Two Wheel Blogs

I am sure you have noticed the tattoo trend in the last decade or so. It used to be rare to see a tattoo and mostly tattoos were a symbol of some right of passage. They were earned by the few that endured something remarkable. The first tattoo I ever saw was one on the forearm of a Navy guy that had completed a deployment in which he sailed across the international date line.

These days anyone with an idea and some money can get a tattoo. The only suffering that a person must endure is the pain of the needle as the ink is shoved into their skin. I like a good piece of art as much as the next guy probably, but the ones with significance are the most impressive to me.

Tattoos are so prevalent these days that there are websites dedicated to archiving galleries of tattoos by genre. This guy hosts a gallery of cycling related tattoos. He has not posted mine yet...it is different from most of the ones in that collection, somehow I doubt it will get added though.

I got this on my right hip and I titled the piece "Southridge Road". It is a truly unique piece in that no state of the art inks or special needles were used in the application/rendering. This is one of those really special "old skool" tattoos that was earned and applied the hard way. If you have been a cyclist for very long, you probably have something similar. Send me a photo if you like, I will post it up. I got this one about 7 months ago...you may recall?

This piece is about he size of a silver dollar. The inks used are a delicate combination of lycra and road debris. I wear it proudly (it looks much better in person). Like typical tattoos it cost a lot, but I doubt that I will ever regret getting it or the wisdom that came with it.