This is gonna hurt

5 months of bullshit weather is really starting to set in, missing that warm blue sky right now.

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"Reality is a crutch for people who can't cope with drugs." ~Lily Tomlin

Meredith Carlson

I went to school with Meredith in Chicago. She has since moved to New York and has been doing some experimental work that she has been posting on her photoblog. I have all of the respect in the world for photographers that are still using film. There's just something that gets lost in the digital translation that you can never get back. Film is like the warm sound of vinyl.... it's something you don't realize is missing until you revisit it.

Meredith Carlson

Frank Rosanova

and friends. Rest in Peace Frank



I was at this little hometown event and got to chat'n it up with a gal that was on the run. We talked about a little bit of this and a little bit of that until all of the sudden she says she's got a rigid stroker shovelhead with a "jockey stick" as she put it. I about choked on my whiskey and asked where it was at and how she acquired it. She starts telling me a little story about an uncle that was into chop'n bikes back in the day. She went on to tell the story of how he lost his life in Sturgis a few years back after being stabbed in the neck. Her story started ringing bells. My friend's Warren, Stacy, Ryan and DL had the same story of a good friend they had to witness pass away the same way in Sturgis at about the same time. She said no it couldn't be the same guy then went on to tell me she has his Shovel. Anyway we got drunk and slept under the stars in a pile of straw next to my bike. It was one to remember. Turns out it was the same guy. It's funny how the world can seem so small at times.

Annie sent me this picture a while back. Thanks Annie

Tiny knuckle

I guess i'm in a bacon kinda mood this week. I was over on the Milwaukee trio's blog and saw the changes Bacon made to the knuckle with a new sissy bar and handy dandy wassell tank. Looks great Baco. Either way..

Shit the bed

I was supposed to have a new "10 Pan Alley"comic strip ready for Halloween. Well I've got a list of excuses as to why I didn't; but the only one I will mention is my computer died and I've been off the grid. It has been kinda nice. I'm not gonna lie.

Gone Mad

My Dad Chuck and uncle Dave


I walked into the shop today to find my dad scratching his head looking at the 3500 pound lathe he just bought. He tried the fork lift only to have the rear end come off the ground. He pondered it over for a while thinking maybe he should just haul it straight to the scrap yard and make a profit from it as scrap. I didn't like that Idea..... that machine is industrial history. While he figured out his situation, I hopped on my bike and returned a few hours later. In that time he had sold the lathe and had a friend give him a 150? Honda. The only problem was it was sitting in the back of my truck. I unloaded that sum bitch right into his office in front of his computer...... hehehe.....



I stopped out at my friend Chris' place to see what was new in his shop. Looks like the trannys are coming out of all the Panhead's. This is his mostly all original 64 flh Panhead.

The Harlow Youth

This is what happens when you leave your dummy unattended in the shop. Knuckleheads.

Hanging with Petey

My winter has officially begun.
Petey and his latest.

Getting into sissy bar mode.
I had to steal the oxygen from the minnows gills this weekend. The Tranny's getting a new mainshaft and some Andrews gears to go with a new cam and pro clutch. As great as the bike ran all summer I can't wait for some performance upgrades. Ended up hanging with Petey all night, playing with his new lathe and helping him twist up a new sissy bar the Chicago way. His genny shovel project is coming along with a mild version of his usual style. Good times.

Chopper Dave's Casting Co.

While we were in California we seemed to run into Chopper Dave everywhere we went. This man has a lot of shit going and it's all on a higher level. Just look at his shop. I wouldn't know where to start. He's a great guy and taught me a thing or two in the photography field as well while we were there. It was good seeing you Dave.

LOUD FAST RULES

say NO to drugs

This is what happens when you smoke to many drugs....... you just might go and do things like this to your bike. George The Painter was rock'n hard in the 80's. He had the whole 9...... mustache, mullet, mag rims and the sweetest Pink Shovelhead you have ever seen!





George and the same shovel many years later at the first Smoke Out West.

I was fresh on the scene and it was my first real traveling gig. I showed up at the hotel and was checking some shit at the computer in the lobby when I heard a raspy voice bitching out the dweeb behind the counter. "What the Fuck do you mean you gave away my room!?!?!" It was George The Painter giving the kid all sorts of hell. I let him finish his rant then said "hey man..... I've got a room with an extra bed if you need to crash" he said "I just like giving these guys hell everytime there's a shift change but I might take you up on that bed" He took the offer then got overly excited when Lord of the Rings came on the Television set and wouldn't sleep until it was over. He kept going on and on about the movie as if he were a little kid. He said if I told anyone about his Lord of the Rings fetish he would have to kill me.

Check out his work and buy it George The Painter

Sunday Joy Riding

Hopefully there are a few more days like this left before winter hits. The bike ran like any neglected Ironhead would run but the sun was warm on the skin so I wasn't complaining. Haley was out from the city so she put her knees in the breeze and we rode all day long.









We stopped out to see what Mike was up too and Chris was out with is forty nine.


Chris can't wait for halloween







Mike's Swine Dog



Mikes three window

Leave or be punished

Everybody's favorite artist Mitch Cotie spends his Saturday nights tending the door at a little neighborhood bar for some extra cash. The usually uneventful establishment provides him with random ego boosts from the lonely female patrons and a good buzz to lay his head down with. However last night a rambunctious young man was spoiling the fun for everybody so Mitchell had to spring into action and kindly ask the man to leave. His gracefullness was met with foolishness and a poor decision of bravery by the young man. Now you must know that MC is only as sane as his artwork so the itchy trigger is a place that none of us have ever dared to go and amidst the challenge of testosterone, MC reached into the mans chest removing his still beating heart and displayed it in front of the mans face followed by the words "leave now or be punished". The young fool and now victim kindly asked for his life back through cowering eyes and a trembling voice which put the werewolf calmly back into his throne at the door with a state of ease and compete cool.

I sleep a mere distance from this superhuman and only feel safe through daily offerings, minimal eye contact and a shy tongue. Mitch, if your reading this dinner will be ready at 6 and I finished all of your laundry as well, should have that sweater mended by morning.

photo: Alex Gvojic

Pete's new toy.

Slippery Pete and Sean came out to the shop today to fetch a Lathe my pops sold to Petey. Pete came armed with a pocket full of cash and a new Drivers Licence in his wallet. By the time it was said and done I think my Dad took all of his cash but let him keep his licence. But he did throw in an ladder with the deal in case Pete needed to get a 300 pounder up to his shack of love in the sky.