Rat Rod Style Bike by Chris

This is my son, Chris sitting on the custom "rat rod" style bike he made from parts and pieces of four different bicycles. Chris took the bikes, cut them into various pieces and welded them together after bending, shaping and configuring to the finished form you see. To see more examples of these bikes visit http://www.ratrodbikes.com/.

I was in my office early in the morning processing the loads of paperwork involved in operating a retail shoppe. Not my favorite part of the business, when I heard the sound of a horn happily honking away. It sounded like the horns clowns use at the circus and at parades.

I step outside the door to see where it is coming from and my son zips past on his bicycle laughing and honking the horn. It was really funny and a welcome break from the paper pushing I had been doing.

This is a photo of the finished bike after painting and detailing.

It's all about the details. Where did he find all of these great accessories?

White wall tires - a common element in "rat rod" style bikes.

Gold chain links another common detail.

Horn mounted under the seat - just for fun!

I love the idea of recycling and repurposing abandoned and discarded stuff. How many bikes do you have in your garage? We had six bikes stored under our screened porch in a storage area we use for Summer furniture. When Chris asked if he could have them I asked how quick he could pick them up!

One of the bikes was from the 70's, the others were bikes the kids had outgrown over the years. Out of sight, out of mind is the only reason I can imagine we still had them lying around.

Now combined, they make a really sweet bike. Chis is already taking orders from his friends.

Chris gave this bike to one of his friends that is currently battling cancer. He has been this way since he was a little boy. While visiting the Smithsonian when he was seven years old, I noticed that he wasn't by my side, I turned to find him and he was behind me talking to a homeless man lying on the sidewalk. I quickly went to gather him up and heard Chris telling the homeless man that he was really sorry that he didn't have more to give him. He was emptying his pockets of all the money he had brought with him - about seven dollars. The homeless man was really touched by Chris' generosity and thanked him for his kindness.

I was going to scold Chris for not staying by my side in a large city full of strangers. But, all I could do was hug him and tell him how proud I was of his kindness. It's one of the blessings of being a "Mom".