there’s no better time than to visit portland, OR than in early january- no matter what the precipitation, the temperature is guaranteed to be 20 degrees warmer than anywhere in the greater boston metro area. but it’s not just a wintertime gettaway that brings me to bridgetown- it’s my friend jordan hufnagel! jordan and i go way back- we both graduated in the same u.b.i. framebuilding class back in the late aughts.

shop visit! i saw this space years ago when jordan just moved in, and it’s evolved a ton since. this tool board alone involves more forms of organization than i have utilized in my entire lifetime.

english wheels?!? name one other framebuilder who has an english wheel in their shop. truly remarkable.

here’s a trend i’ve been noticing recently. framebuilders moving on to motorcycles. i’ve seen the motorcycle bug sink it’s teeth into my own ian sutton, but there is a rich history of bicycle to motorcycle metamorphosisses.

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history is full of this sort of thing. take glenn curtiss. before he single handedly won WWI, he was a bike messenger and racer. back then, track-stands could only be accomplished with the aid of a dedicated helper, who would follow you around throughout your day. look how far we’ve come! but anyway, when the motorcycle bug got him, he didn’t know what to do, since motorcycles weren’t invented yet. so he built his own engine and set the land speed record of 137mph. in 1909!!! this guy was so intense. he also had a pretty impressive mustache, but that wasn’t until the twenties.

the good stuff. technically all of the motorcycles aren’t jordan’s, but rather a shop-mate of his. in the interest of storytelling though, i am taking some liberties.

right, there were bicycles in the shop as well. this one is well on it’s way to being a pretty awesome ‘portland bike.’ you know- fenders, dyno hub, bell, comfortable tires/geometry, made of steel, fully sustainable, et cetera.

the fillets were perfect.

jordan’s ambition is grand.

love a decal’d bridgeport.

as if there was any doubt- this is a man’s shop.

thanks again to jordan for showing us around his shop and the city of roses. there are approximately four vegan bakeries per block in portland, and jordan took us to each and every one. amazing.