Nathaniel Salzman

Chicago area designer, writer, maker and journalist.

Nathaniel Salzman

May 29, 2009

The Car Conundrum: MINI vs MINI vs ???

One sunny autumn afternoon when I was about 13, my dad and I were out collecting canned goods door to door as part of a Thanksgiving charity drive. We strolled house to house, our paper grocery bags filling with dusty boxes of mac ‘n’ cheese and squatty little neglected cans of tuna. The sun was – Read More –

May 13, 2009

Vespa GT Rear Rack Delete

Even on my commute, I don’t really have need for a topcase or rear trunk. The Vespa GT comes with a rather sturdy rack mount on the rear, which is all good, but I certainly don’t need it. What’s more, that rack mount covers up the glorious sloping rear end on the GT. So I – Read More –

May 9, 2009

Ride Log: Sunset Parkway

May 9, 2009 — On a lazy and otherwise cloudy and cozy Sabbath, The Mrs and I needed to just get the heck out of the house. With a couple of hours daylight left, we shot across the Mendota bridge and up the Mississippi River Parkway. I just love the Grand Rounds.

May 7, 2009

Ride Log: Commute!

May 7, 2009 — Today was the first day this week with a scoot-worthy weather forecast. I’d been relegated to my cage since my first day at the new job on Monday, but used the car commute to scout out the best route for the 17 miles from Eagan to Eden Prairie. Riding my scooter adds – Read More –

May 2, 2009

Ride Log: Pilot Knob

May 2, 2009 — Today’s ride made for a long trip, but a pretty short story. The Mrs and I tooled around Eagan today, essentially riding the length of Pilot Knob Rd. It was a nice, lazy cruise on great road surfaces and just a fun amount of traffic.

May 1, 2009

Ride Log: One wheel in front of the other

May 1, 2009 — My new job (yay!) starts on Monday, so today was my last weekday to just ride for the hell of it. Unfortunately, my desire to do so was somewhat dampened by the ongoing wobble issues I’ve been having with the Vespa. The tire wobble, as unsettling as it can be at time, – Read More –

April 30, 2009

Ride log: New Helmet

April 30, 2009 — Today was a short check ride comparing my old Fulmer Modus flip-up helmet to my new Scorpion EXO-700 solid full-face helmet. My main motivations for replacing the Modus were weight, ventilation, the added safety of a solid chin bar, and especially noise reduction. For any helmet, fit is of course the most – Read More –

April 24, 2009

Ride log: Urban Touring

4/24/2009 — Today was a genuine vacation ride. Since the season opened about a month ago, I’ve ridden out of road hunger, out of compulsion, out of boredom, but now my days of lazy scooting are numbered with the new job starting up. Today the weather was my siren song and I was not alone. Forecast – Read More –

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