I've moved to Portland for a sort of frame builder residency or apprenticeship. I've been fortunate enough to land a position in the shared shop of Joseph Ahearne of Ahearne cycles and Mitch Pyror of MAP bicycles. Its a sort of mini dream come true. Although I'm not doing a lot of work with frames right now I'm happy to be building racks again, working on my brazing skills, and generally crafting things with my hands. I feel at home standing beside my new rolling cart bench.
This week Mitch asked me to help him construct a rack for a city bike he'd recently built. I was happy to accept the project. Mitch pretty much gave me authority over the design which was an honor, though I consulted him on my thoughts and ideas along the way. It was a collaboration right up until the end. We even solved some problems together that Mitch himself wasn't excited to solve on his own. The main problem being that the basket was just too big to make sense on the bike. The rack would have had to have been way out over the front wheel in a precarious and ridiculous fashion, or the handle bars would have to be jacked to the sky to clear it. The end result was something we both were proud to send out the door. Though it hasn't actually left the building yet.
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