I am batching it for a few days, plus it rained, so today was a productive day in the shop. I'm working on Vicki's town bike, a 3-speed step-through (or ladies' bike). I managed to fit up and braze the chain stays to the dropouts and to the frame. I also uploaded some pictures of my progress to the gallery page. 

I'm exploring some new techniques and parts with this build, so it is constantly entertaining. I'm really starting to enjoy the subtleties of heat control when it comes to melting silver. Sweating the silver through the dropout plug was new for me, but it went flawlessly. Every moment with the torch on is so intense and so engaging. it's a lot like fly fishing for me; caught up in the moment I focus completely and lose track of time.

Ah yes, the marrow. I roasted bone marrow for the first time today and it was delicious! I served it with crusty bread, sea salt, and a tangy salad of parsley, lime, capers, and red onion. Just the thing to fuel an afternoon in the shop.

Saturday was the Southern Oregon Bicycle Crafters' Show, an event hosted by Ian Bagshaw of Flywheel Bicycle Solutions. For one day, Ian's shop in little Talent, Oregon, was transformed into a miniature boutique of bicycles built by local craftsmen. The turnout was incredible! It was a scene of proportions that far exceeded the space and there was a definite energy that was going for hours. (It doesn't hurt that Flywheel is the only local bike shop with craft beer on tap!) I was honored to present two of my bicycles alongside the amazing creations of local veterans John Slawta (Landshark Bicycles), Mike DeSalvo (DeSalvo Custom Cycles), Fred Cuthbert (Wolfhound Cycles), Keith Anderson (Keith Anderson Cycles), Ron Sutphin (United Bicycle Institute), and Jeff Jones (Jones Bikes). Many thanks to Ian for hosting the show; looking forward to next year. And good wishes to Mike as he prepares to head to Charlotte for NAHBS in a couple weeks.