Made it to Portland

After a relaxing and fascinating 32 hour train ride from Union Station (Los Angeles) to Union Station (Portland) we've finally settled a little. We're at the Hawthorne Hostel camping in their back yard ($13 a night...can't beat that). Today we went to the Tour de Fat and rode in a bike parade through the city. Awesome. I met a few people that I have only known through their websites, Jonathan from BikePortland and Dean from Clevercycles, both of whom were really friendly.

Just wanted to do a quick update. I've already shot about 6gigs of images but won't be able to post them until I get home (shooting RAW). Lots to see and lots to do.

So Unreal!

It's just after 11pm and we're finally wrapping up packing. Our livingroom is a bundle of bikes and panniers. Although I know I'm about to leave for two weeks to bike in the woods and along the coast, it seems so unreal. I don't think it will settle in until the third day of riding when we're in the middle of nowhere climbing some crazy hill. I can't wait :)

A quick run down of the gear:

Bike:
2006 Trek 520
Jannd front and rear rack, Planet Bike Cascadia fenders, XTR cranks, 11-34 cassette, XT rear mech, SPDs, Brooks B-17, Nitto Randonneur bars, Shimano Dynamo front hub laced to Velocity Deep Vs, XT rear hub laced to Deep Vs.

Camping Gear:
Titanium Spork!
2 Trangia stoves, bottle of denatured alcohol
Spices, pepper grinder, coffee, metal cone filter with holder
REI Quarterdome 3 person tent
REI full length trekker sleeping pad
Old sleeping bag :)
Cotton sleep sack
Quick dry towel
Large full size towel cut out from linen table cloth

Clothing:
Pearl Izumi jacket
Mid-weight fleece
2 long sleeve lightweight wool shirts
1 short sleeve lightweight wool shirt
1 wool undershirt
1 seersucker shirt (casual wear)
Hemp knickers (from Bicycle Fixation)
Fast drying knickers (from Portland Cyclewear)
Fast drying shorts
2 bike shorts
2 pairs of wool socks
2 bandanas

Other:
Nikon D100 with 17-50 2.8, 85mm 1.8
Compact Flash cards
Chargers for AA batteries, for Nikon battery, for Blackberry

Tools:
Multi-tool
15mm wrench
10mm wrench
Fiber Fix
Spare spokes
Patch kit
cassette removal tool
hose clamps
Leatherman tool

According to my scale, whose accuracy is yet to be determined, everything weighs about 50lbs. The bike naked weighs about 40lbs. So I'm looking at riding with about 100lbs of bike and gear. It's really hard to pick up at this point. I'm hoping that my body grows use to it or I'm in big trouble.

Anyway, I have to get back to some last minute packing....

Twilight of the Press Telegram?

I shot a portrait recently of Joe Segura, who is part of the union at the Press Telegram, Long Beach's daily newspaper. Sadly, it seems that since the PT was purchased 10 years ago by a larger media company, it has gutted its editorial and photography departments.


The PT is now a shadow of its former self. The news is no longer really Long Beach oriented, but the sort of syndicated canned news that can be found in other papers.


To emphasize the point, Joe brought three newspapers during the portrait session, each with the same EXACT headlines and stories. Talk about homogenization!

Promo Pics

I'm going to have a small write-up in Long Beach Magazine this September. I wanted to reshoot the portrait of myself for the story.

I finally got the Xtracycle working with the Gary Fisher I recently acquired and took it out on it's maiden cargo voyage today. Laura and I rode out to the Queen Mary. I had my usual load of light stands and a Pelican case with my camera. I set up a few shots with Laura as the trigger woman. We were racing a bit with the setting sun, but I think the results look pretty good.

Another cover....

If you're in Long Beach, be sure to grab a copy of The District. Got the cover this week! It's a shot from the Andy St. assignment. It's a bit of a crop but it still came out well. There's also a nice spread of images inside.

Bikes on the Brain...

This last week has been filled with bike stuff. We leave on the 16th for our 2 1/2 week bike tour down Oregon's coast. It's quickly approaching and it feels like we're still so unprepared. Laura and I finally bought a tent, it's an REI 3 person quarterdome.

I've removed my Xtracycle from my Trek 520 to an old Gary Fisher mountain bike. The transition has not been easy. I got rid of the stock suspended fork and replaced it with a Surly 1x1 fork. I have to build a new 700c wheel to run on the rear since the Xtracycle I have is made for 700c and the brake braze-on's won't reach. I replaced the rear der., the bottom bracket, cranks and soon I'll replace the straight bar with a Soma Sparrow bar, which is suppose to be like an English 3spd bar but much narrower.

So essentially, I've been working on two bikes at the same time. Trying to build up my tourer, the Trek, and my cargo bike, the SurlingGary (Surly/Gary Fish mix). The Trek is done. The SurlingGary is a pain in the butt and is still not rideable. I had a shoot today that I had to light so I dusted off my Burley Flatbed . It worked well, but it's definitely not as maneuverable as an Xtracycle.

Yesterday, I took a Road 1 course from Chris Quint, a League of American Bicyclists Instructor. It was great and gave me a bit more confidence in what I was doing. If you have an opportunity to take the class, I highly recommend it.

The classroom portion of the course.

Chris Quint, cycling instructor extraordinnaire.

AUDIO/visual of how a helmet works.

Chris demonstrating the "rock dodge" technique on his Brompton.

When you absolutely, positively MUST stop...shift your weight to the back and squeeeeeze...

Hmmm...what an amazing idea!

I saw this on bikeportland.org and was pretty frustrated....These are words of Patrick McHenry, a republican Congressman from North Carolina, in response to the passing of Pelosi's Energy Independence Plan...It's precisely thinking like this, that progress couldn't possibly be something that has been sitting under our nose all this time but is something bigger, better, faster that will be our ruin...

A major component of the Democrats’ energy legislation and the Democrats’ answer to our energy crisis is, hold on, wait one minute, wait one minute, it is promoting the use of the bicycle.

Oh, I cannot make this stuff up. Yes, the American people have heard this. Their answer to our fuel crisis, the crisis at the pumps, is: Ride a bike.

Democrats believe that using taxpayer funds in this bill to the tune of $1 million a year should be devoted to the principle of: “Save energy, ride a bike.”

Some might argue that depending on bicycles to solve our energy crisis is naive, perhaps ridiculous. Some might even say Congress should use this energy legislation to create new energy, bring new nuclear power plants on line, use clean coal technology, energy exploration, but no, no.

They want to tell the American people, stop driving, ride a bike. This is absolutely amazing.

Apparently, the Democrats believe that the miracle on two wheels that we know as a bicycle will end our dependence on foreign oil. I cannot make this stuff up. It is absolutely amazing.

Ladies and gentlemen, I bring you the Democrats, promoting 19th century solutions to 21st century problems. If you don’t like it, ride a bike. If you don’t like the price at the pumps, ride a bike.

Stay tuned for the next big idea for the Democrats: Improving energy efficiency by the horse and buggy.

If we were apply this reasoning to another American crises like obesity, it would probably sound something like this...

A major component of the Democrats’ healthcare legislation and the Democrats’ answer to our obesity crisis is, hold on, wait one minute, wait one minute, it is promoting healthy eating and exercise.

Oh, I cannot make this stuff up. Yes, the American people have heard this. Their answer to obesity and the coronary disease, is: Eat healthy.

Democrats believe that using taxpayer funds in this bill to the tune of $1 million a year should be devoted to the principle of: “Stop obesity, eat healthy.”

Some might argue that depending on diet and exercise to solve our obesity crisis is naive, perhaps ridiculous. Some might even say Congress should use this healthcare legislation to create new miracle foods, bring new gastro-intestine surgeries on line, liposuction, GMO's, but no, no.

They want to tell the American people, stop eating, get exercise. This is absolutely amazing.

Apparently, the Democrats believe that the miracle of healthy living that we know as a diet and exercise will end our obesity crisis. I cannot make this stuff up. It is absolutely amazing.

Ladies and gentlemen, I bring you the Democrats, promoting 19th century solutions to 21st century problems. If you don’t want to get fat, don't eat. If you don’t like heart surgeries, get some exercise.

Stay tuned for the next big idea for the Democrats: Solving our energy crisis by riding a bicycle.

My Altercation....

Today at around 10:25am (2nd Street and PCH in Long Beach), on my way to Trader Joes I was assaulted by a driver. No joke. I was coming to an intersection when a large white truck passes me with inches to spare, even though I'm right in the middle of the lane. I tap on the glass and yell at him that he passed to close. Next thing I know he opens the door and pushes me. I wasn't expecting it and was pretty stunned by the whole thing. I get his license plate but in all the mess I screw it up somehow, because when the police arrive they can't find the plate. Damn.

I'm still a bit flustered and just thinking about it still makes my blood boil. I'm not quite sure what to think. I suppose I could have handled it better, but it was just one of those days.

Not sure the chances of someone reading this would have seen it, but email me if you did.

The vehicle was a white truck, with a license plate 5?YA101. The driver was a white male, mid 30's, pony tail, about 6 foot 2, stubble and a big asshole.

The incident occured around 10:25am on 2nd Street (just after the bridge) at the intersection of 2nd and PCH.

Gun for hire...

It's wedding season and this summer I've been hired as a second shooter for several great photographers. I learn a bit from each one and it is always interesting for me to see their different styles. Today, I shot with my friends and colleagues Taso and Annie. Annie was one of my first photography mentors and taught me how to print in BW as well as some of the nuances involved in documentary photography.

Here are some shots from the event tonight....it's late and I don't have all my memory cards back yet, but I liked this short sequence. Here, the bride and groom are watching as the groomsmen and bridesmaids make their entrance into the reception. As you can see, they're having a great time watching their friends dance and strut down the isle. Usually, you don't get this point of view, since the primary shooter is going to shoot them coming down the isle. But as a #2 I have the freedom to roam and grab fun moments like this.

At Work....

I always wondered what I look like when I'm shooting. I imagined it was something a bit more graceful, but hey, that's why I'm behind the camera.

A recent client took some snaps of me taking some snaps (very postmodern), which in turn led me to try to find the snaps of which I was snapping at the time (or as close as I could approximate).

Say it Ain't So...

Well...had a good and bad day today....Good day because I finally got the cover of The District Weekly. It's a real minimal photo of the side of Acres of Books building. They also used quite a number of photos from that session in the article. The joy, however, was a bit short lived after I saw this anti-bike invective by Steve Lowery:

I’d like to continue on the cycling tack and say a few words about cyclists: I hate them. I don’t mean the top-notch, racer types; I mean the losers who think they are top-notch, racer types and insist on riding by you on the beach pedestrian/bike path yelling “On your left! On your left!” as if pedaling faster is going to make the wife come home. And then there’s the lot that likes to pretend they have every right to share the road with the adults in the cars. Look, just because you have a beverage-holder on that thing DOES NOT MAKE IT A CAR. And what is the deal with the clothes? Look, I get that you want to be visible, but dressing up in what appears to be Liza’s laundry-day duds only makes people want to hit you more . . . unless it’s Pride Week in which case You go, girl!

I've met Steve and he's a nice guy and I know this part of the magazine is meant to wind some people up, but it was still a bit irksome. So, I shot off this letter to the editors.

Dear Editors,
I have to say I was a bit mortified by Steve Lowery's comments regarding cyclists in the last issue's Vector Control especially when he wrote that he "hates them." There are lots of things to hate in Long Beach, like the Minute Men screaming in front of St. Lukes, the breakwater, the RDA, but cyclists? Those are words that I would expect from a yahoo in a pickup truck or the Traffic Engineer's office.

I can understand the disdain for the Tour of California, it was a lot of sizzle and no steak, but don't take it out on people that are just trying to do something good. I ride because I enjoy it, because it is good for the environment and because I have a brother in Iraq. When I'm on the street I'm not trying to be a car, I'm simply being a vehicle. As a vehicle I have the full and legal right (CVC 21202) to occupy the traffic lane (not the "car" lane) and to even take up the entire lane if I feel that it is necessary for my safety.

It's hard enough to ride day in and day out in traffic with people who would rather play with their iPhones than pass me safely on the street. I don't need another publication, especially The District, which I held in high regard, fueling the anger and ignorance against cyclists.

In a way Steve Lowery is right, Long Beach cyclists, the real ones that ride day in and day out not the "top-notch racer types", were the biggest losers from this whole embarrassing affair. Many biking advocates were bandied around city council meetings and planning meetings to demonstrate just how bike friendly Long Beach is. We were promised a Bicycle Action Team, the city staff seemed more than willing to try to make Long Beach the bike friendliest city in the US, for a few brief weeks we felt that we were finally being heard.

Of course, after all the bleachers were taken down and the lycra was neatly put away so were any intentions of carrying out the Bicycle Master Plan.