The Bare Bones of a Bicycle

9 July 2012
8:08 PM

Sunset at	12:18 AM	in direction	337°	North-northwest
Sunrise at	3:35 AM	in direction	23°	North-northeast

Civil Twilight all day

I know I have been harping on the apparent abundance of creativity in End-of-the-Roaders, like those living in Fairbanks.  I may even sound boastful to some, but those who endure the cold and winter and thrive doing it need some accolades, don't you think?  On the other hand, I guess I could be easily impressed by the ingenuity I see around me.

A skeleton with treadlocks

And maybe I am too readily in awe of the unusual people I meet here.  I could be just bolstering my decision to move up here in the first place by rationalizing about the unique approaches to living, art, and physical challenges I see around me.  There are tough and tenacious people all over the planet, even if they don't race walk 100 miles in under 36 hours despite combined elevations climbs of 12,000 feet.  There are clever artists who produce works of art, music, and theatre - even if they don't actually think to make use of every piece of junk they find to do it.

Bringing the bike in for repair at Beaver Sports

But, I admit it. I find a bike riding a bike especially entertaining. Appreciating the skill in taking busted metal and making it into a rib cage, boney arms and legs, dreadlocks and a skull are moments well spent in my book.  Somehow, I don't imagine this would be as likely to appear at Pike's Fish Market in Seattle or the Downtown Mall in Colorado.  For one thing, it is a whole lot harder to get your hands on quality pieces of junk in those locations.  Here, people openly store it in their yards - so much easier that way.

Skillfully riding atop the concrete barricades