name bike and bent the frame. That Haro though? Put the OG rims back on it and I was jumping the hill after I had time to recover from eating sh**. When the rim gave out from under me it made me fall back and I slid on the dirt with the bike in the air above me and it hit me hard but I was amazed I didn't break anything. A coupe of scrapes and a couple of cuts. My friends actually sympathized for me.

I actually wish I never sold it. The Tank was bad news. My Moto 1 is a lot faster though and I used to trick a lot on it. I doubt I will try to do that at my weight on this bike. I will be riding it again though. I had force fit a Schwinn mag from a Typhoon Cruiser 5 Speed (52 tooth, that is as big as front sprockets normally get for bicycles) and I got the smallest rear gear set I could squeeze on the back. Oddly the Shimano freewheel gears that came with the rims were perfect. I cruised as fast as any 10 speed with a 20 inch BMX. I also could take it into some rough conditions. Tricking is tough on it becasue of the gearing. I also wanted torque so I put the longest arm cranks I could get on it, again from a Schwinn Typhoon. Turning is tricky on it. The side you lean into you had better have that peddle up. If not you are going to go flying. I made the bike more for speed, not maneuverability.

Don't you hate missing an old 'beater' though? I had a few. I also built bikes from parts. I bet you were like me and had like twelve fully functional bikes that looked ugly as hell but they worked! Now though I am doing only high end bikes. The parts I am dressing the Moto 1 with like the headset are FREAKY expensive. I see the Shimano two piece handlebar headsets like the one I have selling for $100 bucks before shipping. The sprocket I have for it is also being rechromed. One like it on Ebay which is a rechromed original is selling for about $90. That is just for a particular Schwinn Mag sprocket. I got one for my King Krate too $17 and it needed to go to the Chrome shop too.

Some of these parts are Hella expensive.

The day I finish my Sunset Cruiser I will be grinning.

When I finish my King Krate I will be beaming regally as I take it for its maiden voyage on the Strand trail at the beach here. All the hard core Schwinn owners will be getting misty eyes and confused looks when the scale of the bike does not make sense to them at first. What will be even funnier is when the HARD core collectors look it over and realize it is ALL OG except for the longer struts on the front springer. They will go nuts trying to figure out if it is real or not. That is comedy becasue to me the challenge of this project is to make it a perfectly Schwinn bike even though Schwinn never made one like this. There are a couple of bike shops I can think of that if I show that one to them they will be asking a LOT of questions.

There are custom bikes, then there are concept customs that are just provocative. I am shooting for retro-provocative. I am so messed up on details though. I even have aggressively been shopping for cables and found red sparkle cables that will lend a more bling like touch to the bike. One thing I need to find also is a placard for the Banana seat that says "SCHWINN KING KRATE." It is all the small touches that an make a huge difference in a bike show. This is one I fully intend to show.

What? You DON'T Like Horror Movies? What is Wrong with you? (Is what "normal" people would say. I'm Not normal so I would never say that. It just had to be said in the name of comedy!)

i draw
and shoot pics

creative side

I shoot too

<----daily!...I AM my creative side....


everything is creation...gardening, cooking, cleaning, eating, laughing, loving....we are ALL creative...

I also am nuts about making sh*te from weird stuff...lantana stick lamp shades, repurposed plastic bags into useful stuff...newspaper woven baskets...painting, drawing, sculpting, landscaping...

Mainly, I write books.

But I've also been involved in music and drawing at various times.