The Miyata has always struggled to fit in with the rest of my bikes. It was larger, more upright and less aggressive so I planned for it to be a bike I could take with me on longer gravel rides. The older components are neither fast nor light, but they are pretty much bomb proof meaning it would be a great bike to ride around Pittsburgh when I visit (and not have anxiety attacks about locking it up outside) and go on long gravel rides without worry. But it never felt right, it didn't feel comfortable and easy to grow into.

 Recently I decided to try something new and picked up mustache bars at a bike flea market. I had some (frustrating) fun with the bar wrap, doing a harlequin pattern.

The bars allow for some different hand positions to drop bars, all a little less aggressive and quite novel. It completely changed the feel of the bike. Much more fun.   

A quick update on some of the bike projects ive been working on I've been collecting some vintage italian parts for a while now, and very recently I found a decently priced italian frame. These are pretty much all the parts I need for the build. I'm very excited about this build, I plan to put it together myself. Which sounds easy enough but the parts are not necessarily from the era and some finagaling is required to make all the components to jive together. I'm also excited to have this Amish/Mennonite bike shop near where I work build me the wheels. THe shop is totally out of the way and tucked away between farmlands and is probably the coolest bike shop I've been to. Modern bike shops have exclusivity agreements with certain manufacturers meaning if you go to a bike shop the chances are you dont get a lot of options to choose from. This shop is truly independent and has a great selection.

Kentuck Knob is Frank Lloyd Wright's lesser known house in the Laurel Highlands (Fallingwater being the other). There's a lot to like: oriented to make the best use of seasons, plenty of windows and open rooms let in light and air very nicely. It's not as spectacular as fallingwater but it's a gorgeous place to live. Fascinatingly, the house is currently owned by some form of english royalty (I think) and the house is only open to tour a part of the year. The house is famous for it's grounds which have variety of art installations. That, coupled with the expansive view of the laurel highlands, must be an incredible place to live. 

Check out the wiki, I didnt do a great job of trying to take pictures of the place. They dont let you do take pictures inside, as it has some personal belongings of the current owner  (It was pretty creepy to get a tour of someones bathroom, bedroom and creeping on their family portraits etc). And it's hard to take pictures when everyone else around you is swinging their cameras around (thats probably just me).

I realize that instead of being a photoblog, this is turning into a seasonal photo dump. I've yet to completely grasp how to juggle this and work. 

Polish Hill/North Oakland, Pittsburgh.

Strip district. Pittsburgh.

Another church. Less about the architecture, more about that morning light. View big, I think I nailed the metering on this one. Strip District. Pittsburgh.

I try to refrain from posting self portraits; it's an ugly trend with tweens on flickr, but this is interesting for more reasons than my mug. Downtown Pittsburgh.

This picture was taken at f/2.8 accidentally because I forgot to change it back from another shot. Look at how soft this picture is. It really bothers me. Medium format kicks your ass. Strip district, Pittsburgh

It really is time that I finished uploading all of the medium format stuff from this summer.
This was the last shot from a roll, an interesting looking church in East Liberty. I've been a bit lazy and havent cleaned up theses scans like I usually do.
People do some really interesting stuff with churches and I always think of Valentine Gunesekeras Jesuit chapel in Bamba. I really want to see that place.

I've shot highland park a couple times over the last year now. If you click on the label "highland" below you can see it in a different season/from a different camera/in digital.

 

I'm amassing quite a number of photographs of my bike. I guess it is a little repetitive, but it's become a big part of my photo process: to ride somewhere first, then take pictures. My tire is blown out, and that I've had to wait to get it fixed, now I find my self not even reaching for my camera. That's no good.

Allegheny General

Been really inspired by this lately.