Bike Porn

During my extended stay in Roanoke, I have been surprised constantly, daily, by what gems are revealed beneath the surface with minimal digging.  


I first heard about Aaron Dykstra early last week. Fleda casually mentioned that she had been to the North American Handmade Bike Show in Richmond, VA and that the winner of best new frame builder award lived in Roanoke.  Based on the strange look Fleda was giving me, I realized that my jaw had dropped to the floor, or perhaps I was drooling. Incidentally, I have a dream of building my own bike frame one day.  It would be a hobby, a casual pursuit, but when I picture the process, it all seems unapproachable.  So, to hear about a man, living in town, only a few miles from where I was standing who not only has built his own frame, but was so skilled as to be acknowledged as one of the best in the field made my brain melt a little.


Oh! But Fleda was quick to add that she didn't actually know the guy or know where his workshop was, but she'd heard his name and knew some folks that knew him.  So I started asking around...


A few days went by, Geoff came to town and the three of us went to pay a visit to some of Fleda's good friends.  The topic of cycling is thick as the pollen in the air here. Geoff will surely attest to the ceaseless discussions involving one of several topics:

1. my first real bike
2. my favorite bike
3. frame material pros and cons
4. mountain vs. road riding
5. look how fast I am and/or how far I can ride
6. guess what I hit or hit me and I still lived

And that is just the stuff I bring up...  Mark, our host, hearing me talk about my passionate devotion to my aged, heavy, steel bike came to learn that the brand is Miyata and quickly disappeared behind a door.  When he returned he had with him a modest looking frame, unpainted with deflated tires. At first glance, it didn't seem worthy of much consideration. Then I saw the bike company name, Miyata, printed along the bike's down tube.  Let me stop myself here.  I have taken some creative license with recounting the above details, but I must admit that after years of checking out bikes streaking by and parked on the street, I tend to see a bike brand name before my mind can even process what I am looking at.  In any case, Mark saw the recognition in my eyes and explained that the unpainted frame was constructed from titanium and its stark, unpainted finish suddenly struck me as refined simplicity. 

After a moment of marveling at Miya's (yes, I named my bike) kin, our conversation moved on to one of the topics above, and the details are lost to me now.  Time passed and a few more glasses of wine were consumed before I broached the topic that had been in the back of my mind: the frame builder.  Looking back, I shouldn't feel so surprised that Mark happened to know Aaron.  After all, I must have mentioned my interest in meeting the guy to every person I met for nearly a week, so it was only a matter of time before someone I talked to would know him. This is Roanoke, not Manhattan.

I was nervous that Aaron, who I had built up in my mind to mythological proportions, would be far too busy to entertain the notion of inviting a simple peon like me into his work space.  After all, a genius of his caliber couldn't be bothered with such trifles.  I got his call the next day telling me he got my voicemail and text and that he'd be glad to show me his shop and I should just come on by.  So much for inaccessible. 

Entering Aaron's work shop was tantamount to Charlie's first glance inside the chocolate factory.  I wouldn't have been more awestruck if all the local fauna started singing Disney tunes.  Aaron helped me gain a little bit of perspective when, having told him that his shop was my dream, he explained that it was the indeed the realization of his own dreams.  In fact, he had just begun to settle into the space.  He mimed the dimensions of his previous shop where the award-winning bike was produced, indicating an area that felt cramped just to envision.  He smiles as he laughs at the notion, and you get the sense of his looking back at these days in the recent past in disbelief and relief.  You know you've heard this story before, it is in essence the fabric of what we hold dear in the US: building up a dream through skilled craft and determination. Aaron is just starting out his career and I don't want to hype his accomplishments, but I respect where he has come so far. Ultimately, I was left the shop with a mixed appreciation for Aaron's story and the beauty of his work.