Bike Bathroom Update...

The Bike Bathroom is coming along slowly. Kelley's been under some pretty big deadlines and I've been getting drained by my overheated bike rides back and forth to work. However, we're making some progress, where last weekend we completed the wiring for the new lighted alcoves and the shower lights. We also managed to get our new insulation in the walls, readying it for the cement board that's going up (hopefully) this weekend.

Disappointingly, the neon bike light we bought on eBay got broken during pack-for-ship. Nicely, the seller contacted us enabling a refund, but it's unfortunate because it was really cool. We're having some success in finding cyclingbilia for the bath, but could use a few more things. The accessories that Resource Revival has are some of the most interesting (and expensive). We've also been able to find a number of cool stainless steel items to complement the stainless theme of the bath fixtures. It's going to look great.

I still haven't managed to take the time to post any before and during pictures. Perhaps this weekend the time will magically appear. If we do, it's going to be quite the tranformation, for sure. Stay in touch and watch for updates... thanks for reading.

The Bike Bathroom

Our tile guy, expected after Kelley's sister said we had one, has differed our expectations following his opportunity exodus that's taken him to Mississippi. They need his skills more, we're certain. As it stands 'we', the Howell's, will be undertaking our first foray into tiling... and better still, we're doing it vertical first try - and with slate. Such adventure !

We've also fallen prone to the influences of an ever, over-consuming America and decided to add a neon bicycle sculpture and built-in sound system including hidden subwoofer. It's only 50W per channel, but for taking a shower and applying toothpaste, it ought to be enough. Thankfully, we weren't influenced enough to include the new two-way vanity mirror that has the 17" Sharp Flat panel screen that is hidden behind the mirror when it's not operating (saving those for our dream home).

We're going to have four alcoves, and maybe five, that serve to display bike figurines and artifacts. The Gary Fisher jersey's going to the left of the vanity. The area behind the toilet will be framed pictures of riding, us and from races we've observed. Somewhere yet determined will be the poster with Lance, Sheryl and Bob Rolls' signatures. And then there's the May 1992 Mountain Biking magazine with my picture in it, hanging it high on Hunter Mountain where I biffed upon reaching terra firma. This bathroom is going to be my new clubhouse. Got Velo News and movement... see you later (bottle opener and small cooler anyone ???). Can't wait to post the before and after photos. Shouldn't be long now. It all has to be done before our annual Oktoberfest party on October 29th. That's just six weekends from this one.

Thurston & Lovey Howell

Thurston and Lovey, better known as JD and Kelley Howell - the Howell's of Palm Harbor... have been up to much lately, including home improvements and BMX racing (both vertical and inverted). Hang on, we'll bring you up to date with things...

Our summer trip with the girls was spent jointly with the Moon Boys of Athens, GA fame. We went 'bug fishing' in the Keys at the end of July. It was very hot, balmy, and buggy at Big Pine Fishing Resort... but, we had a great time nonetheless. My daughter's are 14 and 10 now. They're in 9th and 5th grades, respectively. Jannelle (14 ) attends Countryside High School, which Kelley once attended... and Jaqueline (10) is presently at Safety Harbor Elementary. The big surprise at Big Key was when both the girls jumped from the old bridge... 25+ feet to the water !!! We did some great snorkeling too, including the time we spent on Mike Moon's boat out at Looe Key.

Over the summer, Jannelle developed an interest in BMX racing. To prove her interest she was required to ride her friend Garrett's heavy junker for six practice/races. She proved herself worthy, so received a new 20" Redline Proline Pro. It's white with dark blue graphics... an '05 model. At the same time, Kelley and I invested in a couple Redline's of our own. Kelley rides the same bike as Jannelle, but in a cruiser 24" with inverted colors. Mine is a last year's I picked up on consignment from Bike Barn. It's a 24" Flightline Pro... white with red and black decals. We have had a lot of fun practicing and racing, but that all changed on 9/6/05 when Jannelle lost control and dislocated her elbow. She's recovering and claims she'll do it some more. We're ever hopeful because it's a good workout and it's good family fun too.

Kelley and I are currently in the midst of a bathroom makeover. We like to name things, so we're calling it the Bike Bathroom. It's getting new slate to replace the tile in the shower. It's also getting a new vanity and counter, a low-flow toilet, a round stainless sink, and matching Price Pfister Contempra fixtures for the sink and bath/shower. We rid ourselves of the unwanted shower door and we're going to a more natural cotton curtain, which we'll populate with iron on pictures from favorite bicycling adventures and races. Kelley and I have been to the Tour de Georgia twice now (going again next year) and we've also got some nice pictures from the '04 Tour de France - Stages 9-13.

We're also building a couple alcoves to hold die cast bike models. One we're considering is the colorful Pinarello time trial bike that Miguel Indurain rode in his last two years of competition. Additionally, we're using Profile bottle cages to hold stainless cups for tooth brushes, Q-tips, cotton balls, and freeze dried water. It's going to be quite an adventure going in there. We're adding accent lights, possibly a sound system, and a framed, signed Subaru/Gary Fisher team jersey - signed by Mary Grigson (pro womens cyclist) and Gary Fisher himself. If we had room, I'd put up all our signature stuff, including the '04 TDF poster Kelley made with Sheryl Crow, Bob Roll and Lance Armstrong's signatures... and my Everything But Water team jersey, signed by Greg LeMond himself. If I had my choice of signatures, it would probably be a signed team jersey from Tinker Juarez. He's my age, and something of an aging offroad god... like Kaise (or so I'm told).

Well, we'll post some pics of the BMX racing and hopefully the before and after's of the Bike Bathroom. Next stop is our annual Oktoberfest at Howell's Haus. Oh, and hopefully we can post a pic of our new custom mailbox, complete with copper solar lantern. It's a sweetie, made by my sweetie and me. That's all for now ! - JD