food art: ryan van duzer

Hemingway once called Paris "a moveable feast," and for the past two years, particularly on the Saturday night that tips into the final stage of the Tour, it has been just that. Somehow my luck of the previous six months will turn, events and schedules align, and I end up having dinner with some pretty great people. 

This past July, I met Ryan Van Duzer over charcuterie, seated on chairs spilling out onto a Paris sidewalk. He was covering the Tour for People for Bikes and told me, modestly, that he was a filmmaker. I showed him my food art portraits, which by that point were becoming something I just did between sleeping and not riding. I'd gotten emails from friends about the food art, the likes on Instagram, and the retweets on Twitter, but Ryan was the first person who got visibly excited about it while physically in front of me. I liked him instantly. 

We went our separate ways after that dinner but kept in social-media-touch. I found out later that Ryan isn't just a filmmaker; he has his own TV show on the Travel Channel, has been on National Geographic and the Discovery Channel, and rides his bike everywhere. Like "across the country" everywhere. After four days of Google/Facebook/Instagram-stalking - this is what painting portraits does to you - I like Ryan even more (and not only because he did a 5ive Points interview for NYC Velo, too!). He has a life that is both genuine and adventurous, and while you won't find me trying to survive in the wilderness of Venezula any time soon, I'm inclined to at least aspire towards a life more crazy and happy.

Thanks, Ryan, and here's to some post-ride burritos!

Subject: Ryan van Duzer

Materials used: pureed beans, salsa, guacamole, and tortilla pieces