Postmaster

I woke up at 8:10 a.m., about 2 hours earlier than normal for this semi-self-employed arts handyperson, after having raced a semi-brutal alleycat on a studded-tire mountain bike the night before. But I had a mission: breakfast.
M.A. and I hustled out of the house and made it to the Seward before it was even busy—a nice start to a beautiful Saturday. I miss the Seward (I worked there for a while) but the food was disappointing and for the money, I could have fed 8 people. I mean, you don’t serve a broken over-easy egg!

But I digress; I had another mission: get out to Medicine Lake for the opening day of the Art Shanty Projects. I had three goals for the day: check out Joe and Alicia’s I.D.E.A. Shanty, win the Bicicle Race, and take some pretty pictures.
As I rolled up to the post office, I was catching up with Chef and K.O. We hopped the curb and there was Lando, ready to ride! We talked route for a minute, agreed on Glenwood, and hit the streets. The old Bridgestone with studs was a blast on the melty-bumpy-rutty-snowbanky roads of western Minneapolis, Golden Valley and Plymouth. Chef guided us through the last mile, and we rolled onto the ice and over to the I.D.E.A. Shanty.

I had to cool down after the brisk 10-miler, so I dropped a layer and grabbed my camera. We immediately ran into Evan, who had organized the Chilly Willy race the night before, and discussed corn whiskey and racing on ice.

Clifford at I.D.E.A. Shanty

Outside I.D.E.A. Shanty is a wind turbine on a 12-foot, guy-stayed mast. http://www.flickr.com/photos/bjorn1101/4291862339/
Inside a charge converter trickles a deep-cycle marine battery while unusual sounds emanate from the circuit-bending experiments.

Circuit Bending

Joe and Alicia explained to a number of people how the charging system works, as well as the principles behind cutting open keyboards and moving the wires around to make new sounds.

We strolled around checking out the shanties for a bit. I drew a really terrible postcard at the Art Post, where later a special event would occur involving the Minneapolis Postmaster Cynthia Larson in a McGruff costume and her P.R. man in a 7-foot high Eagle outfit hand-cancelling said postcards.

Dance Shanty

We stepped into Dance Shanty for a bit, and let me tell you, it was a party already at 11:30 a.m. As the noon-hour approached, I went over to the HQ and signed in for the race, warmed up, and watched our civil servants prepare for their event.
After walking to the starting line, we waited for the other racers to assemble, and were pleased to meet some new folks while we waited for last years’ Bicicle Race champion Jason to prep his bike. After a few minutes, the racers were off.

I pulled out to a quick lead, but Lando grabbed me on the first straightaway. As we turned into the first corner, he slid out a bit on a tight spot and I got a big lead that I held until we finished the first lap. By the time we hit the second straight I knew I couldn’t catch him. Just like the old days, Lando 1st, Bjorn 2nd! This just means I have to go back and race again—each day’s race winner qualifies for the championship on closing day. I hope to be there!

After the race we talked studs and ice with Shanty race organizer Gabe and Jason. I got a cup of coffee and strolled around to a few more shanties. After a few more ice houses, I realized I was pretty wiped out and that maybe I’d head back. The rest of the crew agreed, so we saddled up and took Chef’s spur back to Minneapolis. While taking the back route home, I thought about my goals, and realized that two out of three isn’t too bad. I’ll get my vengeance on Lando another day.
I wrote this a while after attending the event, but you still have a couple of weeks to get out to the Art Shanty Projects, open on the ice at Medicine Lake Saturdays and Sundays from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. through February 7, 2010. Check out their calendar for details.