More Bike Bath Pics...

Bike Bathroom - Completed...

The Bike Bathroom is finished. All our friends seemed to enjoy it, telling us it turned out really awesome. We tend to agree with them. It's a project worth doing, simply because it helps to tell part of the story about us, Jannelle & Jaqueline. On the wall you'll find pictures of Kelley, myself and bikes, in Georgia, NC, out west, etc. Even a picture of us on our tandem, with girls, the day of our marriage (6/3/01). And there are also pictures of them, like Jannelle's BMX pic.

The pictures also show closeups from our Tour de Georgia trips ('04,'05), some of the signed team hats, magazines and race directories we've collected from TDG and the Tour de France ('04 - Stages 9-13, which coincided with the girls ages when they were there). The picture shown above is from a rustic camping/cycling trip we did three years ago at Myakka State Park. This was previous to Kelley's birthday when she received her Specialized FSR with Black Bomber 130 on the front.

Making memories is part of what we expect to see written on our epitaph's. If you take the time to decide what you'd like to do before you die, then there's a much better chance you'll do the things you've always wanted to do. In '06 we're planning to do the Tour de Georgia again, and more local riding and camping. It's our year to plan, be resolute, make ourselves more liquid, and planning and preparation for our future. We both have decided to 'get off meat', changing our diets while improving our lifestyle and exercise regimens. I plan to ride my bike to work at least 40% of the time, maybe more.

We're not certain what we're going to do for next year's Oktoberfest at der Howell's Haus. We may still have sausages and other meats, but there's a good chance we'll be offering samples of meats made from Textured Veggy Proteins, like we just enjoyed at Trang's while listening to Howard Lyman, the Mad Cowboy. It's had an important and lasting impact on us. Life altering. We encourage everyone who reads this to do your research, read about eating, diet & exercise, and improve every bit of it so you can join us on the trails... long past your 70th birthday, and without all the old folk chats about surgeries, disease, and parts that are falling off. C-ya...

A broken bit...

Things came together pretty well after Kelley's office cancelled for Wilma and I took the day off to recover from the shock of a broken bit... drill bit... broken when I sat on it... with my right posterior, and thankfully - not more centrally or so deep that parts of it (the bit or butt), were missing.

When you buy an electric drill with a removable drill chuck, you think you're buying the greatest tool because right under it is a place to hold a driver bit for projects where you're screwing things together. In fact, nobody could have told me anything bad about this design until what happened, happened.

We'd both put in two long days struggling to finish our 'bike bathroom'. We learned Friday night that there were still two layers of wallpaper remaining... watching the primer paint bubble all over the room. The tile bath looked great, but the wallboard looked like it needed replacing.

Saturday, we spent nearly 10 hours steaming wallpaper off the wall in preparation for the texturing finish we added. It was close to midnight on Sunday and we were putting in the lights. I had taken the drill chuck off to screw in the light frame for the lit mirror, sitting it on the Garden Gopher seat. I walked into the living room and grabbed the mirror. I sat down, right on the drill chuck and its rather smallish bit. It snapped off, I snapped to my feet screaming like a girl, dropped the mirror - breaking it, and ran straight for our bedroom to view the damage. I'd gotten lucky sitting down how and where I did.

The last thing I completed Monday night were the three Profile water bottle cages between the Mason Ware speakers that are mounted on our custom speaker mounts (think upside down toe clips with integrated, adjustable spoke supports). The cages hold Stainless Steel cups that house toothbrushes, cotton swabs and cotton balls. The lighting, music and colors look great. And our cogset escutcheon for the toilet is totally eye catching. Now, if we can just get the water tank to seal correctly !

For some reason, the tub has turned into an echo chamber. It has something to do with the size, tile, location, etc. You can stand outside the tub, step into it, and feel a completely different experience to your hearing between six inches. It's like a sound chamber, and it rings nicely. I'm actually looking forward to being the first person to shower in it tonight. I think I'll put on some Al Dimeola and turn up the subwoofer slightly. Can't wait for everyone to see it Saturday. It looks totally kewl !

Bike Bathroom Update...

Well things are coming along nicely. Our tile guy Vince has finished with the grout today. The slate tile we purchased at Lowes is really interesting and dark. Yeah, there were a couple of things he could have done better, but overall it looks very good, it's really earthy, natural and warm, and we're quite pleased. Probably because he's experienced, said it was tough, and we're not and gave thought to doing it ourselves (thank God we didn't).

In the interim, Kelley and I prepped and painted the ceiling (which was marred by the tile install - ugh). A little touch-up and that's done. We have a few gaps to fill around the tile and then it's time to prime and add the texture to the walls. Kelley's having second thoughts about the paint colors we selected, but I'm not. I think it's masculine with the dark tiles, counter and stainless. Having pastel green and blue walls will give it balance, and tie it in to the glass tiles we used in the alcoves. They turned out sweet and the lighting within the three wall units really sets them off.

The stereo layout and speaker mounts are 95% done. We received our stainless cups yesterday, which will sit in the Profile bottle cages to hold cotton balls, Q-tips, toothbrushes and hairties. This is a spiffy touch that adds to the bike theme we're doing. We also got the Gary Fisher Mtn Bike jersey mounted in its shadow box. We still have to mount my Team Everything But Water, signed Greg LeMond jersey. And we've got the pictures ready for framing in our multi-tiered stainless frames. All in all, it's going to be an exciting addition to our home, and hopefully a notable improvement that adds to its interior appeal.

We're still waiting on a couple of things. We haven't picked out a shower curtain or rod yet. We are putting some 'Resource Revival' hub bodies at the ends of the rod to add another bike flair. We also found the pictured 'Mikro Man' that's cut out of a single piece of aluminum, creating a really kewl 3D, detailed person on a bike. We think it's much better than the neon bike light that didn't play out.

This weekend is crunch time, Hurricane Wilma or not. Everything has to be finished and sewn together to give it the final go for our party the following weekend. As of today, it appears that with neighbors, friends and co-workers... we're going to have as many as 35 people visiting. It's going to be a great Howell Haus Howell-o-Ween party this year. Can't wait to see everyone.

Bike Bathroom Update...

The alcove boxes are together and tiled now, which is an interesting and promising component of the bath. It will enable us to display some of our favorite bike'abilia in lit areas. We placed the shower lighting, alcoves and fan on the same wall switch to ensure bath users of scenic ventilation. It's also a nice way to promote the fan running when showering and other.

We purchased our own shadow box for the mounting of our Gary Fisher Subaru jersey with Mary Grigson's autograph. This was something I bought for Kelley as a present after her mother passed away from Breast Cancer. It was a fundraiser for an up and coming cyclist who turned pro and became ill with cancer just when she tried to make the jump from job to pro. She didn't Cobra her insurance and didn't have coverage. Gary Fisher signed it too.

Our tile guy Vince made it over on Saturday to complete his estimate and schedule the date to begin laying up our mosaic of slate. The colors of this stuff are really something, and it's a nice compliment to the counter we're putting on the new vanity. We've got a plan to pull it all together and it looks like the next two weeks are going to be deadline or die. At the same time, we're trying to update the front of the house for appearances and get the back yard prepared for our guests, including another coat of stain on the Egg Bench (pic). The theme for this year's Oktoberfest is Howell-o-ween Haus, rather than the previous years where it was simply Howell Haus. Everyone is encouraged to dress in costume, especially the kids.

The bummer about this year's party is that it falls on the same date as my daughter Jannelle's Homecoming dance, and the Planter's Ball at Sweetwater Organic Farm. Jannelle is pretty excited about her first homecoming dance as a 'high schooler'. Sweetwater is the Community Supported Agriculture farm that we and our friend Rob Ferguson both support. They have this annually to raise money and awareness for the next year's crop of organically grown veggies. Last year we enjoyed a lot of yummy goodness related to our experiences there. Oh, bike bathroom... it's coming. You'll see pics, in process and finished, soon... promise.

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.