“When you know, you know.” That was how I felt when I first sat on this 1999 Suzuki SV650S. It certainly wasn’t how I felt when I bought it. Well over a dozen years ago, after seeing the bike listed on EBay, I threw down an offer and waited for the end of the auction,
All that’s missing from the Softball Ireland board is the funny hats. The coronation of the next Softball Ireland President is about to happen, as there is only one person running for “election”. Not much of an election; then again, there hasn’t been one of those for at least a dozen years. The outgoing Softball
It’s now 2025, so let’s take a quick look at what happened to the watch box in 2024. A few slots opened up with the sale of some of my G-SHOCKs, so of course I felt the need to fill those slots! What’s Out: Four nice G-SHOCKs that weren’t getting worn, so off to new
Friendly people and a beautiful atmosphere, without massive crowds, a very nice and laid-back way to spend a weekend.
Without an SKX in the collection, I thought it’d be nice to build one. 42mm case, with a sapphire crystal and display caseback, Seiko NH36 movement with day and date, a nice dial with “Seiko” written on it, and semi-skeletonized hands, in bright orange. Below are the very basic steps to assemble the required parts,
The old Dutch bike, the “gold standard” of practicality and utility. It is unstoppable. Problem is, sometimes it feels a bit unstartable. Load it up and go into a headwind, and you feel like you are climbing Alpe d’Huez. Come to a busy junction and have to stop and restart, and you suddenly realize how
The Constitutional amendment I proposed for the league was defeated. I’m not surprised. The membership refuses to look into the mirror. Proposed Amendment: To be added to “Article VIII: AnnualGeneral Meeting”, “e. Election of officers and members of theExecutive “: For each nominated candidate seeking a position on theSoftball Leinster committee, a “confidence vote” on
Too often, I think anyone who hears the word “homage” unfairly equates that to “cheap knockoff”. To me, nothing could be further from the truth; on the contrary, when I see someone overpaying for a product just for the brand name, I think “sucker”. I’m always reminded of a situation where friends of mine, who
I’m a sucker for a French bike. I like the way they look. The style of mixte frame here is “berceau”, which is “cradle” in French, describing the way the top tube splits into two and descends down from the head tube and swoops directly toward the rear axle. This is unlike many “ladies” bikes
You gotta love an old bike. This can be interpreted any number of ways, such as: they’re great because you can maintain them yourself with rudimentary tools and a basic knowledge of bike mechanics. Spare parts are inexpensive and (usually) readily available at your local bike shop. These bikes last forever and are hard to