Stan's Throne

Stan, a homeless man, has taken up residence in this former industrial building and has tens of thousands of square footage at his disposal to live and ... collect things. What does he collect? Anything and everything. This particular room ("room" is used loosely here, the room is the size of a warehouse) contained literally thousands of bicycles and bicycle parts. In that sea of bikes sits this chair. I like to think of it as Stan's throne. Does Stan ever sit in it and look over his kingdom?

RoofTop Gear

If you have ever watched the BBC's Top Gear you may be familiar with the opening credits of that show, which feature silhouettes of the three co-hosts. I can't help but be reminded of that every time I have a look at this image. Maybe it's further enhanced by my experiences with the hilarity that inevitably ensues when these 3 fine gentlemen get together...

The Leap

Heading Downtown

The golden evening hour sometimes yields colours that are unexpected and almost unnatural. Living in Toronto, we aren't used to seeing this much blue in the sky and water; instead, these are colours we are accustomed to seeing in exotic faraway locations. Yet, on this particular night as the sun set these are the colours that we were privy to.

Organized Chaos

Welcome to the organized chaos that is Stan's place. Stan has taken up residence in this former industrial building and has tens of thousands of square footage at his disposal to live and ... collect things. What does he collect? Anything and everything. Thousands of bikes, empty cans, magazines... all in organized piles.

Crossroads

... in downtown Toronto at night.

Photography

Despite the fact that photography is a hobby I continue throughout the year, I've generally only posted photos to accompany our travellogue.  After some consideration, I'll try and share some of my other non-travel work as well.  In other words, don't be surprised to see some regular photographic updates!

Montréal, a mere 3 months late...

In late October, we had packed up and ventured off to Montréal with a couple of friends.  Our friends were going to see a concert, so we all thought we'd make an entire weekend out of it.

We left on a Friday morning, and arrived in Montréal in the early evening.  Our friends headed off to the concert, while Cess and I spent the evening in Old Montréal.  Having never spent any significant amount of time in Montréal, I could immediately see why everyone says Montréal has a very European feel to it -- it does.  The architecture, the layout of the old part of town, and the overall atmosphere are certainly very reminiscent of European cities.  We wrapped up our evening with a dinner at Garde Manger, a restaurant owned and operated by Chuck Hughes, of Chuck's Day Off fame.  The dinner was excellent, albeit, a bit on the pricey side when you consider what type of food you're getting.  Regardless, we had a great evening.

The remainder of the weekend was spent doing various touristy things.  The two highlights were Pikolo Espresso Bar (awesome coffee and pastries) and Jean-Talon Market.  The latter is one of Montréal's largest open air markets and is extremely impressive.  In short, it puts Toronto's St. Lawrence market to shame.  Jean-Talon is much larger, has a much better variety of products, and in most cases, the products are much better priced.  Between the four of us, we loaded up on 10lbs of peppers, about 15lbs of tomatoes, and other various goodies.

It's safe to say that we would definitely like to go back again.  Even just to experience the market!

Old Montréal At Night:

Pikolo Espresso Bar:

Jean-Talon Market:

Fresh Mushrooms at Jean-Talon Market:

Montréal - Old & New:

Penfield House Wrap-Up

Yes, we realize this is loooooong overdue, sometimes life keeps you busy though.  We had a great time staying at the Penfield House.  It was somewhat surreal to have a Frank Lloyd Wright designed house all to ourselves for a few days.  You can't help but relax while you're there.  The house is situated in a very quiet part of Ohio without any nearby distractions and the design of the house really promotes that state of relaxation.  The huge floor to ceiling windows running the entire length of the house blur the lines between being inside and outside.

Other than the relaxation, we did spend a fair bit of time photographing the house and property.  Here are a few of my shots.

Project bike completed!

Over the last few days, I have put the finishing touches on the restoration of my old Sears Free Spirit bicycle.  Upon finishing the last bit of assembly (mounting grips, levers, cables, etc) I took the bike out for its inaugural ride.  While I had to make some minor adjustments, the test ride was successful.  Everything works! 

So... how much did this restoration cost in parts and materials?  Well, let's have a look.

Part(s)	Cost
Brake levers, brake cables, shifter cable	$75
Sturmey Archer SU-SLS3N NIMBUS Shift Lever	$34
Schwalbe Delta Cruiser Tires, ball bearings	$58
Pedals	$21
Chain	$18
Misc. Fasteners	$10
Paint and paint supplies	$268
Rust cleaners	$15
Grips	$45
Bell	$3
Total	$547

Ouch! I can safely say that the project ended up costing a lot more than I had anticipated. Having said that, if I were to try to buy a bike similar to this (with parts of similar quality, etc) I'd have to spend well over $700...

So, would I do this again?  I think so.  Chances are, I will be doing this again with Cess' bike.  The only thing I might change is to see whether I can have the frame proffessionaly painted at a reasonable cost ($200-$300 maybe?). While I'm happy with the results I have, I know a proffessional paint job would have a more durable finish.

Now, for pictures!

Graffiti alley:

More graffiti alley:

Distillery District:

Bike's front end including handlebar, grips, tires, etc:

Grip and brake lever closeup:

Bell: