me, me, me...

some people wanted to see some more of me in the pictures... you see, the problem is, i a travel alone, so most of the time i take pictures of things around me.
these were taken by master photographer eitan bino, a new friend i met in LA. he and his wife, dorit, have lived here for a long time, are really big on exploring the world, and are just super nice people. these were taken on my first ever night ride, which was awesome. all of your senses come alive, and the smell of the night air is clean and fresh. your whole attention is on the beam ahead of you. it is a unique experience. thanks eitan.

the clean look of a single speed...

nothing can beat the simplicity of the thing.
mark was there all the time, through the tiring process of taking three bikes apart, and building them all together into one happy vintage. thanks for everything, mark.
'been having some issues with my new rear race x light wheel. don't get me wrong, theyr'e very reliable and strong. but this specific wheel keeps on getting out of true, and now i broke a spoke!!
i was riding up (!!) a hill' on a 4x4 road, and it just snapped. i'll see what i can do about that.

as the day comes to an end...

its clear that i need to keep on moving.
i feel flies in my stomach, as the roads are calling. "wait just a few more days, and your'e out..."
i have some kind of a plan, nothing too specific. just a few places i have always wanted to visit, a map and a car, and in my eyes it is more than enough. too many days in the same place, and i am itching to leave. direction- north.
shapira- this is my hidden massage to you: go-kick-some-european-ass... kapish??

some more pics...

i had to go with somthing different. in the 90's you had to have two things: somthing made out of CNC and somthing with colour.
enter, a very special, easton made, 130 gram aluminium handlebars. colour? light blue!
the fork i chose is a judy sl, with cartridge system, that hopefully does not blow up on me. but i will have another fork, for display, and just for the fun....
with the help of the megician, julian, i will have one of the rarest, only a few in existance, specialized carbon titanium fork, made for ned overend for the 93' world championships.
wwooohhhoooo....!!!
job well done. whats next? the final conversion of my 9.9 into a single speed, and then, where ever the wind (or my motor home) will take me.

as the saying goes...

out with the new...
in with the old.... (or was it the other way around?)
as my trek 9.9 slowly turns into the most expensive single speed ever to roll the face of the earth, my new\old 9800 come into play. i found this early 90's bontrager titanium saddle. its light and awesome.

and scoring some more style points, i put an AC fork bridge, made for cantilever brakes, and found some first generation panaracer smoke tires. wicked...

for those in the know....

i got into bikes in 1993. started riding in order to lose some baby fat, and fell inlove with the sport. at the same year, shimano released their first ever XTR group.
in 1994 trek decided to have a go at a full carbon frame, after discontinuing the half aluminium half carbon 8900. both of these, the XTR group, and the 9800 were only a distant dream for me.
as the years past, it was harder and harder to find both of these... but reseda bicycles is not a regular shop. and so, the dream is now becoming a reality. with the help of the guys in the shop, and three (!!) different bikes that i take into parts, i am building my dream bike.
all new (!!) 1993 XTR group 8 speed components, including the headset, cantilever brakes,and even the seat post... and a 1994 trek 9800 became a match made in heaven. i am still working on the bike, and working on a very special fork to go with this vintage stalion.
dreams do come true.

eliot, or eli...

the owner of reseda bicycles is one of the nicest people i have ever met. i used to work in his shop a few years ago, and now he, and all the shop's crew, mark, julian and jason, are helping me with my little project.
how they stand up with me talking non stop, is beyond me... thanks guys.

close ups.

while i am in LA, on my way to where ever i want, i thought it would be a great idea fixing my tooth. it was not that expensive, which is a great thing, as my secret project will cost a few tanks of fuel for the RV... and the RV's tank is 70 gallons.... you do the math.
i had time to seek things up lior's nose. there was nothing there, except for one sock, and an old pink floyd record. i sold it on ebay.

alone again, naturally...

keren is on her way back to israel. she has a connection through london, and has to wait 7 fricking hours between flights.
i am working on my jewish roots. it does not suit me...
lior, my best friend, lives here in LA, and we spend alot of time together, like the ol' times in the village. LA is nice, and i will stay here for a week or so, as i am working on a secret project... you will see the "thing" in a day or so.

in the right light...

what seems old and dead, looks fresh and vital. that is where i am. in the between...
it feels good. it feels new, and bold. where will i be in a week or two?

illusion city...

GAP, ofcourse, was known all over the roman empire, as the maker of great fabrics and low (ahmmm...) prices. in fact, julios caesar was a big fan.
everybody needs to look cool. even the ones who do not know they look the part.
a question i have always wanted to know the answer to.

paris, baby!!!

well, not really. this is vegas in day light. i was too busy and tired eating too much in the bellagio hotel buffet, to take good pictures at night.
this was one plate out of the four i had for lunch. and the three i had for dinner. c-a-n n-o-t
b-r-e-a-t-h b-u-t i-t w-a-s w-o-r-t-h i-t.

we went to a great show at night. beatles inspired, cirque du soleil show, with the most amazing music, dancers and vibe. vegas baby....
joshua tree. the strangest of all trees.

they say what happens in vegas, stays in vegas... well, all the food i ate, is there all right...

the years go by....

and things that used to represent you, seem to change, or die. what once was your whole world, is no longer, and a new branch starts to grow. i accepted the fall of the old guards, and now i watch my new branch leaving its new, greener leaves.
all the while i am there, riding my bike, making some new friends, can't believe the opportunity i was given, to do what i love for so long, and with such passion.
now we are in sedona, arizona. these are the last days with keren, as she is leaving on monday. after that, i have one race i want to attend, and then i am open for two months... where will i go?
well, i have more than 50 states to choose from, and even a really big country, not too far, just north from where i am, called canada. what will it be?
stay tuned.

flagstaff, arizona....

this town is so calm, we had to join the atmosphere, by going to cofee shops every day, and reading some local papers... you know, blend in.
this is dave. he is one fast dude. he works in a bike shop downtown, and he showed us around some wicked trails. cheers...
the altitude here is about 7000 feet, but climbing out of town takes you to about 9000 feet (almost 3000 meters), and in the begining of the ride, we were huffing and puffing, almost going sideways... the climb was worth the fast and technical downhill, and the snow patches we rode through. swwweeeeettt!

all of which R american dreams...

yo, yo, you know i am right yo... this is me, on the long ride from moab to flagstaff, arizona. i was tired, and keren played all photographer on me... so i had to give her the "move"...
what can i say? is there anything more american than this?
or this?

she works hard for the money...

and finally she spends it right... other than two days, when i was driving 1200 miles, and she was losing her mind, keren just doesn't stop smiling!! i wonder why... maybe its the rides.
maybe its the views and the hard workouts...
or maybe she just likes the rest and recovery she needed so much. either way, it will be hard to get the smile off her face. (i guess a week back in israel will do the trick...).

moab!!

yesterday we got to moab. the weather is unbelieveble, and the trails are great. i took keren out for her first slickrock experience, and the smile on her face said it all... every rider has to visit moab, at least once in his life time.
the views from the top of slick rock. today we did porcupine rim, and the down hill section is 20 kilometers long. that was amazing.
this week end was car weekend in moab, and the town was littered with old hot rods, and modified american V8s. it was noisy, and funny...

single. in more ways than one...

in the end of august there is a stage race in brian head, utah. 4 stages, lots of miles, around 3500 meters above sea level. i decided i am going to do it. but not on my regular bike... gears is for the weak!! i am turning my 9.9 into a single speed (!), and racing single speed category. here goes nothing...

where ever you are...

it is all about the ride. wake up in the morning, eat your cereal, wear your spendex, and go ride your bike. i am working on re-discovering my passion for biking, and i am really in the right place to do so... today we are leaving fruita, and by the afternoon we will be riding in moab, utah. the mecca of bike riding. this will be my 4th time in moab. i love it!!
spy shot!!
this is next year's yeti asr 7. it is amazing. all big burly carbon swing arm, lots of tire clearance, 7 inches of travel, 31 pounds- 14 kilograms. it is so well made...