PITCH:

Radical Rigs

Real humans, curated bicycles, and iconic vehicles.

The bike rack is the binding mechanism between human, bicycle, and vehicle. I want to shoot a series that honors all three. I’m running with the title “Radical Rigs.” Ideally, this is an ongoing series that gets posted once a month or once a week until we are out of people to post. Every article features one subject and incorporates portraiture, bike photos, and car shots. The written element is an interview with some questions that are more specific to the person in that article. Below is an example of a post with further project ambitions and details described below.

Dillen Maurer, his hand brazed “Fall Risk”, and his 1992 Suzuki “Lil Jim.”

I met Dillen on a foggy morning outside of a Bellingham breakfast staple. I learned of Dillen many years ago when a friend showed me Baphomet Bicycles on this very blog (The Radavist). The imperfect and entirely real nature of his creations stood out in a world of overly engineered and personality absent bicycles. I kept up with what he was doing through various medias, hearing of his accident about a year ago tripped some of my heart strings. An ATV hit him from behind while he was riding. His lower leg and him parted ways that day. I intended to send him a care package from Bellingham, but never did. I still feel bad about it. By the mysteriousness of coincidence, our paths crossed when he moved a mile and a half down the road. I made sure to buy him coffee. He has quickly become my knowledgeable neighbor and favorite riding friend. His Suzuki Jimny captivated my attention the moment I saw it. It’s the perfect Dillen vehicle, and photographing him and his bike along side it has been a long-time goal of mine. So here I present, Dillen, the “Fall Risk”, and “Lil Jim.”

I wanted to use a fun stool for the shoot. Turns out, Dillen just keeps this one in the Jim as the rack is on the second floor.

A hand clutch was necessary as three pedals and one working ankle don’t really cooperate. It is also kind of the reason that the synchro in second is blown; every time I ride with him, I’m impressed he can pull it. There’s a reason he wants to swap a superbike engine into this thing, a lighter clutch is needed. The Paul components lever is the cherry on top.

Washington hasn’t been as rainy as we’ve wanted.

Lil Jim. Dillen’s wife describes it as his toy car.

The off-kilter grill badge speaks volumes.

Dillen’s 1992 Suzuki Jimny has seen some stuff. It’s driven across the country on two cylinders. It’s had it’s turbo light on fire. It’s had to deal with Dillen’s dirt. He told me that his favorite memory with his car was the road trip to get it from Taos to Bellingham. His friend drove (that whole two legs for the clutch thing), while Dillen provided directions. With the sound of the turbo, I image this would have been similar to a World Rally stage. Like rally, everything went wrong on the trip. The exhaust manifold and the turbo blew up. A nice mechanic in Moab welded everything back together, and they continued on their way to the PNW. Moab had a wild fire burning near by, and the entire trip had an apocalyptic aftertaste. Unknown at the time, they did the trip from Moab to Bellingham on only two cylinders. On a separate occasion, an oil line to the turbo broke and caught fire. Suzuki did not mean to put install extinguishers but the fire burnt through a coolant line and doused itself. Dillen told me that he chose this car because of its reliability. I’m not quite sure he and I have the same definition of that word. The real reason that he chose it were the Safari style windows. A Land Rover Defender has always been his dream car, but this is the vehicle that fits the budget of a dirtbag frame maker. I think it fits Dillen perfectly. Maybe not size wise, but the personality is there.

After the accident, Dillen spent a long time in the hospital. He had to wear a bracelet that described him as a “Fall Risk.” It seemed like a fitting name for a full suspension bike, so here it is. The Fall Risk, a 160mm flex-luthor-like gravity wagon. It’s a new bike, and very happily a prototype. Dillen is most proud that he brought it to the MADE bike show in Portland where it received lots of love. Perhaps it’s greatest moment was receiving a disgusted look and a shake of the head from an old cyclist in a terribly toned jersey and toeclip sandals. If I described your Grandpa, I’m not sorry.

The wheelset is covered in blood as it was on the bike involved in the accident that took his leg. It still has blood splatters all over it. It’s fitting that a bike with a pentagram headtube brace has these wheels. “The pentagram is a good one. It let’s people know what’s up.”

Neither one of these rigs is perfect, and that’s what he likes most about them. The imperfection makes them real. I was looking at his DIY half capris when he pointed out the busted tail light. “Right now I’m staring at the cracked taillight and I’m happy that exists. The dings in the front bumper, I’m happy those exist becuase I know when I put them there. My bike isn’t perfect because it’s a prototype. Even when I’m done after five or six iterations, I know they’re still not going to be perfect. They’re handmade steel bikes, I reckon they’re not supposed to be perfect. They’re supposed to make you smile. I like that.”

It’s been almost a year since Dillen lost his leg. It’s tough to ask what the silver lining has been, but it’s also naïve to believe that the entire experience is nothing but the obvious things like pain and difficulty. “I was a professional cyclist for a while. Back in the day [when I wasn’t disabled], there was certainly stoke when people did well, but it was more traditional competitiveness. It feels different in the adaptive scene, it’s more of a community of adaptive athletes stoking each other out. Everyone wants you to succeed no matter what.”

For a year, Dillen lived in the van tattooed on his arm.

The decision to build a complicated high pivot was simple. “I wanted to build a bike that I wanted to ride. If I made a 120mm rear travel sensible king of thing, I’m sure I would have been stoked and would have ridden it of course. But this bike is really something that I want. I wanted a Forbidden Druid or something like that, so I thought I might as well just try and make myself one.”

I think that gets into why we choose interesting cars where the turbo lights on fire and the wheelbase comes close to the bike on top of it. Sure, we could drive sensible things like Subaru Outbacks and Toyota Corollas, but really knowing a vehicle and the oddities that come with it is what makes it fun.

“I reckon they’re not supposed to be perfect. They’re supposed to make you smile. I like that.”

Here are some of the general questions I’ll use to base the writing in the project:

  • What is your favorite memory with your car?

  • What is your favorite memory with your bike?

  • What do you want people to know about each?

  • What is a hidden quirk in each of them?

  • Why did you choose your car and your bike?

  • Where is your favorite place that your bike and car have taken you?

  • What do you want people to know about you?

Specific Questions:

  • What are some of the challenges of sewing bike bags that you think more people should understand?

  • What’s the best part about riding a moto and how does that compare to mtb?

  • It’s been a year since you lost your leg, have there been any silver linings or surprises?

A number of the people I’d love to photograph have small businesses that could use more exposure. Doing a “shop visit” for those people would be cool. Aldr Works is a newer bag maker with work that rivals the best in the industry. Cosmic Dirt focuses on size inclusive apparel. Baphomet Bicycles makes some of the more unique and real bikes in the frame building world. I really want to see all of them succeed. The people I’m eying for the shoot are all in Bellingham, I’d be happy to travel to Seattle, Portland, BC, or anywhere close for this series. Here are the people I’m eyeing:

  • He is rebuilding the hardtail that he lost his leg on and converting it into a Tour Divide rig. I want to feature him, that bike, his Suzuki Jimny, and do a “shop visit” of his garage workshop space.

  • Blake is a trans freerider and foster of community. Her capably modified and lovingly used 80 series LX is iconic and provides great contrast to the super clean and curated Specialized mtbs she rides. She is fully sponosored, but has no bike rack sponsor.

  • Brendan is the owner and sewer behind Aldr Works, a new bag maker who’s design and build quality toes the line with the top makers in the industry. He learned to sew through his work as a Smokejumper repariing parachutes and helicopter rappel equipment. His overland capable 80s Toyota Truck along with his flowing beard make him a charismatic photo subject.

  • It’s always fun to include people who the world may not know. Nathan has no social media, and his knowledge of bikes far predates the internet. He’s a friend of mine and the one I turn to when I need esoteric knowledge about anything on two wheels. His 80s Toyota has a diy camper in the back which he is in the process of restoring, just like the vintage mtbs he is always building.

  • Ashley is the owner of Cosmic Dirt, a size inclusive technical apparel company on the rise. Her personality and vibrant style is always a joy to photograph, her Toyota Tundra is also likely to be pulling the New Zealand style soft serve ice cream stand she just started.

  • Logan is a local filmmaker and lover of all vehicular oddities. He is always working on multiple projects, it might be a box truck camper, a self converted flat bed mini truck, a moto, a bicycle, or the next installment of “Atmospheric River Rats.” He’s got an eccentric style that pops in photos. I’m envisioning a Gary Fisher and a mini-truck filled with 2-stroke motos and junkyard finds.

  • Ash is local bike racer, marketing wizard, and filmmaker. She recently came out and has lovely writing to describe the experience. Her Tesla Model S stands in sharp contrast to the rest of the rigs in here, and could be a fun easter egg. It’s already rocking a 1-Up rack as well.

  • Ok, hi, it’s me. I never know what to write about myself. I’ve got a beautfiul Northern Frameworks Tour Divide style drop bar MTB and a recently imported 90 series Prado.

  • Kim and Andrew operate Cafe Velo, a tiny coffee shop and bike service center at the heart of Bellingham’s alternative bicycle community. Their Honda Element holds a special place in my heart as it was my first car. They each have lovingly built bikes, I’ve seen their Soma, All City, and restored classics to name a few.

Here are some deliverables:

  • Separate photo galleries containing photos of the human subject, their car, and their bike. 

  • The “cover” photo is a portrait of them sitting in an iconic chair of some sort with their car and bike displayed behind them. This “cover” photo will be precisely measured and replicated so that every shoot has the same look and can later be assembled into a cohesive collage. I’m drawing inspo from the Salsa lounge shots from Unbound.

  • A panorama style photograph of human, bike, and vehicle. Think “evolution of man” but more wheels. I thought of this one after the shoot with Dillen, so you’ll have to imagine it.