Engine, wheels, seat. The bike isn't much more than that.

I was compelled to post a second photo of this bike for two reasons: 1) it's utilitarian simplicity is so extreme is odd, like creatures that live at the bottom of the ocean, and 2) the different light sources in this photo allowed for a very cool creative interpretation.

More on this later. I'm at a cafe and about to run out of battery...

This is John Pywell and his bike, which is "pretty much the coolest looking bike I've ever seen." That's according to him. I'm not sure I like it more stylish than my Ducati, but it does have a unique appeal and is certainly more original.

John started to put it together piece-by-piece about two years ago. The frame is by Cycle X, the engine is from a '78 Honda CB 750 ss, the tank is from a '69 Triumph, the oil tank is a used piece of sewer pipe (with a Grolsch beer bottle swing-top as the cap), and the seat is a hand-hammered piece of steel from Home Depot (with the price sticker still on it). This is only a partial list of all the unique pieces manufactured from random bits and pieces from around the shop and junk yard.

I think of myself as something of a gearhead, but look like a typical yuppie from Manhattan in comparison to John and the other one-off bike owners that attended the five year anniversary party of Brooklyn's MotorGrrl bike shop (happy anniversary). I'll post more pics from the party in the coming days.

Despite the amazingly tall buildings and the beautiful skyline they form, it's pretty rare that you see groups of New Yorkers looking up. So when I came out of the World Financial Center last week to see everyone staring at the sky, it was for a brief moment somewhat alarming. The look on peoples' faces, though, was one of wonder. Turning around and looking up, I saw why - the sun had just set, but with the rays still casting high over the horizon, illuminating beautiful and strange clouds with a rich orange-pink light. The clouds looked like round scoops of ice cream floating through the sky. That handy google thing tells me these may be "mammatus clouds."

This image is pretty much straight out of the camera. A bit of noise reduction in Photoshop, but I didn't touch the colors. Someone apparently put a warming filter in the sky.

No notes on this at the moment - off to a July 4th party.