bike racks August 9th, 2010

Welcome to Monday morning, everyone. Here’s a somewhat abstract photo from NoMa of a row of circular bike racks and of course their shadows.

No Comments

Tags: DC, NoMA, bicycle, objects
Write a Response | permalink

ridin around town August 2nd, 2010

Yesterday we took Petunia and Jan (purple bike and orange bike) out for their first ride together. It started out nice, then turned overcast and drizzly as we made our way from home, out to Rhode Island Ave metro station to check out that part of the new Met Branch trail, then on to Capitol Hill, a pit stop at Firehook Bakery for a refresher, and then down to the SW waterfront and Maine Ave Fish Market. We shared a fried shrimp platter there on the water, watching the ducks float around and do… nothing. I guess that’s what ducks do on Sundays. On our way out, we picked up two tilapia filets to go, packed them on some ice, and headed home to prepare some fish tacos for dinner. All in all, it was a nice 11 mile ride around the city. Best way to spend a Sunday.

No Comments

Tags: DC, Food, bicycle
Write a Response | permalink

Jan Oranje July 22nd, 2010

Jan Oranje, originally uploaded by m hoek.

   
Thinking that I was finally out of the woods with repairs on my new(ish) bike, we set out to name him last night. After reviewing of some suggestions that we got from an earlier post and incorporating our desire to give it a proper first and last name (like Petunia Chanel for instance) we decided on: Jan Oranje.

   
Jan Oranje is a Nice Phoenix brand roadster style bicycle. This is a good Dutch name on a not so good Chinese bike. To date, I’ve already had to overhall the brake system going from an old rod system up to a combo of coaster and caliper brake. Doing this, of course, required that I get new wheels since the 28″ steel 40-hole Westwood rims are not compatible with a darn thing. Unfortunately, in abandoning the 28″ wheels I also had to forgo using the very nice cream tires that I had purchased before understanding that the entire wheel would have to go. I should be able to swap them out for the tires that are currently on my Batavus Favorite so it isn’t all for naught. The 27″ wheels that replaced them are a decent fit in the fender and the white wall tires have a nice clean look to them so it’s all good.
   
New retro style battery operated LED lights replaced the dynamo that came with it, soft orange rubber grips replaced the hard plastic grips that didn’t fit my hands, and a sturdy orange cargo rack was been added to the front. Jimmy from Rollin Cycles set up the new brakes so that the original rod brake system could stay in place – just for looks.
   
…and after all this, the cotter cranks failed on me during my ride to work this morning. I was not more than a mile in when I pedaled and one pedal went the other stayed in place. Now they are both pointing straight down instead of be 180 degrees from each other as they are supposed to be. Luckily this only stranded me a few blocks from the metro and I was able to lock-it up and only be a few minutes late for work. This afternoon I’ll go pick him back up and walk back to Rollin Cycles to get him under the “knife” again.
   
This cheap Chinese bike is looking to be more of a Lemon than an Orange.
   

3 Comments

Tags: DC, bicycle
Write a Response | permalink

bicycle! bicycle! June 28th, 2010

   

We’ve added yet another set of pretty wheels to our family!! Now taking name suggestions – what do you call a bright orange bike?

   

5 Comments

Tags: DC, bicycle
Write a Response | permalink

introducing… Petunia Chanel June 16th, 2010

 
 
 

There she is! My new purple bike, a sweet wedding gift from my husband. (awww.) She was imported straight from China and put together by Matt himself, with some help from Velocity Bicycle Co-op in Alexandria, VA and Rolling Cycles on 14th Street. In case you forget where she is from, there is a big stamp on the frame “made in china, country of mao zedong.” Crazy commie bike! I named her Petunia Chanel because, well, I thought Petunia was fitting for the bright purple frame, and middle name Chanel is a tribute to the similarly named bike I rode while we were in Paris, courtesy of whoever names the wheels at Bike About Tours, Paris. Isn’t she pretty???!!!!

 
 

3 Comments

Tags: bicycle
Write a Response | permalink

Seersucker Social June 13th, 2010

For your viewing pleasure/amusement:

   

   

While normal people were watching USA v England in the World Cup…. Matt and I took part in the Seersucker Social at Hillwood Estate and Gardens on Saturday. (This being the summertime counterpart to the Tweed Ride). Dressed in our most elegant summer fashions, we met at the starting point in Meridian Hill Park, along with about 500 other dandy riders. We rode as a group through parts of the city and into Rock Creek Park, finally ending at Hillwood, where there were deee-licious Hendrick’s Gin & Cucumber Cocktails, dainty finger foods, and lawn games such as croquet and badminton awaiting us all. (ed. note – am I the only one who, all this time, thought that this “sport” was called badmitton?? who knew there was an ‘n’ in there? ). Anyways, it was quite a fun and hilarious event, and GREAT retro getups all around… but it was also extremely sticky HOT outside on Saturday and I was glad for my floppy-brimmed hat hiding all my sweaty hair.

   

The photo is courtesy of our good friend Jim Darling — be sure to check out the rest of his photo set through his Flickr page. More photos will follow…

5 Comments

Tags: DC, bicycle, fashion
Write a Response | permalink

pedals… petals April 15th, 2010

   

Happy Tax Day! May your returns be as plentiful as the blossoms on the ground. That’s all I got.

   

1 Comment

Tags: DC, bicycle, cars
Write a Response | permalink

ingenious March 19th, 2010

   

There are lots of clever ways that city-dwellers find to lock up their wheels, especially because living space is usually at such a premium. In our basement apartment, we’ve got two bikes vertically mounted to a wall rack, one tied up out back next to the hose, one mounted outside to metal rings in the door entryway, and one that sits in the floor space at the front “foyer.” So yeah, we have to be conscious of our storage space.

   

Walking home on 16th Street one night, we spotted the brilliant idea above. Perfect use of just-outside-the-window storage space…. It has a good set of bars to lock it too, and also a pretty annoying place for someone to try and steal it. nice thinking!

   

3 Comments

Tags: DC, bicycle, black + white
Write a Response | permalink

VASA ride March 8th, 2010

   

Yesterday we participated in the WABA and Embassy of Sweden sponsored Vasa ride , which kicked off at the embassy in Georgetown. We opted for the leisurely Kort Vasa at 14 miles, a trip that took us through all four quadrants of the District. For the more adventurous (and well-trained), there were the 56-mile Vasa and the 28-mile Halv Vasa. Honestly though, we were sold upon the promise of hot blueberry soup at the completion of the ride — and it was well worth it. Click for more pics of the event.

   

No Comments

Tags: DC, bicycle, embassy, georgetown
Write a Response | permalink

expose this. January 8th, 2010

The beautiful (in my humble opinion) images that you see below are my submissions to the 2010 DCist Exposed photography show.  This is my third year submitting photos to the contest – fingers crossed!  The entry pool for the show this year includes 1,130 photos from 435 photographers.  Tough competition would be an understatement.  Exposed will open on March 6th at Longview Gallery (1234 9th St NW).  It is a great showcase of local photographers and most certainly worth visiting.
   

   
This image is taken with a Holga at the Dupont Circle North metro station.  I love how the long exposure was able to pull a fire out of the evening sky.
   
   

 

   
We watched the fireworks from Meridian Hill park this year.  The gentleman that climbed the Joan of Arc sculpture had the best view in the house.  His focused gaze up towards the theatrics is the sky is eerily similar to the look on Joan of Arc’s face as she charges into battle.
   
   

 
   
My final submission was snapped during my morning commute.  It is taken with a Vivitar Ultra Wide and Slim, a junk camera with a wide angle plastic lens.  Even in the blustery weather that we have had recently, my morning rides always put me in a good mood.  I think this photo captures the pure enjoyment of a leisurely ride.
   
   

1 Comment

Tags: DC, Holga, Night, Vivitar Ultra Wide and Slim, bicycle, dupont circle, film, metro, monuments, nikon coolpix P5100, toy camera
Write a Response | permalink

© juxtaexposed.com | WordPress Powered | Posts (RSS) | Comments (RSS) | Wordpress Themes | theme from Brajeshwar