Little Mike's Mean Bike

So I'm being extremely cheeky to nick-name Mike.  Mike Milligan is a former professional boxer who owns a successful welding shop and is built like an anvil.  I met him through Tim desClouds as he was the guy who put together Tim's wonderful Bank Street suite of sculptures.

On to the bike.  It started out in 2001 as a Triumph. Mike put some serious miles on it and then he started to tinker.  The seat, the headlamp, the battery holder, the fenders, the foot pegs, the little boxing glove as the fuel petcock,.....you get the idea.   It's a study in black and really challenging to draw, much less paint.  I don't have a motorcycle, in fact I don't even look like a guy who could ride one, but this beast is way cool.  My butt was sore after pedaling my wimpy little bicycle for a couple of hours last weekend, so I can't imagine hitting a pothole at 120km/hr on the steel seat of this bad boy.  But then again, I never entered the ring to make a living.

footnote: Steve McQueen's bike in The Great Escape - Triumph,  Marlon Brando in The Wild One - Triumph, Bob Dylan - Triumph