That was the process for my last bike, the Gunnar. I originally was going to build it as the ultimate 700c commuter. Then I remembered that I originally originally purchased the frame for straight road use. Having always wanted  a classic steel road racing machine that decided it’s final outcome.

“I’ve added a new-found love for cargo bikes and velo-utilitarianism to my already well-rounded bike lust.”

I’ve been staring at some absolutely gorgeous, full-on cargo bikes from Metrofiets and Joe Bike. But living in an apartment and the $3K+ price tags pretty much kill those dreams. So the next option naturally was an XtraCycle. I have a not-used-in-a-long-time GT Zaskar that was my first choice for the extension operation. Unfortunately, my leaving the job and the price of the equipment made that a decision for the near future. Plus, there’s a small (very small) chance that I might ride off-road again… But wait, I have a recently retired Bridgestone MB-4 that might do the trick! It’ll need some help, but with a nice rack system, some fenders, and a new rigid fork with tabs, this things will be a grocery gettin’ machine! As this project comes together I’ll make sure to post some updates. I’ll be adding images to Flickr, and notifying through Twitter if you need to indulge in some Boredom!

Guess I have to get some bags and panniers as well though…

Velo-Utilitarian Parts List

Minoura Gamoh Front Rack (my favorite part!)

Portland Design Works Payload Rear Rack

SKS Commuter Fenders 26″

Bontrager Satellite Trekking Bars

Wald #867 Cruiser Bar

Friday bore witness to the final act of a ridiculous 5 year saga—Pinkey at Revolution built my Gunnar Roadie. Why is this ridiculous you ask? It’s ridiculous because I bought the frame 5 years ago. It’s also ridiculous because it’s built with parts that’ve seen their 8th birthday. Finally, this entire build is ridiculous because I only needed to buy a chain and some new tires. Everything else I had “in stock”, so to say.

Here’s rundown of components:

• Bontrager carbon cranks
• Bontrager xXx Light fork
• Deda Black Stick post
• Fizik Arionne saddle
• 3t Less stem
• Deda 215 bar
• Bontrager Aero wheelset
• Time RXS Titan pedals
• Shimano Dura-Ace rear derailleur (from Giant)
• Shimano 105 front derailleur
• Shimano 105 Black shifters
• Shimano 105 brakes

Not a bad bunch of parts. Especially since they were sitting in storage.

How else do they get up those mountains?

So most of our heroes doped. Who cares! Everyone was doping then! The battles were epic. The climbers had wings. The sprinters were demons. And the rouleurs just ruled. But to keep the UCI vampires off our backs, we added an asterisk to show we don’t condone doping.

Team PDM – Ultima

This shirt celebrates the legendary Dutch PDM team who notoriously pulled out of the ’91 Tour de France with “food poisoning”. Turns out it was a rotten nutritional aid they were injected with. Oh those wacky team doctors! The riders implicated were: Eric Breukink, Nico Verhoeven, Raul Alcala, Sean Kelly and Joes Van Aert. Those are NOT small names in the world of cycling.

The shirt

Out of all the logo editions I’ve created, this is the only one that is altered to this extent. I’ve changed from Avant Garde to Helvetica to match the PDM jersey more closely. I liked the typo treatment of the PDM logo so I thought it would convey the message better if changed. The colors are as close as I can get without the vector being a sublimation on spandex. It’s not perfect, but neither were they! Available in the Cycleboredom gift shop. Although Spreadshirt displays the image strangely I’ve been assured that they print correctly.

Look at me! I’m wearing a blog tee!

Scenario: You’re at the bar/pub (for mah British homies) wearing your American Apparel made, form-fitting Cycleboredom logo tee. This girl/guy that you’ve been eyeing from across the room actually strolls up to talk to you. You’re giddy with anticipation. Your mind envisions a night of beer soaked debauchery since this person’s obviously making the first move, when they ask, “What’s a cycle-bore-dom?” Giddiness gives way to the numbing realization you’ll be spending the night alone & online catching up on the latest cycling news as you answer, “Oh, it’s a blog.” Fail. Sweet, sweet fail.

At least it’s not a browser tee.

Some info

Cycleboredom shirts are in fact generously displayed upon American Apparel hipster coverings. They are digitally printed by none other than Spreadshirt. I’d want nothing more than to screen these myself, but the cost, space, and time are incredibly prohibitive.

If for some herculean lack of foresight on your part you actually click the ‘Submit’ button after entering your credit card number and shipping address in the forms provided resulting in one of these repugnant hairshirts actually being delivered to your living place, please let me know what you think!

And yes, that is my Twitter background. I was lazy.