While getting a coffee at Plank in Cloverdale this morning, I spotted this classic, blue bike parked next to a white picket fence. I couldn’t resist parking myself for the next couple of hours capturing it in my sketchbook.

Just as I finished the painting, I man in a cool black hat claimed his bike. After discussing my sketch, he acknowledged he too was an artist and used to teach Design at the College of Arts and Crafts in Oakland. Turns out he created the cover for Taj Mahal’s Mo’ Roots album back in 1974.

Pick’s has been a local favorite in Cloverdale since it opened in 1923. Serving much of the same menu it did when it opened, bacon double cheese burgers, french fries, grill cheese sandwiches, and milkshakes, a few notable things have changed. Today all the burgers are made with hormone free Niman Ranch meats and veggie and black been burgers have been added to the menu for the health conscious. Although chain restaurants have recently created business competition, it’s great to see that a classic independent eatery with good food and a friendly staff can hold its own in this corporate 21st Century world.