Home > Photography > Adam Hodges Gallery
Vélo
Series: Col de la Forclaz
By Adam Hodges
 |
 |
The bicycle.
I arrived at the top of the Col de la Forclaz on a rented mountain bike and was greeted by a postcard view of Lake Annecy. In front of my viewing spot and next to the parapente take-off platform, I discovered this old, rusted bicycle that had seemingly occupied the same place for decades. The bike melded into the landscape as if it were a natural part of it, and prompted thoughts of what an ascent of the col would have been like on such a specimen some years ago.
Hanging on the wall of Peter and Tracy's house in Boulder is a large, framed photo of a bicycle taken by Sarah during a trip to Italy some years ago. Blown up and framed, it made a nice wedding present and an artistic addition to the Hyland's home.
There is something both rustic and imaginative, both banal and creative about an old bike stripped of sponsor logos and flashy components in the European landscape. It's as if the countryside gave birth to the bicycle itself. Or perhaps the bicycle made the countryside. The two entwine with each other in the imagination and history of the land that gave birth to competitive cycling.
With thoughts of Sarah's photo in my mind, the discovery of the Col de la Forclaz bike marked the beginning of my own Velo Series of photos. The goal was straightforward: to document the beauty of the bicycle in all its plain glory.