This week I met up with friend and fellow cyclist, L. Penn to shoot some photos.  If you don't know Miss Penn, she is one of the fastest bike-riding women in Minneapolis.  She won the All-City Alleycat Championship this summer, and has seen her fair share of podium visits.

Her latest battle has been with the big "C" -- cancer.  Aside from the missing hair, eyelashes and eyebrows, you'd never know there was anything amiss.  She rode right through the worst of the chemo weeks, commuting to work and even racing cyclocross this past fall. In short, cancer doesn't have a chance when its host is this strong and stubborn. 

The bike in the photos was built by our mutual friend, Mr. Erik Noren of Peacock Groove Custom Cycles (and the star of my recent film "Deep Custom").  It was dubbed the "Anti-Cancer" bike, as it was built for Lee to race this last fall.  It is a steel framed, Singlespeed Cyclocross flyer.  It weighs under 20lbs and is the kind of bike you wish you owned - sharp and sleek.

Any local ladies looking for cycling glory this next season, be forewarned --  Penn's hair won't be the only thing coming back quickly.

**Visit this link to see past images of another friend who showed cancer the door: Andy Thieman.**

A local bicycle shop commissioned me to shoot some promotional shots of people riding in the snow.

This is part of what makes Minneapolis the #1 bike city in the nation. We never stop riding/racing - no matter the weather.

Overnight we got a small dusting of new powder to make everything beautiful for me.

 So, I got paid to ride and run around the woods, chasing guys (and 1 girl) on bikes, taking photos.  This was my kind of job!

This week, the NY Times ran a story on how people are using Skype, Facetime and other video chat methods to connect with people.  These devices/programs are a pretty amazing way of connecting or sharing with those you love without having to buy a plane ticket. 

Of course, nothing replaces the real thing, but seeing expressions and hearing laughter is pretty amazing when you're missing someone.  I got into Skype when I began travelling Internationally.  I'm now thinking that I need to video Skype a lot more - it's so easy and cheap!  Check it out if you haven't and read the article: Video Chat Reshapes Domestic Rituals.

We had a blast making this and could not have done it without our cute, amiable, and tough model - Mrs Megan Ping.  Thanks for all your efforts, Megan.  Brian Klein from Stone Arch Creative handled the editing for us.  Big thanks for his hard work too. 

Does anyone else miss warm weather?!

DEEP CUSTOM, the teaser from RoyalAntler on Vimeo.

All summer long and into winter, Tony Franklin and myself labored on a film project that was born purely from a desire to create something beautiful and meaningful on our friend Erik Noren.  Erik is the owner of Peacock Groove Custom Cycles and regardless of what you may have or will hear, the man is a bicycle building genius.

Watch the teaser, (maybe even come to our film showing on Dec 12th) and then watch the complete film and you will get a glimpse at what I mean.  He's also got a big heart and was amazing to work with.  Tony and I hope that this little film will show the world that Erik, besides being a nut, is wildly talented and special at what he does. 

Peacock Groove Forever!

I had the good fortune of working in Germany last week and took a few days for myself to see the country.  I immediately hopped a train to the gorgeous town of Garmisch.  I had hoped to climb, but weather in the mountains degraded, and the guides all said "no". 

I hiked up a small moutain to shoot these photos and see what I could see.  I was not disappointed.

A link to Michael Tortorello's article:  The Indoor Tree:  A Tall, Green Slip of Summer

Last week the Wall Street Journal assigned me to shoot at a manufacturing plant in Plymouth, MN.  The company, Turck Inc. is trying to throw it's "low wage" employees a bone.  They are experimenting with work-from-home options, as well as, small increment "paid time off" allowances. 

A number of companies are starting to look for ways to keep employees happy and turnover numbers low.  GO read Rachel Emma Silverman's article if you'd like to know more:

"For Hourly Jobs, White-Collar Perks"

And here is an image that I never realized was published: From the WSJ's Photo of the Day page:

This shopper was waiting in the 11 degree cold around 1:00am on Black Friday last year.  I've never wanted to save money so badly that I'd sit in the cold outside a Target store.  Sorry, family members - it's just not worth it for this guy. 

Fast & Light on the Border Route Trail, Minnesota - Brought to you by Timberland™ from Gear Junkie on Vimeo.

The second of three trek films is live on GearJunkie.com today.  This trek was a doozy.  We attempted 65mi of trekking/running on a very vague trail in the northwoods of MN in 24 hours.  We did not make our goal, but we did make a very fast go of it.  As always, it was a true adventure.  Watch the video to see what I mean.

I leave next week for #3 - I'm preparing for the pain even now.