What a great freakin' ride! Okay....maybe is was a little windy comin' back..........since you couldn't hold much more that 16-17 mph and there was no conversation 'cuz you wouldn' be able to hear anything anyone said anyway...........but still, we had a great ride! There were only 13 riders and that was a bit of a let-down...... not sure if it was the unseasonably brisk temps, the howlin' wind, the fact that a buncha folks dont' get the point of ridin' on dirt roads w/ skinny tires or what, but those that showed had a blast. Bike-wise steel once again ruled the day! Oh sure.........the Doez's were on ti, there were a couple of aluminum frames (one 'cross, one mountain), and D.D. from my JDRF team was on one of them new-fangled carbon bikes.......but there was a lotta steel! We had one tandem, one fixxie, one single-speed, one ATB, four 'crossers and the rest were yer basic road bikes. There was one flat. No other issues arose and the post-ride salsa, bean dip, chips, veggies and beer went down g-o-o-d!
Thanks again to The Curragh Irish Pub for the beer and other refreshing adult beverages. Dave @ The Curragh is a big supporter (and occasional participent) in local cycling events and his roots run deep in the cycling community. Stop in there some time and thank him and have my daughter Katie Jo pour you a perfect pint!
We ended up w/ 30-some miles, maybe 10 of it on dirt. 'Twas a hoot!
I think I'm gonna skip the Fun-Raiser for June...there's so much goin'[ on every weekend already and rider numbers for summer F-R's are never good. The July one's gonna be a big deal though..............the First Ever Night Ride and Homebrew Taste-Off! It's gonna be on Saturday 7/22 so you home-brew types start mixin' or wbrewin' or whatever it is you do and bring a batch o' your best down for the taste-off! We'll provide the pizza and the prizes. We'll roll out around 6:00 for 45-50 or so, you may wanna have lights for the end.
Other than that............not much to report. Still no word on the Sofa Kings, dammit! Can't be long now. Sounds like we might need to go to Plan B for the next batch.....maybe just have W-Ford wet-paint 'em. It'll cost a little more though. We were "idea-ating" over salsa today about Macatawa Bike Works Model #2...should it be a 'cross frame or a 29'er S/S? Seems like the timing would call for a 'crosser since it's likely to be late summer at least before we get things rolling. Anyone out there have a vote?
The Holland Hundred is only like 7 weeks away and I somehow ended up Co-Chairing the Route Commitee. If you have any thoughts about past HH routes or suggestions please share them w/ me @ velocity587@hotmail.com so I can make sure that the route kicks ass.
Other than that...........the near future is full of rides, Grattan races, the Lumber Jack 100, Tuesday Night rides, Sprint Rides, gigs and all the stuff that makes me agree w/ Lee when he says "It's a good life".
The Giro's been fun to follow and le Tour oughta be blast too!
Hey...why don't we have a "Blessing of the bikes" like the motorcycle guys? We're at least as cool and at least as much in need of a blessing don'cha think? Who do I hafta talk to about this?
MC...........over and out.
Sunday, May 21, 2006
Thursday, May 18, 2006
Pineapple Bob a-comin' !! HOOOOboy!
Okay, just got back from layin' out the route for Sunday's ride............I think it's a good'un. Lots of gravel still out there in S.E. Allegan County, you just gotta look for it. If it's windy there's gonna be some l-o-n-g stretches...........but whatterya gonna do? I don't have the exact distance 'cuz I was backtrackin' some, call it 42K. ( 25-ish miles for you English types) The weather forecast isn't bad and maybe we're gettin' to the end of this weather pattern finally. We got rained on last night @ Grattan but the track didn't get all greasy-like as it's done in the past and everyone stayed upright, in our race anyways. I hope we have a good turnout for the ride.......and I hope there's some good salsas and dips for post-ride feasting. Yum-yum!
Still no Sofa King frames! Arraagghh! I talked to Richard @ Waterford a couple days ago and he was still waiting for the powder=coat dudes to get their heads out and ship them. Soon......soon.
Crazy busy @ the shop, Ted and Lee are really humpin' it tryin' to keep up w/ all the repairs and builds. Can't even imagine life @ VCC w/out those 2 dudes. (Don't tell them I said that!)
Tuesday night rides are going well. We're getting 9-10 riders down @ Yankee and had 16 for the road ride this week. When are we going to see you, hmmmm?
It's Nat'l Bike-to-Work Week and I've only ridden to work once so far! That's lame. It's interesting that I pretty much ride every day unless I have after work riding plans, huh? ("That's ironic if ya like that sorta thing!" Name that movie quote first via e-mail and win a prize!) velocity587@hotmail.com
The new Velo City and S.o.F.A. t-shirts are in! Bitchin' too!
Ted and Rach have birthdays this month, feel free to bring them cookies or cake.
Next week: Why it's called "Pineapple Bob"
Gotta go............be safe, ride lots, have fun.
Still no Sofa King frames! Arraagghh! I talked to Richard @ Waterford a couple days ago and he was still waiting for the powder=coat dudes to get their heads out and ship them. Soon......soon.
Crazy busy @ the shop, Ted and Lee are really humpin' it tryin' to keep up w/ all the repairs and builds. Can't even imagine life @ VCC w/out those 2 dudes. (Don't tell them I said that!)
Tuesday night rides are going well. We're getting 9-10 riders down @ Yankee and had 16 for the road ride this week. When are we going to see you, hmmmm?
It's Nat'l Bike-to-Work Week and I've only ridden to work once so far! That's lame. It's interesting that I pretty much ride every day unless I have after work riding plans, huh? ("That's ironic if ya like that sorta thing!" Name that movie quote first via e-mail and win a prize!) velocity587@hotmail.com
The new Velo City and S.o.F.A. t-shirts are in! Bitchin' too!
Ted and Rach have birthdays this month, feel free to bring them cookies or cake.
Next week: Why it's called "Pineapple Bob"
Gotta go............be safe, ride lots, have fun.
Sunday, May 07, 2006
Tell me that you're not THAT guy!
I hope you're not that guy, that's all I'm saying. 'Cause that guy........he's got a lot to answer for.
Perhaps an explaination is in order here....................2 or 3 times in the last coupla years our shop and our industry has been plagued by an avalanche of hysterical news articles about how ridin' too much will cause men to suffer from permanet ....um......dysfunction.........y'know? (Jeez, I hate to even write that!) Predictably that leads to all sorts of concern, discussion and such 'round the shop, as wary riders of the male persuasion clog the front door tryin' to get in and buy the latest saddle promising to prevent this worst of all possible conditions. It's a sexy ( ironically) and attention-grabbing headline to be sure and the news mags and the "20-20" type programs eat it up.
But here's the thing.................there's a guy out there somewhere that caused all this. Think about it for a sec.....this guy keep riding through discomfort and numbness. When Little Willie didn't "rise to the occasion" one day..............he kept riding. Didn't change his position, didn't try a new saddle................just kept riding. He rode through temporary dysfunction, he rode through numbnesss, he rode through it all.....................and now...............it doesn't work.
Now...................lest you think that I am unsympathetic.....not true! I feel for you Bro, really I do! But still, I can't help thinkin' about that old folk song about the preacher in the flood. The one that turns down rescue from a canoe and a Coast Guard ship and finally a helocopter 'cuz he's so secure in his belief that God'll rescue him. The preacher finally drowns and when he confronts the Big Guy up in heaven God says, " I sent a canoe and a boat and a helocopter........what'd you want me to do!?" This numb Willie deal is a lot like that, dont'cha think? Mr I'll Keep Riding No Matter What had plenty of warnings before things got serious and checked out for good.
To my mind, someone that rides through discomfort, through temporary numbness, through temporary dysfunction all the way to permanant dysfunction is no great loss to the gene pool.
Now...........having said all that............there's no doubt that some guys ( and women for that matter) , have a history of struggling to find a saddle that's just right. Keep trying! All our saddles have a 30 Day Trial Period so you can keep checking them out 'til you find the right one. As a Bike-Fitter Guy and as a shop that holds proper fit in high esteem..............we suspect that a lot of saddle issues are actually position issues: You have a way better chance of diggin' your saddle when your bike fits properly. The bike biz is way too focused on putting band-aids on problems instead of preventing them. It's a helluva lot easier to sell saddles w/ increasingly bizarre designs that it is to train bike shop folk in proper fitting and how to actually listen to and serve the customer.
Oops....................okay, Rant Mode off.
Anyway..............I just hope you're not that guy, okay? 'Cuz if you are that guy....................we need to talk!
'Til next time...............................adios!
Perhaps an explaination is in order here....................2 or 3 times in the last coupla years our shop and our industry has been plagued by an avalanche of hysterical news articles about how ridin' too much will cause men to suffer from permanet ....um......dysfunction.........y'know? (Jeez, I hate to even write that!) Predictably that leads to all sorts of concern, discussion and such 'round the shop, as wary riders of the male persuasion clog the front door tryin' to get in and buy the latest saddle promising to prevent this worst of all possible conditions. It's a sexy ( ironically) and attention-grabbing headline to be sure and the news mags and the "20-20" type programs eat it up.
But here's the thing.................there's a guy out there somewhere that caused all this. Think about it for a sec.....this guy keep riding through discomfort and numbness. When Little Willie didn't "rise to the occasion" one day..............he kept riding. Didn't change his position, didn't try a new saddle................just kept riding. He rode through temporary dysfunction, he rode through numbnesss, he rode through it all.....................and now...............it doesn't work.
Now...................lest you think that I am unsympathetic.....not true! I feel for you Bro, really I do! But still, I can't help thinkin' about that old folk song about the preacher in the flood. The one that turns down rescue from a canoe and a Coast Guard ship and finally a helocopter 'cuz he's so secure in his belief that God'll rescue him. The preacher finally drowns and when he confronts the Big Guy up in heaven God says, " I sent a canoe and a boat and a helocopter........what'd you want me to do!?" This numb Willie deal is a lot like that, dont'cha think? Mr I'll Keep Riding No Matter What had plenty of warnings before things got serious and checked out for good.
To my mind, someone that rides through discomfort, through temporary numbness, through temporary dysfunction all the way to permanant dysfunction is no great loss to the gene pool.
Now...........having said all that............there's no doubt that some guys ( and women for that matter) , have a history of struggling to find a saddle that's just right. Keep trying! All our saddles have a 30 Day Trial Period so you can keep checking them out 'til you find the right one. As a Bike-Fitter Guy and as a shop that holds proper fit in high esteem..............we suspect that a lot of saddle issues are actually position issues: You have a way better chance of diggin' your saddle when your bike fits properly. The bike biz is way too focused on putting band-aids on problems instead of preventing them. It's a helluva lot easier to sell saddles w/ increasingly bizarre designs that it is to train bike shop folk in proper fitting and how to actually listen to and serve the customer.
Oops....................okay, Rant Mode off.
Anyway..............I just hope you're not that guy, okay? 'Cuz if you are that guy....................we need to talk!
'Til next time...............................adios!
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