This is my blank canvas.

We all start somewhere. An empty shell. A fully equipped, ready to run 'concept' store ala Trek or Specialized. I've got something in between those two extremes. First off, a little bit about the location. See, I live in Prairie du Chien, WI. A small river town of 6000, nestled on the banks of the Mississippi River and the Wisconsin River. Kind of right in the heart of the Driftless Area, a region of deep coulee's and wind blown ridges. This is not the typical glaciated flat-as-a-pancake midwest. See the last glaciers missed this area. Makes for some wonderful terrain for road riding and mountain biking.
The store front itself is located in the historic downtown, right next to Simply, the local coffee brewer and gastronomic delight creator. Convenient! As you can see from the shot, I already have a customer waiting! Not really but there are a good number of cycle tourists that come through in a year. I hope to capitalize on that! I've got three entrances, one front, one side, and one rear. And a nice large, paved parking lot in the rear. Getting in shouldn't be a problem at all.

Inside is where all the good stuff will be happening, of course. 14' ceilings, with the original tin still up, though it is painted. Bummer, but still at least its not some cheezey dropped ceiling. Hard wood floors throughout, a nice weathered barnwood partition and sub-wall, and a nice pad for making the 'shop' area. Really, I don't have THAT much to do in here to make it presentable. Thankfully!






The spot behind the sub wall there may make a nice 'quite' spot for the kids. Napping may end being an issue though. We'll see how it goes.








This should make nice display wall.


From the back looking to the front. There's a side door just to my right, out of picture. And to answer everones question, yes, the tree is staying. I like it!

Listening to: Arcade Fire. Pure auditory bliss! Be sure to listen to "No cars go" real loud. Sends chills down your spine I tell ya.

On with the pictures.

All right. I promised them. Pictures from the riding last weekend. And it is. Experimenting for now. Maybe not. Here's a link to the album.

Lets try photoing this way:

Jason B riding off into the sun.


Berm shot!


Me'n the dog, out enjoying the day.








I like this shot.


And this one too.

From Minneapplepus...

Listening to: The Current only the best damned public rock station you'll hear!

Welcome one, welcome all!

Welcome to The Prairie Peddler blog. At this time, there is not much to say, but there is this: fall is here, and the riding is GOOD!

I've been up in Minneapolis all weekend. I managed to schedule out some ride time. Got together with Jason from Salsa for a ride at the new Murphy-Hanrehan trails. All I can say is wow. For a trail system on the edge of a large metropolis, you'd never know it. They've got a ten mile loop now, with plans for more evidently. We got in 17 miles total, and managed to get some nice shots. I'll post some up when I get home.

Day two saw me riding solo at Lebanon Hills. Kind of a perennial favorite for Mpls locals. Sees tons of use. Since I was solo, there was no camera along. Its kinda nice to not be bothered with that chain every now and again. T'was another gorgeous morning, and since it was Saturday, the parking lot showed it. The place was packed. People were passing each other all over the place out there.

Later in the day, I squeaked out of the house for another spin on the dirt at Salem. The parking lot was deserted. Save for one lone stoner. He opened his car door as I was rolling away with Chaco, and out came billowing smoke. Rank stuff. Smelled him for the first quarter of the trail. And then he started riding, and I could smell where he had gone. Damned near got a contact high following the dude. No matter. I was out on this ride for simple enjoyment, and to give the poor dog a good run. He certainly hasn't gotten many in since Thing 1 and Thing 2 have been here. Since I was out there for fun, and no else was, I took the camera and experimented a bit. Got more shots that I'll post up soon. In the end, the ride was like the other two spectacular. Perfect weather, perfect trail conditions.

Get out there!

And if you made it this far, Thanks for looking, I'll be getting into the shop soon and starting the make over. The process will be well documented here. I PROMISE!

Listening too: a VERY annoying computer hum. And Airplanes. Lots of them.