So it is Done.

I was in disbelief then when I had a healthy number of supporters and sponsors, the last people I expected to be supporters and sponsors, and I'm still in disbelief now at how my idea has jumped from the page, and into tangible reality.

All the wonderful people who, in some shape or form, have helped turn the bike into what is now, I will never forget them and their unbridled generosity. With them, what was a meaningful project for myself has become an effort of solidarity that I am proud to have been a part of. :)

From a Brainchild to a Labor of Love

Yesterday, just a few minutes before I left for work, I finally got the call I've been getting myself sick over for in the past month or so:

"The paint's ready for the decals."

Bob from Hope Custom Paint phoned me, letting me know that the first wave of the paint's been laid down and dry, so nearly all of the decals can finally be laid over before the clearcoat. Without thinking twice, I made the arrangement to spend the next morning in Bob's shop until all the decals were on the fairings.

I showed up at Bob's shop first thing this morning, and he greeted me with my workstation, complete with any tools I might need to put the decals on. I felt a bit silly walking in there with just a single squigee that Mike Hill (ACE Custom Graphics, the decal maker) gave me with the decals.


Oh, but this vinyl-laying business was no joke. If you've never done it before, you're in for a world of hurt. Sooner than midway through putting the first decal, I really started wishing I took up Mike on his offer to help lay the vinyl. If only he wasn't in Concord and the paint shop in Fremont...Nevertheless, I tackled the first big TAAF decal on one of the mid-panels, and it reeked of my vinyl-laying ignorance; a number of bubbles and a crease here. I felt mad at myself cause I was fucking up the beautiful paint job that Bob was doing.

I kept at it though and finished one side of the bike with the rest of the sponsorship decals, and I was turning them out better and better (relatively speaking). However, I made a fatal mistake on the other big TAAF decal, and basically, I had to ring up Mike and ask if he can churn out a replacement one today. Bob and his crew had to take a couple of hours off anyway to go to a show in Watsonville, so I thought that if Mike could do the replacements during that time, I can fly over to Concord and pick them up. Of course, the mensch that Mike is, he was happy to oblige. For good measure, I asked for another pair so I can re-do the other side I've already laid down. Bob was actually comforting, not having any quip about any "mistakes" I made, assuring me that at the end of it all, I will have an even bigger sense of ownership and pride.





My second favorite decal. :)


And this is my most favorite. Ironically, this was
the one I wanted to lay down perfectly, and didn't. :(
I completely underestimated vinyl-laying, but at least this project has now evolved from being just a brainchild of mine, into a labor of love. As a whole, the fairings are looking more and more like a definite manifestation of what I concocted, and even if anybody will notice the little mistakes I did in laying the vinyls, at least I can say, "Oh, I did that."

I did this. :)