Pin-Up Art

Now that I've got your attention, here's a project that can make use of all those ride and event pins that you've been collecting over the years.  

First you'll need to pick up a map of the country or continent that you do most of your riding in.  I live in the United States, so I picked up a map from National Geographic.  Make sure you pick one that has all the major roads and highways.  

Next step is to get it dry mounted.  I chose to go with a piece of 1/4" thick GatorBoard, which is a rigid foam core board.  Not all frame shops carry it, but it is worth calling a couple shops to find one that does because GatorBoard is less likely to bend or warp over time.

Now you need to assemble all your pins, a couple Sharpie markers, graph paper, craft glue and some stick pins.

Using the Sharpie's, trace out all your ride routes on the map.  You can use stick pins to denote places of interest or stop and starting points.  Then arrange all your pins.  I laid a piece of graph paper on top of the map and lined it up with the nearest edge.  This gives you a grid to keep your pins square and evenly spaced.  Once the holes are marked for the pins, remove the graph paper and use a dab of craft glue to hold each pin in place.  

After the glue is dried, you can hang it as is or have it framed.  I had mine framed and hung it on the wall in my shop.