Category: Bicycle

Today I tried to build a kinetic sculpture for my kids. I remember seeing pictures from South Africa, where kids build wire car push toys called draadkar. I figured it couldn’t be too hard to make something similar. Classic blunder.

Now spring if firmly hear, we are all about getting the bikes out for a family ride. I am still sporting my 2007 Raleigh One Way Awhile it is not as sporty as it once was, I still love the fixed gear system for the stability. Especially now I have a little co-pilot.

Tomorrow, on the first day of February, we are slated to have the next snowpocalypse. While, if the weather man’s track record is taken into account, it is very likely that there will be little snow accumulation, I wanted to make sure I got a good bike ride in today. If I have to spend the next two days behind a shovel, I hope I can have fine memories of a day of pedaling.  

So here is the big reveal of my bike project. I give you the War Pigeon! First to explain the name; at one time Fixed Gear = Messenger Bike, likewise War Pigeon = Military Homing Pigeon. So a classic messenger name seemed appropriate to a classic messenger ride.

So it is a nice fall day, I am hanging out at a elementary school parking lot on a cobbled together bicycle, hoping that I had not been wasting my time and that I would not need a trip to the doctors if something goes wrong.

Now my basic strategy for this project was to use as many recycled (or free) bike parts as possible. It’s not (just) because I am cheap, but more importantly because I thought it would be cool to have some sort of pedal version of Frankenstein’s monster.

Back around 2005/2006 my brother happened to be walking by a dumpster in which he saw an old bike that was abandoned and unloved. I don’t know what this says about our relationship, but seeing someone’s discarded junk made him think about me, and he grabbed it to give to me as a gift. Honestly I was really excited about the gift of the bike, so I guess he knows me pretty well.