Still in Colorado

I am coming home tonight. I have been gone from Colorado for close to five years now and I have been gone long enough for things to have changed so much that it felt wierd to be in my old hood in Denver, but then I did some of the things I used to do, like coffee at Pablo's and riding laps in Wash Park with Brendan and it felt like home again.

High Altitude Training

While in Denver I was able to hook up with Other Kyle (remember him?) and use his bike, so I could keep up on my riding while I'm in Colorado. Riding at altitude means I am going to come home to Portland and crush the earth beneath me.... or it means I am going to be sleepybear.

the big 'rado

I am off to Colorado where the men are men and the women wish they weren't. I kid. I will have plenty of time to write to you. I am going to try to ride as much bike as I can, but there is family involved and you know how that can go. Anyhoo... I will miss you. Please try to refrain from going to my house and trying on my underwear while I am gone... I know it's tempting, but I think Landon has dibs. Kisses.

Our Time at Ampersand

Dan Gluibizzi
Our Time

May 25 to June 26, 2011

Preview reception with the artist this Wednesday, May 25 from 6 to 10PM
Drinks courtesy of Ninkasi Brewing Co.


(also open late on Last Thursday)

Painter Dan Gluibizzi recently moved to Portland from Brooklyn, NY & Ampersand is very excited to present his first solo exhibition here in town.
Titled Our Time, the show features a large selection of Gluibizzi’s more recent watercolor paintings, all derived from anonymous digital photos
people post on the web. At surface his work is bright & whimsical, but at root it makes one think twice about the rampant exhibitionism we see
proliferating on the web. In this, it fits so well with many of our preoccupations here at Ampersand: the interplay between found materials &
voyeurism; the invasive nature of photography & the viral way that images spread on the internet; & the symbiotic link between pedestrian visual
culture & fine art.

More preview images here

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Hope to see you!

Ampersand Gallery & Fine Books
2916 NE Alberta Street, Portland, OR
www.ampersandvintage.com

503.805.5458

Circulus in Urban Velo

We got the new Urban Velo in the shop yesterday and it's feature article was on our friends at PDW's Circulus. I got a text last week from Dan asking me if I had read it yet and if I saw that he spelled my name right this time. Indeed, he did. The reason he pointed it out to me is because he wrote an article for them in issue #22 about the Backyard Blam's Holeshot event I threw at PDW and in the article I was Amanda Sundover. For some reason when people mess up my last name they always default to Sundover. For those of you who want to write about me or write love letters to me it's:

Amanda Sundvor
C/O 21st Ave Bicycles
916 NW 21st Ave
Portland, OR 97209

Bike in my stand... kind of:Cruz

This one was a sweet treat. The Cruz is a front wheel drive carbon recumbent with full Ultegra. I had to do most of the work on the floor before it was enough put together so I could find a place to clamp it in my stand. It was weird to work on and even more weird to ride.... So I asked Kyle to test it. What did Kyle think? "Totally sketchy, bro."

sweet shirt

Feck Yeah Jam

SRAM 2x10

Kyle let me out of work early on Friday so I could ride some trails with the boys from Cyclone, Matt, Nick, and the power house Jeremy. SRAM provided the bikes equipt with their 2X10... pretty much... badass. After the ride I got a SRAM road jersey. Now, I can rep my boys proper. It was a lot of fun and I sure needed some of that.

For Stacy

I played this song when someone I loved (Rue) died. I am playing it again for Stacy.

RIP Stacy

Tonight we lost a friend. The Blam will have a few days of silence in memory of our friend, Stacy Schrag.

For my lady Jam

Bandstuff

Becca and I went out the other night and had our picture taken. Now I am tempted for us two to start a band based solely on this picture. I will be taking suggestions for band names. Go.

When shredding the gnar goes wrong

Sunday Jam

Greg J's House Warming

After work on Friday, we (KV, Pete, and Steve) headed over to Greg's house in NoPo for his house warming. On the way we helped repair the chain of a nice lady named Patty and stoked her out of her mind. I showed up to the party feeling pretty rad. Then it was my turn to get stoked out. Someone just so happened to have veggie bratwurst so I could eat with everyone else AND Greg awarded me a trophy for being awesome. I gave a short speech and then got back to partying. More of our friends filtered in throughout the night. I left right after the pinata was beaten to a pulp. Super fun times.



KV coolin


Cheever


Pete


Tony and Ira.

Crank

I have a couple favorite bike shops in Portland that isn't the one I work at and love with all my heart, 21st Ave Bicycles. The first one is Revolver Bikes in North Portland. I prefer the smaller shops and the kind of attention you get when you are in them. It's much more intimate. My new favorite shop, Crank, is in my neighborhood on my ride to work and is run by Justin Tutor and Chris Harbert. They are a couple of really nice guys and are fighting the good fight. Pete and I went in after hours the other day to hang out and have a look around.

The boys of Crank.

Hump Your Lover Jam

I know I say this a lot, but "oooooooo baby, this is the jam!"

Customer Solutions vol. 7: The Golden Girls Baby Seat

The only reason I reference the Golden Girls is because it kind of looks like wicker furniture and we all know how much Blanche and the girls loved wicker. Another thing I thought about was the age of this seat. Is it something that some dude made in his shop in his garage or is it something that has been in his family since the early 1900's? How big is this kid in the back? That rack is rated for 25-35lbs. That chair alone is probably 5lbs. Poor kid.... doesn't stand a chance.

In My Stand: Eddy Merckx

Today, Dave Roth dropped off this gem for a little "pick me up". I am just taking a shot in the dark and guessing this bike is from the 90's because of the tribal esque design that is plastered all over the frame/fork. Just a guess....






James Wilson is stoked as always.