When I was 36 I dedicated myself to getting in shape. I did this first by cycling and then running. If you read this blog you know that I consider myself mainly a runner these days, but I still love cycling. After a full year of cycling, at the age of 37, I decided to get a bike-related tattoo. I wanted a tattoo I wouldn’t regret, that was cool enough (in my estimation) and one that nobody else had.
I felt there were obvious choices, the bike silhouette (with or without a rider), the chain around the arm, ankle or wrist, chain links somewhere and the smudge of grease on the calf.
I then went on a ride with a group in NYC called Transportation Alternatives (TA). TA hosts a New York City Century every year that takes riders through all five boroughs in 100 miles. When I did the ride back in 2007, one of the women I saw had a few chainrings tattooed to her left shoulder. I thought it was super cool and decided that’s what I wanted. So I set out to find one that was original and that I though no one else would have.
I settled on a 1929 Campagnolo 53 Tooth Chainring. I fell in love with the design and had it permanently affixed to my left shoulder. It took about two hours with one fix-up session that lasted 20 minutes
My cousin, a budding photographer at the time, came along and documented most of the process.
