camper-bike

 

 

who needs a campervan when you can have a camper-bike?! Brooklyn-based artist kevin cyr created this beauty in 2008 - isn't it fab (as spotted via swiss miss).  i've always hankered after owning a campervan but can't drive (25 years of living in London, a determination to utilise our national & public transportation systems and a general mistrust of our reliance on cars, which naturally disappears when someone offers me a lift anywhere) so this bike hybrid is very appealing to me - tho i'm sure my cycling skills wouldn't be up to negotiating the streets on it.  i also love the paintings Kevin does of bashed up and graffitied old delivery trucks, vans, etc - he sees the beauty in these messed up and sometimes abandoned vehicles - a man after my own heart. 

 

 

 

stuff & mattress nonsense

Jasmine-sprouting-Onbie after a trip to Homebase

smart and buf...just how she likes her men!

 

feelin' blue on Glebe Road, NW10

popped down to Homebase the other day on my beautiful bicycle and managed to fit a jasmine plant in the back panniers - wish i could keep one in there permanently as the sweet smell followed me all the way home - bliss.  spotted a blue mattress en route and later my mate Bart in Brussels sent me a soiled double special...yuk!

juicy - all the way from the streets of Brussels!

and after a busy weekend (drinkathon) with the special Brussel sprouts, Kate & her lovely boys, i am now suffering at work...i think its all gone to my head!

decided it was time to bust out the serious stamp if i was ever to leave work tonight

never mind my worrying habit of getting the coloured "tabs" prepped in a row for tomorrow - will i need them? who knows but i'm ready for anything!

airbag for cyclists

check out this groovy contraption the 'Hovding' from those clever Swedes - its an airbag (inside a collar) for cyclists, which inflates on impact around the skull and neck.  perfect for people (like me) who hate to wear helmets - tho it is quite pricey (around £260) -- i just wonder what people will think when they see one go off...like aliens have landed or something - but if it works, who cares!
i dunno about you but it kind of reminds me of something........

Santos, modelling the first prototype?!!!

pretty pretty wheel guards

surprise, surprise Dutch company Simeli have come up with these pretty rear wheel guards to protect your clothes while cycling (as spotted via Design Sponge).  I already have a guard fitted on my dutch bicycle - but i am still very tempted by these beauties!

in the dock

 

today was the first clear blue sunny day in what seems like weeks so i decided to hop on the bike and head down to Portobello Road.  firstly i nipped into love kr to drop off a couple of my Mattressland Calendars and lovely shop owner Paula has already been bitten by the mattress-spotting bug and recruited another friend - brilliant!  she had a few pics of recent spottings in the area (which i had missed) including one which had not only a bed but a whole bedroom suite...with wardrobe too...ha ha!  then it was down the road to Portobello Dock.

I wanted  to check out the fairly new development down there which includes The Dock Kitchen and Tom Dixon's design shop. Mr Dixon has also acquired the water tower over the bridge which he has clad in wood and is converting into his own private residence - jammy sod - bet the views are fantastic.  The Dock itself all looks and smells very luxurious and i'm keen to test out the restaurant soon.

 

the water tower - new ho\me of Tom Dixon

the shop

 

 shed in a shop

 a shiny Brompton

a curious and beautiful random painting of a nurse 

on the wall of the shop...wonder if she's local

i cycled on toward Portobello Market, which was absolutely rammed as usual on a saturday afternoon so i didn't last long, where i spotted some delicious looking brightly coloured bicycles.

 

 

then it was over to say hello to the lovely boys at halfpipe on Golborne Road - the best bike (and skateboard/snowboard) shop in north/west London - to give them a calendar in thanks for all the free tire-pumping and bike twiddling they have done for me this year.  i think they would have preferred something edible or drinkable - so must bring a beer and chocs with me next time.  then i headed homeward up Chamberlayne Road and popped into Circus Antiques, another of the lovely new shops which have been springing up in Kensal Rise, to buy something for my bro for his birthday - before a last pitstop at 8 station terrace for a coffee and a pastry before finally going home.  i'm sure i can smell snow in the air....and my nostrils were pleasantly surprised when i walked in the door as my flat still smells rather deliciously of ginger ninja-bread men after last night's bake off - way better than expensive candles!

 

 

on the prowl in kensal rise

popped out for a little bike ride today and spotted a couple of foxy foxes...not sure who they are by...hopefully not just some new viral marketing for estate agents Foxtons!  also stopped for a cuppa at Harvist Tearoom and had a chat with the lovely german waitress about our love for our bikes as she was admiring Onbie with all its new bike accessories that i purchased in my favourite dutch winkel HEMA at the weekend in Brussells. and later i spotted this little cutie................woof!

Adeline Adeline

so good they named it twice...Adeline Adeline is another fab bicycle shop (spotted via mishy lane).  based in NYC it is choc full of stylish bikes and accessories.  i am particularly loving the bags and (pet) baskets!

reflector girl

now that the nights are drawing in and its darker earlier...i think i need one of these - at £39.99 its a little pricey...but what price do you put on safety and anyway it looks far more stylish than the usual dayglo vests!

bike shelf

another cool bike holder to add to the list spotted via the cool hunter.  stylish and practical...designed by Chris Bigham of Knife&Saw in San Francisco...see his other design work here

boris's barclays bikes

i guess it was only a matter of time before someone pimped the new rental bikes in London...ha ha!

mmmm...bikes...

more bike loveliness from cool hunter ....bikebyme build bikes designed by you...in amazing candy colours and kibisi have brought out the weird and wonderful puma series....

amish scooter

i LOVE these Amish-made scooter-bike hybrids from the USA...via here....soooo want an orange one!

macguyver mirror

cooool...if a little dangerous!  seen here via here