So - as of this writing (err....typing, I guess) it's mid-afternoon here in the good ol' EST so it's been nearly 1/2 of a day since I was last in Vegas. We got up-n-at'em yesterday bright and early again, packed up, checked outta our room, grabbed breakfast and headed over to the Expo Center for the final round. Lotsa appointments + a Tech Service seminar for the Berg meant a full day of looking at my watch and making sure that we were where we needed to be. I met w/ the Electra guys - lotsa WAY COOL retro-styled city bikes there! They've gone bull-goose crazy w/ all the retro-esque parts too...if you need a pair of classic looking large flange hubs or a faithful copy of a TA crank - they got'cha cvered!
After that I roamed a bit - checking out 2XU's compression wear, lotsa fast-looking carbon wheels and all the related coolness. Then I hooked back up w/ JB and we headed over to the DeVinci Tandem booth. Not sure what'll happen here frankly but it'd safe to say that we were intrigued w/ their unique independent pedaling set-up! I need to ride one! from there 'twas Terry, Salsa and a few others and before we knew it the show was closing for the day. From there we wandered the corridors of the Venetian looking for the uber-hip club called "Lavo" where the Cervelo party was being held. After we found it (and convinced the platoon of bouncers that we were on the level we went in and spent 45 minutes tryin' to get through the crush of people so we could actually SEE the bikes. (The S1 looks awesome, by the way!) As you oughta know by now - hangin' w/ the Beautiful People in trendy clubs is not exactly my thing so hopefully they'll excuse us for sneaking out in the middle of the "presentation ". (Couldn't hear or understand it anyways).
So - that was that. Another Interbike Show. I have no idea how many that makes for me.....15? HellifIknow. 'Twas a good one - not a lot of $ wasted on nonsense stuff that no one will ever ride. Given the current trend towards practical real world bikes there's renewed hop that we won't go back to the days of concept bikes and silliness of that sort we grabbed dinner, then a cab, then a plane, then breakfast, then another plane, then a shuttle and then I dropped Jeremy off @ his place and headed down here to the shop.
And here I be.
Here's what's most likely to happen as a result of what we heard and saw this year:
Salsa bikes and frames in stock - especially the 29er ATB's
Castelli clothing back in the house!
2XU compression gear.
At least one new shoe company.
VCC socks, caps and m-a-y-b-e a new jersey design!
There's more, but I've been up now since 6:00am yesterday so I beg your forgiveness if I left something out. Feel free to swing by the shop to hear tall tales and outright bald faced lies!
MC Weary
Friday, September 25, 2009
Thursday, September 24, 2009
INTERBIKE REPORT - DAY THREE (WHEN IT GETS REAL)
So - our 3rd morning waking up to the rising outside our 23rd floor window. We face due east and the sight of the dawn over the low hills east of town is a mighty purty sight! #rd day here but the first day of the actual show.......so we ate an enormous breakfast (in an effort to stay clear of the 7 dollar greaseburgers or 10 dollar tiny salads @ the Sands Expo Center) and headed across the street to the Big Show.
Big it was - it sure doesn't seem any different than the past 15 years or so - a virtual city of bike stuff, bike folks, bike dreams..........it's hard to find a way to express what a e-nor-mous gathering of people and stuff this whole deal is!
So - what cool stuff did I see, you ask? Well....there was some to be sure. Rolf has new wheels, Twin 6 has a buncha new jersey designs, most of which I like so much that it's gonna be hard to pick what to stock, Co-Mo's tandems are lookin' good, I still really like the Salsa 29ers, Giro has a new helmet that weighs 200 grams (about 7 oz!) and the flat-out, #1 lust-inducing-make-ya-wanna-howl-at-the-moon gorgeous bike was a simple RetroTec roadie featuring a 3 speed Sturmey Archer fixed gear set up! Dang was it sweet!
After the show closed fo rthe day we rushed back here, unloaded and headed back to the Expo Center to catch the Lazer bus to the 'Cross race. I guess they don't have a lotta big helmet dealers if our lil' shop qualifies for the type of royal treatment we got tonight! We sat on the open upper deck of a funky old double decker bus, eating pizza and enjoying frosty adult beverages. (Most of us, anyway). In my most notable brush w/ fame (or infamy, perhaps) I helped Tyler Hamilton find his missing I-Phone and received an as-far-as-I-could-tell-non-chemically-inhanced fist bump in return. (Oh boy!)
The race was a massive hoot - Euro-dogs and US Pros tangled head-to-head amidst the clamor of cowbells, 2 announcers that sounded like frustrated "radio personalities" and even a white jump-suited "Elvis" performing the National Anthem! ( He even said "Uhh thank yew verra much" afterwards!) Katie Compton slayed all in the Women's Elite Race and Cannondale guy Jamie Driscoll made an early 2-up break stick to surprise the monster field of studs from both sides of the Atlantic. Then back on the bus..........which wouldn't start. We sat there for 3040 minutes, having fun @ our own (okay - and the driver's) expense. It was a beautiful night and no one seemed to be in to big of a hurry to get back to the Strip but eventually the driver gave up on his bus and we abandoned ship for other buses, taxis, etc. (Tyler did not offer us seats in his cab it must be said. Short memory!
Tomorrow I have a buncha appointments - Terry, Endura, Electra, QBP (home of Salsa, Surly and a bazillion other brands we carry) & at least one more that escapes my weary brain @ the moment. Then it's the Cervelo party, the airport, a red-eye flight and then.........back at the shop!
See you there!
MC
By the way - lime green is the new white! You read it here first!
Big it was - it sure doesn't seem any different than the past 15 years or so - a virtual city of bike stuff, bike folks, bike dreams..........it's hard to find a way to express what a e-nor-mous gathering of people and stuff this whole deal is!
So - what cool stuff did I see, you ask? Well....there was some to be sure. Rolf has new wheels, Twin 6 has a buncha new jersey designs, most of which I like so much that it's gonna be hard to pick what to stock, Co-Mo's tandems are lookin' good, I still really like the Salsa 29ers, Giro has a new helmet that weighs 200 grams (about 7 oz!) and the flat-out, #1 lust-inducing-make-ya-wanna-howl-at-the-moon gorgeous bike was a simple RetroTec roadie featuring a 3 speed Sturmey Archer fixed gear set up! Dang was it sweet!
After the show closed fo rthe day we rushed back here, unloaded and headed back to the Expo Center to catch the Lazer bus to the 'Cross race. I guess they don't have a lotta big helmet dealers if our lil' shop qualifies for the type of royal treatment we got tonight! We sat on the open upper deck of a funky old double decker bus, eating pizza and enjoying frosty adult beverages. (Most of us, anyway). In my most notable brush w/ fame (or infamy, perhaps) I helped Tyler Hamilton find his missing I-Phone and received an as-far-as-I-could-tell-non-chemically-inhanced fist bump in return. (Oh boy!)
The race was a massive hoot - Euro-dogs and US Pros tangled head-to-head amidst the clamor of cowbells, 2 announcers that sounded like frustrated "radio personalities" and even a white jump-suited "Elvis" performing the National Anthem! ( He even said "Uhh thank yew verra much" afterwards!) Katie Compton slayed all in the Women's Elite Race and Cannondale guy Jamie Driscoll made an early 2-up break stick to surprise the monster field of studs from both sides of the Atlantic. Then back on the bus..........which wouldn't start. We sat there for 3040 minutes, having fun @ our own (okay - and the driver's) expense. It was a beautiful night and no one seemed to be in to big of a hurry to get back to the Strip but eventually the driver gave up on his bus and we abandoned ship for other buses, taxis, etc. (Tyler did not offer us seats in his cab it must be said. Short memory!
Tomorrow I have a buncha appointments - Terry, Endura, Electra, QBP (home of Salsa, Surly and a bazillion other brands we carry) & at least one more that escapes my weary brain @ the moment. Then it's the Cervelo party, the airport, a red-eye flight and then.........back at the shop!
See you there!
MC
By the way - lime green is the new white! You read it here first!
Tuesday, September 22, 2009
INTERBIKE REPORT - DAY 2
So - 6:00am comes early, I don't care who you are or what time zone you're in! But - duty called (our hotel uses an Elvis impersonator for the wake up call, 'twas awesome!) and off we went in search of breakfast and the shuttle bus.
At the Demo we stopped by the C-Dale booth and picked up our matching Super Six bikes for the Tour de Lake Mead ride that is the fixture of Tuesday morning. Formally known as the "hangover ride", this is a 13 mile downhill blast into the Lake Mead Natural Area and the l-o-n-g climb back. Given that our bikes were equipped w/ new Dura Ace bits and fancy Mavic wheels...I reckoned we could get there and back. Man - that frame is something else! Following the current bike biz M.O. of making everything lighter, stiffer and faster (as well as overseas, alas) the new Super Six is a sprinter's dream! Wicked quick when you jump outta the saddle, but pretty comfy. (At least as far as I could tell on a 2 hour ride anyway). Very fast bike!
After that I took advantage of the fact that I was @ the C-Dale booth and grabbed a chance to try out their new Flash Carbon hardtail. They didn't have any of the 29er version (their bad) so I "settled" for an old school 26er. (Assuming that you can call a 19.5 lb carbon fiber ATB "old school"!) I set the fork for my considerable weight (sigh) and headed off for a lap on the longest and most technical (and therefore my fav) loop. Given the aforementioned sub 20lb weight, the SRAM XO 2x9 set up and the schweeet carbon Lefty fork it was all you'd expect for a bike that'll run ya a cool NINE THOUSAND DOLLARS!!!!!!!! (Granted - that will be w/ the ultra-new and fierce-hot SRAM XX group). Musta been the most expensive dirt bike I've ridden, I bet'cha. What's that? Is it worth it? Ummmmmmmmmmm...........well...........of course not! Good Lord - 9K???!?!?!?!?!!?!?!? You could get a damn good fleet of bikes for that! (And you should - you know that, right?)
Still - someone's gotta come out here and ride this stuff - it's the least we can do!
After that lap - which came to about $1500 / a mile - Berger and I hooked up w/ Danielle and Scott and off we went to ride Salsas. I grabbed a Dos Niner, their 29er "soft tail" design that offers about 1.5" of rear travel in an effort to take the edge off the bumps w/ only an 8 oz weight penalty over their way-light Mamasita frame. I've ridden it before...we had a demo in the shop for a season that started the whole 29er thing for us....but wanted to try one again. Berger did a reprise on the Big Mama & Scott-n-D each got a Mamasita , one of which had the aforementioned wicked hot XX stuff. They liked their bikes better than I liked mine - but I suspect my issues were a combo of a poor position on the bike and the fact that I was pretty wiped out by then! I've ridden (and liked) that frame before.
That was it for riding - we attended a SRAM tech seminar on the XX stuff, strolled around a bit soaking up the vibe and the sun (and the dust and the heat) and then headed back to the noise and clamor and stink of the Strip. Tomorrow is the actual show, followed by your trusty reporters jumpin' on the Lazer bus and heading to the Cross Vegas race and then a party w/ the Ridley folks. Liable to be a long day, but I'll try to post up before callin' it a day.
Later, MC
At the Demo we stopped by the C-Dale booth and picked up our matching Super Six bikes for the Tour de Lake Mead ride that is the fixture of Tuesday morning. Formally known as the "hangover ride", this is a 13 mile downhill blast into the Lake Mead Natural Area and the l-o-n-g climb back. Given that our bikes were equipped w/ new Dura Ace bits and fancy Mavic wheels...I reckoned we could get there and back. Man - that frame is something else! Following the current bike biz M.O. of making everything lighter, stiffer and faster (as well as overseas, alas) the new Super Six is a sprinter's dream! Wicked quick when you jump outta the saddle, but pretty comfy. (At least as far as I could tell on a 2 hour ride anyway). Very fast bike!
After that I took advantage of the fact that I was @ the C-Dale booth and grabbed a chance to try out their new Flash Carbon hardtail. They didn't have any of the 29er version (their bad) so I "settled" for an old school 26er. (Assuming that you can call a 19.5 lb carbon fiber ATB "old school"!) I set the fork for my considerable weight (sigh) and headed off for a lap on the longest and most technical (and therefore my fav) loop. Given the aforementioned sub 20lb weight, the SRAM XO 2x9 set up and the schweeet carbon Lefty fork it was all you'd expect for a bike that'll run ya a cool NINE THOUSAND DOLLARS!!!!!!!! (Granted - that will be w/ the ultra-new and fierce-hot SRAM XX group). Musta been the most expensive dirt bike I've ridden, I bet'cha. What's that? Is it worth it? Ummmmmmmmmmm...........well...........of course not! Good Lord - 9K???!?!?!?!?!!?!?!? You could get a damn good fleet of bikes for that! (And you should - you know that, right?)
Still - someone's gotta come out here and ride this stuff - it's the least we can do!
After that lap - which came to about $1500 / a mile - Berger and I hooked up w/ Danielle and Scott and off we went to ride Salsas. I grabbed a Dos Niner, their 29er "soft tail" design that offers about 1.5" of rear travel in an effort to take the edge off the bumps w/ only an 8 oz weight penalty over their way-light Mamasita frame. I've ridden it before...we had a demo in the shop for a season that started the whole 29er thing for us....but wanted to try one again. Berger did a reprise on the Big Mama & Scott-n-D each got a Mamasita , one of which had the aforementioned wicked hot XX stuff. They liked their bikes better than I liked mine - but I suspect my issues were a combo of a poor position on the bike and the fact that I was pretty wiped out by then! I've ridden (and liked) that frame before.
That was it for riding - we attended a SRAM tech seminar on the XX stuff, strolled around a bit soaking up the vibe and the sun (and the dust and the heat) and then headed back to the noise and clamor and stink of the Strip. Tomorrow is the actual show, followed by your trusty reporters jumpin' on the Lazer bus and heading to the Cross Vegas race and then a party w/ the Ridley folks. Liable to be a long day, but I'll try to post up before callin' it a day.
Later, MC
Monday, September 21, 2009
MORE FROM DAY ONE OF INTERBIKE...
Misc stuff I learned from the Outdoor Demo today:
SRAM over Shimano ( No surprise there)
29" wheels over 26" (That's new!)
Castelli's new bibs w/ virtually no seams (okay - maybe 2) look awesome and I'm gonna hafta try a pair.
Every bike I rode today had hydraulic disc brakes but I still prefer mechanicals. (Sorry!)
Other than that - not much new to see there today, or at least not that I saw. Tomorrow we do the Tour of Lake Meade first thing in the am (you literally coast about 13 miles down into the Lake Mead National Park and then climb back to Boulder City.) and then I'm gonna try to get some time on a few more bikes. I wanna ride that super-crazy-light (16 lbs!!!!) Cannondale hardtail, do another lap on the Big Mama (to make sure) and a lap on the Dos Niner from Salsa too. If I'm still riding @ 3:00pm I'll be amazed, 'cuz I'm plenty tired right now and last year that ride up from Lake Meade pretty much handed me my ass. But - I'll try. For you. It's the least I can do. I wanna ride some road bikes too - and that's not quite as draining as the singletrack.
Stay tuned - there are still 3 days to go!
MC
SRAM over Shimano ( No surprise there)
29" wheels over 26" (That's new!)
Castelli's new bibs w/ virtually no seams (okay - maybe 2) look awesome and I'm gonna hafta try a pair.
Every bike I rode today had hydraulic disc brakes but I still prefer mechanicals. (Sorry!)
Other than that - not much new to see there today, or at least not that I saw. Tomorrow we do the Tour of Lake Meade first thing in the am (you literally coast about 13 miles down into the Lake Mead National Park and then climb back to Boulder City.) and then I'm gonna try to get some time on a few more bikes. I wanna ride that super-crazy-light (16 lbs!!!!) Cannondale hardtail, do another lap on the Big Mama (to make sure) and a lap on the Dos Niner from Salsa too. If I'm still riding @ 3:00pm I'll be amazed, 'cuz I'm plenty tired right now and last year that ride up from Lake Meade pretty much handed me my ass. But - I'll try. For you. It's the least I can do. I wanna ride some road bikes too - and that's not quite as draining as the singletrack.
Stay tuned - there are still 3 days to go!
MC
INTERBIKE SHOW REPORT - DAY ONE
Okay, so Berger and I got up early so we could stand in line for breakfast, stand in line for our show badges, stand in line for the bus to the Outdoor Demo, stand in line to drop our extra junk @ the bag check and then........f.-i-n-a-l-l-y ride some bikes! And ride we did! I love the tight, dusty, rocky and steep trails of Bootleg Canyon - they're a hoot and between their challenges, the heat, the sun and (today) the wind it's a pretty tiring day.( I know, I know...your heart is bleeding for us...we know. And - we appreciate it! I looked into bringing all ya'll out here but the logistical challenges proved unsurmountable so you are there and we are here and that's gonna hafta do it.
Anyway - as I was sayin'............we rode full-sus mountainbikes exclusively today. I like every hardtail I ride so what's the point of that? I rode 2 Salsas, 2 Ellesworths, a Cannondale & a Rocky Mountain. Here's the scoop, in order of preference:
Salsa Big Mama - This 4" travel 29er was the best bike I rode all day. None of the stuff I dislike about full-sus bikes was present (mushy rear sus, dragging pedals on the dirt, that feeling of being way up in the air, general ponderousness) and despite the fact that it's a damn big bike when you stand next to it - once aboard it felt quicker, lower and zippier than I expected. I liked it a ton, and I could totally see having one of these babies for desert trips.
Ellesworth Evolve - 'nother 29er, this time w/ 5 inches of travel. Felt good - I've always loved Elleswrth's desigh - but not quite as quick as the Salsa. Not good when you factor in the fact that you can have the entire Salsa bike for the cost of the Ellesworth frame! Still - US made, Tony Ellesworth is a genius and the bike rocked.
Cannondale RZ 120- This was the best riding 26" bike I rode. Feels a lot like the Rush (a fav) and the Lefty fork is as good as it gets. Given that you can get RZ-120's for as little as $1800.......this bike is pretty dang impressive. (Like the name implies - this bike had about 5" of travel)
Ellesworth Truth- I rode this 'cuz the Evolve wasn't available. I've long felt that this is the best full-sus frame I've ever ridden but given what a better value the C-Dales are........I'm not so sure. It rides great, the US made frame and all the machined sus bits are schweet...but I'd hafta go w the Evolve, thank you. (The Truth is a 4" travel 26er)
Rocky Mountain Altitude 29- Nice bike. Not sure what the point of riding it was - 'cept I had a coupla good laps @ 12 Hours of Pando on a RM hardtail 29er - so what the heck, right? It was nice enough, for a 5" travel 29er, but the Big Mama pretty much ate it's lunch.
Salsa el Kaboing - Man, I did not like this bike at all! If I had ridden this one first and then you told me that the Big Mama was the same design in a 29er I wouldn't have even ridden it! This bike was like every other full sus bike I've never liked - slow, mushy, tall.....blah! And - my calves hit the frame and I hate that too!
More later - dinner time!
Anyway - as I was sayin'............we rode full-sus mountainbikes exclusively today. I like every hardtail I ride so what's the point of that? I rode 2 Salsas, 2 Ellesworths, a Cannondale & a Rocky Mountain. Here's the scoop, in order of preference:
Salsa Big Mama - This 4" travel 29er was the best bike I rode all day. None of the stuff I dislike about full-sus bikes was present (mushy rear sus, dragging pedals on the dirt, that feeling of being way up in the air, general ponderousness) and despite the fact that it's a damn big bike when you stand next to it - once aboard it felt quicker, lower and zippier than I expected. I liked it a ton, and I could totally see having one of these babies for desert trips.
Ellesworth Evolve - 'nother 29er, this time w/ 5 inches of travel. Felt good - I've always loved Elleswrth's desigh - but not quite as quick as the Salsa. Not good when you factor in the fact that you can have the entire Salsa bike for the cost of the Ellesworth frame! Still - US made, Tony Ellesworth is a genius and the bike rocked.
Cannondale RZ 120- This was the best riding 26" bike I rode. Feels a lot like the Rush (a fav) and the Lefty fork is as good as it gets. Given that you can get RZ-120's for as little as $1800.......this bike is pretty dang impressive. (Like the name implies - this bike had about 5" of travel)
Ellesworth Truth- I rode this 'cuz the Evolve wasn't available. I've long felt that this is the best full-sus frame I've ever ridden but given what a better value the C-Dales are........I'm not so sure. It rides great, the US made frame and all the machined sus bits are schweet...but I'd hafta go w the Evolve, thank you. (The Truth is a 4" travel 26er)
Rocky Mountain Altitude 29- Nice bike. Not sure what the point of riding it was - 'cept I had a coupla good laps @ 12 Hours of Pando on a RM hardtail 29er - so what the heck, right? It was nice enough, for a 5" travel 29er, but the Big Mama pretty much ate it's lunch.
Salsa el Kaboing - Man, I did not like this bike at all! If I had ridden this one first and then you told me that the Big Mama was the same design in a 29er I wouldn't have even ridden it! This bike was like every other full sus bike I've never liked - slow, mushy, tall.....blah! And - my calves hit the frame and I hate that too!
More later - dinner time!
Monday, September 07, 2009
How'd We Get From July to September!?!?!?!
I promised myself that I wasn't gonna start everyone of these w/ an apology so let's just agree that I'm late, I suck and move on, 'kay?
I'm in Whitefish MT @ the moment - Aaron & I flew out here 5 days ago to provide tech support for the 4th stop on the JDRF Ride to Cure 2009 World Tour. It went well and this is a remarkable place! We spent yesterday up in Glacier Nat'l Park (finally! It's my 5th time here in 3 years and my 1st visit) and I have a semi epic ride planned in my head for next September. We head home later today - and it'll be good to get there!
Last week Berger, my son Sam and I accompanied 45-some members of the West Michigan team to the 1st ever Ride to Cure in Killington VT. Awesomeness was observed breaking out there as well as we managed t o pull of the biggest Ride to Cure ever in wet, cold and challenging conditions. We drove over for that one, hauling a trailer fulla bikes and gear for the Bike Room. Another very cool place to be.......but not as cool as here!
So - things settle down on the JDRF front for a bit - until the ride in Death Valley in mid-October. 'Tween now and then we have the Interbike show in 2 weeks, the start of 'cross season, the arrival of all the indoor stuff (trainers, rollers, etc) and all the outdoor stuff (tights, warmers, booties, etc) so there'll be plenty to do back @ Ye Olde Cool Bike Shop. The Fun-Raiser Ride Series starts back up, the weekly rides continue 'til the end of this montth and then we'll fire up the Crazy Bastard Ride machine! Hoo-BOY, I better get my weary ass HOME!
....and that's just what I'm gonna do. Talk to you later, MC
I'm in Whitefish MT @ the moment - Aaron & I flew out here 5 days ago to provide tech support for the 4th stop on the JDRF Ride to Cure 2009 World Tour. It went well and this is a remarkable place! We spent yesterday up in Glacier Nat'l Park (finally! It's my 5th time here in 3 years and my 1st visit) and I have a semi epic ride planned in my head for next September. We head home later today - and it'll be good to get there!
Last week Berger, my son Sam and I accompanied 45-some members of the West Michigan team to the 1st ever Ride to Cure in Killington VT. Awesomeness was observed breaking out there as well as we managed t o pull of the biggest Ride to Cure ever in wet, cold and challenging conditions. We drove over for that one, hauling a trailer fulla bikes and gear for the Bike Room. Another very cool place to be.......but not as cool as here!
So - things settle down on the JDRF front for a bit - until the ride in Death Valley in mid-October. 'Tween now and then we have the Interbike show in 2 weeks, the start of 'cross season, the arrival of all the indoor stuff (trainers, rollers, etc) and all the outdoor stuff (tights, warmers, booties, etc) so there'll be plenty to do back @ Ye Olde Cool Bike Shop. The Fun-Raiser Ride Series starts back up, the weekly rides continue 'til the end of this montth and then we'll fire up the Crazy Bastard Ride machine! Hoo-BOY, I better get my weary ass HOME!
....and that's just what I'm gonna do. Talk to you later, MC
Monday, July 20, 2009
el WEEKEND GRANDE'!!!
WOW! I gotta tell ya - big weekends aren't egg-zac-lee all that unusual 'round here but this past one..........whew! Lemme tug on yer coat* about it a sec.........
Saturday was the 35th Annual Holland Hundred Tour. The shop and I were both up to our arses in this - I was on the committee since Day One and we were committed to provide a SAG Wagon all day too. Friday nioght we had early registration here @ the shop and that was a zoo w/ a capital "Z"......roughly 28 bazillion gazillion folks crammed in here all evening, signing up, buying t-shirts, buying other stuff........fun! We had a pre-ride bash 'cross the street @ the brewery too so that was cool. It was cool and wet all night and that didn't bode well.
Saturday dawned (I know - I was up @ 4:30) kinda cloudy and I was sort of worried about the weather. We had nearly 780 riders pre-registered so we were kinda expecting 1200 or so but I was afraid the weather might keep some local riders in the sack. It stayed dry all day and was actually pretty damn perfect for a long ride.......temps in the high 60's/low 70's range, no humidity, some sun,. some clouds. There was a nasty headwind for part of the day but whatterya gonna do? I was on site before 6:00 and there til 6:30pm. By then over 1250 riders had enjoyed a helluva day. I was WAY glad to have that day behind me!
Sunday was "recover from the HH day" for me and i had the perfect plan - spend all day sitting in the sun and listening to bluegrass and folk music @ the first ever Green Food - Blue Grass fest out @ Felt Mansion. My fav band from my "youth" (okay - mid to late 20's) was playing their 1st gig in the area since the early 80's! Cabbage Crik has a lot to answer for 'cuz w/out them there'd be no Last Call Band! It was great and I.Did. Nothing. all dang day.
'twas grand it was!
Okay - now iot's time ot get all the Bike Room stuff worked out for the JDRF Rides! No more "I can't deal w/ that 'til after the HH!" Jeremy's off to KC on his own 'cuz I gotta gig then a big crew to VT and then just me to Montana. That covers the next 7 weeks - then we have time to catch our collective breath 'afore Death Valley.
Guess I oughta get after it, huh?
later, MC
Saturday was the 35th Annual Holland Hundred Tour. The shop and I were both up to our arses in this - I was on the committee since Day One and we were committed to provide a SAG Wagon all day too. Friday nioght we had early registration here @ the shop and that was a zoo w/ a capital "Z"......roughly 28 bazillion gazillion folks crammed in here all evening, signing up, buying t-shirts, buying other stuff........fun! We had a pre-ride bash 'cross the street @ the brewery too so that was cool. It was cool and wet all night and that didn't bode well.
Saturday dawned (I know - I was up @ 4:30) kinda cloudy and I was sort of worried about the weather. We had nearly 780 riders pre-registered so we were kinda expecting 1200 or so but I was afraid the weather might keep some local riders in the sack. It stayed dry all day and was actually pretty damn perfect for a long ride.......temps in the high 60's/low 70's range, no humidity, some sun,. some clouds. There was a nasty headwind for part of the day but whatterya gonna do? I was on site before 6:00 and there til 6:30pm. By then over 1250 riders had enjoyed a helluva day. I was WAY glad to have that day behind me!
Sunday was "recover from the HH day" for me and i had the perfect plan - spend all day sitting in the sun and listening to bluegrass and folk music @ the first ever Green Food - Blue Grass fest out @ Felt Mansion. My fav band from my "youth" (okay - mid to late 20's) was playing their 1st gig in the area since the early 80's! Cabbage Crik has a lot to answer for 'cuz w/out them there'd be no Last Call Band! It was great and I.Did. Nothing. all dang day.
'twas grand it was!
Okay - now iot's time ot get all the Bike Room stuff worked out for the JDRF Rides! No more "I can't deal w/ that 'til after the HH!" Jeremy's off to KC on his own 'cuz I gotta gig then a big crew to VT and then just me to Montana. That covers the next 7 weeks - then we have time to catch our collective breath 'afore Death Valley.
Guess I oughta get after it, huh?
later, MC
Monday, July 13, 2009
MID-SUMMER DAZE........ER....DAYS
Man - things are just full-tilt-boogie madness here @ the shop lately! Lotsa new bikes goin out, lotsa old bikes comin' in for service, ton's o' folks @ the rides, the phone ringin' offa the wall w/ peoplekl askin ''bout the Holland Hundred..........what a hoot! Still - I'll be pretty damn glad when the HH is over and those of us on the committee can look around @ 1300-1500 happy riders and slap some high fives on each other!
This past weekend we had a great Team Ride - the "Tour de Taco" rolled from Casa da Clark on Sunday for miles of smiles and LOTS of chicken, steak, veggies, beans, rice, cheese, tortillas, guac, salsa, cheese, cabbage, cilantro, salad, cookies, cupcakes, brownies, strawberry shortcake............whew! Lotsa folks and big fun was observed being had. THis am I got to ride w/ buddy Zac from Seattle and his lovely lady Beverly. Berger joined us as well rolled out to the lake and back. Then they split and JB and I sat outside @ the bagle shop and tried to get a handle on the rest of the season.
I gotta say right-dang-now ...our staff rocks! Everyone is workin' it hard, keepin' it in the big ring and ridin' on the rivet as we try to keep up w/ everyone's needs and wants. Fun! (Mostly)
Tomorrow is get-the-scoop-on-2010-Cannondale day, then it's pretty much Holland Hundred 24/7. (Lather, rinse, repeat).
Gotta go - more later, I promise. ( I know - you've heard that before. What can I say?)
MC
This past weekend we had a great Team Ride - the "Tour de Taco" rolled from Casa da Clark on Sunday for miles of smiles and LOTS of chicken, steak, veggies, beans, rice, cheese, tortillas, guac, salsa, cheese, cabbage, cilantro, salad, cookies, cupcakes, brownies, strawberry shortcake............whew! Lotsa folks and big fun was observed being had. THis am I got to ride w/ buddy Zac from Seattle and his lovely lady Beverly. Berger joined us as well rolled out to the lake and back. Then they split and JB and I sat outside @ the bagle shop and tried to get a handle on the rest of the season.
I gotta say right-dang-now ...our staff rocks! Everyone is workin' it hard, keepin' it in the big ring and ridin' on the rivet as we try to keep up w/ everyone's needs and wants. Fun! (Mostly)
Tomorrow is get-the-scoop-on-2010-Cannondale day, then it's pretty much Holland Hundred 24/7. (Lather, rinse, repeat).
Gotta go - more later, I promise. ( I know - you've heard that before. What can I say?)
MC
Thursday, July 02, 2009
Wow, I Suck Worse that Usual!
Yeah - great job keepin' up w/ this, huh? i was kinda amazed to see that it's bene since mid-April since I wrote anything - pretty week. Lessee - what's gone down since then.......?
I've been up to my ears in the shop stuf - we've been crazy busy, which is awesome. Berger has been a force in the shop, everyone is rockin' it hard and we're having fun. The rides have been awesome and full.
JDRF stuff has been keeping me busy too - I just got back from Santa Rosa @ the 1st Ride to Cure - 'twas a big weekend! I was doin' the Head Coach thing so Berger was there to rock the Bike Room and rock it he did!
The band's been busy - 5 gigs comin' up in the next 6 weeks.
I'm riding a lot - at least 5 days a week. Legs aren't bad but I dunno if I have any real speed - haven't been to Grattan yet and I've been doin' the Sprint Ride on the tandem.
Michael Jackson is dead, Bernie Madoff is still scum and le Tour starts Saturday. I wish I was more excited about that...it's liable to be what my grandfather called a "real barnburner" but I'm so tired of all the cheating and doping and lying..............blecchh!
Still -= Bikelife is full and fine and for that I'm more grateful than I can tell you. Ride lots, be careful out there and stay in touch, okay?
MC
I've been up to my ears in the shop stuf - we've been crazy busy, which is awesome. Berger has been a force in the shop, everyone is rockin' it hard and we're having fun. The rides have been awesome and full.
JDRF stuff has been keeping me busy too - I just got back from Santa Rosa @ the 1st Ride to Cure - 'twas a big weekend! I was doin' the Head Coach thing so Berger was there to rock the Bike Room and rock it he did!
The band's been busy - 5 gigs comin' up in the next 6 weeks.
I'm riding a lot - at least 5 days a week. Legs aren't bad but I dunno if I have any real speed - haven't been to Grattan yet and I've been doin' the Sprint Ride on the tandem.
Michael Jackson is dead, Bernie Madoff is still scum and le Tour starts Saturday. I wish I was more excited about that...it's liable to be what my grandfather called a "real barnburner" but I'm so tired of all the cheating and doping and lying..............blecchh!
Still -= Bikelife is full and fine and for that I'm more grateful than I can tell you. Ride lots, be careful out there and stay in touch, okay?
MC
Sunday, April 19, 2009
A Helluva Week!
Man! If there was any way I was gonna survive a week w/out my One True Love (who flew down to Mexico to visit our son) it would hafta be a week filled w/ rides and other Cool Stuff. Lucky for me - that's just egg-zac-lee the kind of week I've had! Actually this week sorta started last weekend - the band played a gig @ the Saugatuck Brewery that was a complete hoot - great crowd fulla friends and buds, we played well .........'twas pretty much perfect. Then Sunday Lin and I got out for 2 hours in the afternoon w/ good buddy CD in the warm part of the day and that was awesome. ( I do so much of my riding in the a.m. that I hardly ever hit the warm part of the day here in the Spring) I'm SO pumped that Lin is diggin' her new road bike and seems all about gettin' ready for her first JDRF Ride this summer. (As a rider anyway!) Monday 'twas her B-Day and then she left for the airport @ 4:00a.m. Tuesday. I came down to the shop after she left and f-i-n-a-l-l-y got my Seven back together and it is beautiful! 16 pounds & 2 ounces of fixed gear fury! We had a small turnout for the TNR - it was wet and cold - but we rode and it was great. Then the weather broke (about damn time!) and 'twas sunny and warm! We had a great ride Thursday morning, an even greater one Friday morning and then the 1st Sprint Ride yesterday was a blast too. Jess and I were a factor on the tandem, topped the climb up Beeline Hill w/ the group and laid down the law a bit on the return leg. Then after work I met up w/ C.P/T. for 30 miles on the White Pine (in shorts and a s/s jersey!!!!!!!) and then burritos. Now it's time to head over to Grandville for Team Ride # 2 and a Ride Committee meeting.
Somewhere in there (Thursday night, to be exact) a goodly chunk of the JDRF Team joined about 200 other folks @ Celebration Cinema in GR for the freakin' World Premiere of the movie that Tom made about our 2008 ride season. Words fail me.........it was SO well done, SO powerful amd brought forth SO many memories and feelings that I've haven't even come near to comin' down. We'll have DVD copies here @ the shop - feel free to come and get one - it's something else!
I've been too busy to miss Lin! (Too much anyway!)
Sounds like the weather's gonna turn to crap again for a few days but they're talkin' 70's for the end of next week and in 2 weeks I'll be in the desert w/ some good buds so it's hard to feel to blue about anything. The shop's been WAY busy, my staff is workin' hard and kickin' ass and I'm feeling pretty good about stuff in general.
Here I am again talkin' about how I'm gonna do a better job of keepin' up w/ this blog-thing. We'll see!
Later, MC
Somewhere in there (Thursday night, to be exact) a goodly chunk of the JDRF Team joined about 200 other folks @ Celebration Cinema in GR for the freakin' World Premiere of the movie that Tom made about our 2008 ride season. Words fail me.........it was SO well done, SO powerful amd brought forth SO many memories and feelings that I've haven't even come near to comin' down. We'll have DVD copies here @ the shop - feel free to come and get one - it's something else!
I've been too busy to miss Lin! (Too much anyway!)
Sounds like the weather's gonna turn to crap again for a few days but they're talkin' 70's for the end of next week and in 2 weeks I'll be in the desert w/ some good buds so it's hard to feel to blue about anything. The shop's been WAY busy, my staff is workin' hard and kickin' ass and I'm feeling pretty good about stuff in general.
Here I am again talkin' about how I'm gonna do a better job of keepin' up w/ this blog-thing. We'll see!
Later, MC
Tuesday, March 31, 2009
2 Races, 2 Uphill Finishes! What's Wrong w/ This Picture?
Well -pretty much everything if ya gotta know!
New stoker/victim Cathy & I did the inaugural Barry Roubaix Gravel Road Race on Saturday and the Fisk Knob Time Trial on Sunday - both hurt bad and were a ton of fun. Assuing that Rick does the Barry-Roubaix again next year you DO NOT wanna miss it - it was a hoot! 90+% gravel w/ a bit o' 2-track and a fast run ot the finish on the asphalt, 2200 feet o' climbing in 31 miles, great scenery.....perfect. The weather co-operated w/ sunshine and cool temps and we puffed, panted and sweated the new C-Dale to a 5th place finish. (Okay- outta 5 but so what?)
The next day we matched that finish exactly after flogging the big bike and our tired legs over the 17 miles of the Fisk TT course. Cold, wet and windy was rthe order of the day but we sucked it up and got 'er done.
Thanks to Berger and the boys for getting the bike re-set from dirt road warrior to TT machine on Saturday afternoon.
Thanks and congrats to all our compadres that braved the conditions on Sunday w/ grace and good cheer.
Thanks to Uber Good Sport and Full On Gamer Cathy Tahy (Priest) for comin' along for the rides!
April! Outdoor rides! No more Coach Troy! YES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
More later - gotta go.
MC
New stoker/victim Cathy & I did the inaugural Barry Roubaix Gravel Road Race on Saturday and the Fisk Knob Time Trial on Sunday - both hurt bad and were a ton of fun. Assuing that Rick does the Barry-Roubaix again next year you DO NOT wanna miss it - it was a hoot! 90+% gravel w/ a bit o' 2-track and a fast run ot the finish on the asphalt, 2200 feet o' climbing in 31 miles, great scenery.....perfect. The weather co-operated w/ sunshine and cool temps and we puffed, panted and sweated the new C-Dale to a 5th place finish. (Okay- outta 5 but so what?)
The next day we matched that finish exactly after flogging the big bike and our tired legs over the 17 miles of the Fisk TT course. Cold, wet and windy was rthe order of the day but we sucked it up and got 'er done.
Thanks to Berger and the boys for getting the bike re-set from dirt road warrior to TT machine on Saturday afternoon.
Thanks and congrats to all our compadres that braved the conditions on Sunday w/ grace and good cheer.
Thanks to Uber Good Sport and Full On Gamer Cathy Tahy (Priest) for comin' along for the rides!
April! Outdoor rides! No more Coach Troy! YES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
More later - gotta go.
MC
Wednesday, March 18, 2009
SCUM I TELL YA....SCUM!!!
Bernie Madoff? Scum.
Dude that ran the plant that shipped the poison peanuts? Scum.
A-holes @ AIG? Scum.
What do these jack-holes (and their all-to-numerous ilk) have in common you ask?
They think money is the shit. They let their desire for mo' money mo' money mo' money subvert the basic human decency they were (theoretically anyway) born with for the sake of the bottom line, a fancy car and a mansion w/ a heli-pad.
Scum.
They offer nothing, they take everything, in short...............they suck.
Screw them.
Let's talk about a better class of people. Let's talk about the folks @ JDRF for example. They will never be rich. They will never have a mansion w/ a heli-pad and they will damnsure never be doing the perp-walk from the courtroom to the jailhouse 'cuz they ripped a buncha folks off or killed some poor sucker to enhance the bottom line. (and their wallets)
What they will do is bust ass to make the world a better place.
What they will do is play a part in defeating Type 1 Diabetes and that means that they're gonna leave this world better than they found it.
And that, my friends, most definately does not suck!
This is a shout out,-and a long-overdue one at that - to everyone that has taken up arms to fight cancer, AIDS, hunger, homelessness or any of the plagues that bedevil this planet, be they man-made or a "gift" from the Gods.
You guys rock, w/ a capital "R".
Next time I'll talk about Bikelife, I promise.
Ride on, MC
Dude that ran the plant that shipped the poison peanuts? Scum.
A-holes @ AIG? Scum.
What do these jack-holes (and their all-to-numerous ilk) have in common you ask?
They think money is the shit. They let their desire for mo' money mo' money mo' money subvert the basic human decency they were (theoretically anyway) born with for the sake of the bottom line, a fancy car and a mansion w/ a heli-pad.
Scum.
They offer nothing, they take everything, in short...............they suck.
Screw them.
Let's talk about a better class of people. Let's talk about the folks @ JDRF for example. They will never be rich. They will never have a mansion w/ a heli-pad and they will damnsure never be doing the perp-walk from the courtroom to the jailhouse 'cuz they ripped a buncha folks off or killed some poor sucker to enhance the bottom line. (and their wallets)
What they will do is bust ass to make the world a better place.
What they will do is play a part in defeating Type 1 Diabetes and that means that they're gonna leave this world better than they found it.
And that, my friends, most definately does not suck!
This is a shout out,-and a long-overdue one at that - to everyone that has taken up arms to fight cancer, AIDS, hunger, homelessness or any of the plagues that bedevil this planet, be they man-made or a "gift" from the Gods.
You guys rock, w/ a capital "R".
Next time I'll talk about Bikelife, I promise.
Ride on, MC
Thursday, February 26, 2009
Bike Life its Ownself
This crazy mashed-together & mixed up thing I call "BikeLife" gets crazier and more mixed up every day it seems like! The running joke @ meetings is that I need a cap w/ at least 3 "fronts" so I can rotate it to tell folks which "we" I mean when I say that "we" oughta do this or "we" need that. There are some meetings where that cap would spin so much that it'd wear a groove in my scalp! JDRF, VCC, MCC....they all combine and seperate like 3 rivers that join for awhile and then split off again downstream. And every once in awhile you can toss the band in there too.
Still - I don't thing I'd have it any other way!
Lots' going on, 'natch. The Ultimate Cycling Challenge was last weekend - a 24 hour indoor relay ride to support the Lance Armstrong Foundation. (Whoever he is). We had 3 teams - JDRF, a shop-employee team and a Velo City squad. I did 8 hours at differnet times throughout the event, mostly in one hour chunks. There WAS that 11pm - 3am shift.......that last hour went by s-l-o-w! ( "Dont' look at'cher watch! Don't look at'cher watch! Don't look at'cher watch! Ohhh DAMN - you looked at'cher watch!") It was cool to see a coupla hundred folks goin' nowhere fast and raising 40K for the L.A.F.
This Sunday is the Handmade Show in Indy and I can't wait! It's gonna be awesome, even if I hafta miss a ride!
Dang - the sun's out and it's supposed to hit 40 today! Could it be that Spring is actually gonna show up this year?
The JDRF stuff is keeping me busy - lots of planning for all the Rides, the Tech Support, all the Team stuff.........it's a damn good thing that I love it so much 'cuz sometimes it's kind of a pain in the ass! We have a great team again - a goodly % of my favorite folks I've met through JDRF!
The staff for the season is taking shape - just gotta fill in a few gaps and tie up a few loose ends. It' sux not havin' KP on the schedule but she'll be around and Rhonda's gonna be great.
It's hard to figure out what to expect w/ all the economic gloom and doom out there......I don't intend to take it lightly in ANY WAY but we're gonna proceed here @ VCC as if things are gonna be okay. Not great, but okay. The suns' gonna come out, the roads and trails are gonna dry out and folks will be on their bikes. And we'll be ready!
Ride on!
MC
Still - I don't thing I'd have it any other way!
Lots' going on, 'natch. The Ultimate Cycling Challenge was last weekend - a 24 hour indoor relay ride to support the Lance Armstrong Foundation. (Whoever he is). We had 3 teams - JDRF, a shop-employee team and a Velo City squad. I did 8 hours at differnet times throughout the event, mostly in one hour chunks. There WAS that 11pm - 3am shift.......that last hour went by s-l-o-w! ( "Dont' look at'cher watch! Don't look at'cher watch! Don't look at'cher watch! Ohhh DAMN - you looked at'cher watch!") It was cool to see a coupla hundred folks goin' nowhere fast and raising 40K for the L.A.F.
This Sunday is the Handmade Show in Indy and I can't wait! It's gonna be awesome, even if I hafta miss a ride!
Dang - the sun's out and it's supposed to hit 40 today! Could it be that Spring is actually gonna show up this year?
The JDRF stuff is keeping me busy - lots of planning for all the Rides, the Tech Support, all the Team stuff.........it's a damn good thing that I love it so much 'cuz sometimes it's kind of a pain in the ass! We have a great team again - a goodly % of my favorite folks I've met through JDRF!
The staff for the season is taking shape - just gotta fill in a few gaps and tie up a few loose ends. It' sux not havin' KP on the schedule but she'll be around and Rhonda's gonna be great.
It's hard to figure out what to expect w/ all the economic gloom and doom out there......I don't intend to take it lightly in ANY WAY but we're gonna proceed here @ VCC as if things are gonna be okay. Not great, but okay. The suns' gonna come out, the roads and trails are gonna dry out and folks will be on their bikes. And we'll be ready!
Ride on!
MC
Thursday, February 12, 2009
Spring was here (for a sec anyway!)
Man! Was that sweet or what!?!?!?!?!? 57 degrees and sunshine? On 2/10? I'll frickin' take it, thank yew very much! My good bud J2 hit me w/ a text @ about noon - "Ride 2:30-ish?" My first response was that I couldn't get away.......I'm kinda pretty much buried in shop stuff, JDRF stuff, wondering-who-I'm-gonna-work-with-this-year stuff, you name it. I told him to count me out but thank gawd he came by and talked me into it. I rode home, kitted up and off we went, west and south into the howlin' gale that we owed the warm temps to. Oh - did I forget to mention that we were riding about 17K of demo Seven carbon bikes that are still here from the Seven Rendezvous? I did? My bad! (I'm not the world's biggest carbon frame fan to say the least but that V11 is sweet! It had Sram Red on it as well - nice enough I reckon, if you can't have Campy!)
Damn glad I went, and I owe it all to J2! You da man, man!
Speakin' of the Seven Ron-day-voo.....it was a huge success. We had at least 45 folks there, gave away some cool tech tees and displayed over 30 Seven bikes and frames! Joe-from-Seven was way impressed w/ the turnout and the whole deal. We'll do it again sometime, you just wait and see!
The other BIG NEWS around here of course is that manana' is Ted's last day. The commute from GR has f-i-n-a-l-l-y gotten to him and he'll be @ Ada Bike Shop as of next week. A good change for him methinks and I hope it works out. We've worked together for a long time - it seems weird to contemplate him not being here.
But - shit like this is a regular part of any bike shop and has been a constant thread in my life. I'm excited about Berger takin' the reins in the workshop - he's a great wrench and I know he's excited. It'll be a drag for awhile - especially for me - but by mid-April my guess is that we'll be rockin' it harder and stronger!
Soup Ride this Sunday - big fun!
Ride on!
MC
Damn glad I went, and I owe it all to J2! You da man, man!
Speakin' of the Seven Ron-day-voo.....it was a huge success. We had at least 45 folks there, gave away some cool tech tees and displayed over 30 Seven bikes and frames! Joe-from-Seven was way impressed w/ the turnout and the whole deal. We'll do it again sometime, you just wait and see!
The other BIG NEWS around here of course is that manana' is Ted's last day. The commute from GR has f-i-n-a-l-l-y gotten to him and he'll be @ Ada Bike Shop as of next week. A good change for him methinks and I hope it works out. We've worked together for a long time - it seems weird to contemplate him not being here.
But - shit like this is a regular part of any bike shop and has been a constant thread in my life. I'm excited about Berger takin' the reins in the workshop - he's a great wrench and I know he's excited. It'll be a drag for awhile - especially for me - but by mid-April my guess is that we'll be rockin' it harder and stronger!
Soup Ride this Sunday - big fun!
Ride on!
MC
Monday, February 02, 2009
Off the back AGAIN....dang!
Man, at the risk of repeating myself - how do all them Blog-studs do it!?!? I really wanna keep up w/ this project (putting aside the whole "why?" thing for the moment) but I swear.......it's kind of a challenge!
Lots goin' on at the shop. Let's see if I can deliver a re-cap in somewhat chronological order:
I went down to Greenville SC on a scouting trip 2 weekends ago. I know a decent # of folks there through my work w/ JDRF and I was hoping to take a shop trip down there in March. Plenty of good rides there to be sure, but the main thing I learned is that there ain't no flat ones! Jeez......every good local ride involved headin' outta town and then up and over something big enough to have it's own name! Great climbs, sweet switch-back-y descents...it'd be a great place to put a nice edge on your fitness @ the end of a long winter! As it happens, recent events have made it less-than-likely that I'll be able to pull it off, but still....it was worth a shot and good to get outta town for a few days.
JDRF stuff is rocking hard! Velo City will be the official provider for the tech support @ every Ride this season, so that's new. A big deal and a considerable source of stress for Mrs. Clark's favorite son but there's nothing new about that! Our Team has 55 riders registered for either the new Killington Ride in August or Death Valley but it's not to late to get on board! (Man, I gotta start fund-raising!) We added a 2nd Coach to help me out so that'll be good. (Yay Nicole!)
The shop has been kinda busy, actually. We have this "Seven Rendezvous" coming up this Sunday, the Indoor Rides have been drawing a solid 18-20 riders, Yoga Class has been going well, we're still ridin' outside on Fri. morning and Sunday afternoon.........lots goin' on! I'm late getting the newsletter out 'natch, but that'll happen within 48 hours, mark my words!
Hard to believe, but I'm up to my ears in 2009 Fall/Winter clothing decisions. Kind of a drag, when you get right down to it. I understand that they gotta have time to get stuff made and all but sheesh! (Gotta say though...the new Cannondale stuff looks pretty good. I really like the LE jacket I've been riding in all winter!)
I sent my beloved Seven Axiom back to the factory for a re-finish and it looks wicked awesome! Nice to see the original ti finish again! It'be be one sweet fixxie for the Spring!
So - the big news shop-side is that Ted's leaving later this month. I totally understand - the drive is a drag. (Hell - I wouldn't do it!) and there's a position open @ Ada Bike Shop 'cuz the last wrench they got from me just left. Still - it's always a drag when key staff leave.......not to mention friends. For sure my least favorite part of this gig! Fear not - your bike will be in good hands even if I'm not 100% sure whose hands that might be at this very instant. (I have some stuff going that's not solid enough to discuss right now)
MCC meeting tonight - then I hafta go to the Rapid Wheelmen meeting in GR on Thursday w/ my JDRF hat on. There's a Fitness Fair @ GVSU this week, the GR Bicycle Film Festival on Saturday, the Seven deal on Sunday...all this in addition to the regular rides and such.
Like I said.......lots' going on!
I guess I better get to it, huh?
Talk to you later, MC
Lots goin' on at the shop. Let's see if I can deliver a re-cap in somewhat chronological order:
I went down to Greenville SC on a scouting trip 2 weekends ago. I know a decent # of folks there through my work w/ JDRF and I was hoping to take a shop trip down there in March. Plenty of good rides there to be sure, but the main thing I learned is that there ain't no flat ones! Jeez......every good local ride involved headin' outta town and then up and over something big enough to have it's own name! Great climbs, sweet switch-back-y descents...it'd be a great place to put a nice edge on your fitness @ the end of a long winter! As it happens, recent events have made it less-than-likely that I'll be able to pull it off, but still....it was worth a shot and good to get outta town for a few days.
JDRF stuff is rocking hard! Velo City will be the official provider for the tech support @ every Ride this season, so that's new. A big deal and a considerable source of stress for Mrs. Clark's favorite son but there's nothing new about that! Our Team has 55 riders registered for either the new Killington Ride in August or Death Valley but it's not to late to get on board! (Man, I gotta start fund-raising!) We added a 2nd Coach to help me out so that'll be good. (Yay Nicole!)
The shop has been kinda busy, actually. We have this "Seven Rendezvous" coming up this Sunday, the Indoor Rides have been drawing a solid 18-20 riders, Yoga Class has been going well, we're still ridin' outside on Fri. morning and Sunday afternoon.........lots goin' on! I'm late getting the newsletter out 'natch, but that'll happen within 48 hours, mark my words!
Hard to believe, but I'm up to my ears in 2009 Fall/Winter clothing decisions. Kind of a drag, when you get right down to it. I understand that they gotta have time to get stuff made and all but sheesh! (Gotta say though...the new Cannondale stuff looks pretty good. I really like the LE jacket I've been riding in all winter!)
I sent my beloved Seven Axiom back to the factory for a re-finish and it looks wicked awesome! Nice to see the original ti finish again! It'be be one sweet fixxie for the Spring!
So - the big news shop-side is that Ted's leaving later this month. I totally understand - the drive is a drag. (Hell - I wouldn't do it!) and there's a position open @ Ada Bike Shop 'cuz the last wrench they got from me just left. Still - it's always a drag when key staff leave.......not to mention friends. For sure my least favorite part of this gig! Fear not - your bike will be in good hands even if I'm not 100% sure whose hands that might be at this very instant. (I have some stuff going that's not solid enough to discuss right now)
MCC meeting tonight - then I hafta go to the Rapid Wheelmen meeting in GR on Thursday w/ my JDRF hat on. There's a Fitness Fair @ GVSU this week, the GR Bicycle Film Festival on Saturday, the Seven deal on Sunday...all this in addition to the regular rides and such.
Like I said.......lots' going on!
I guess I better get to it, huh?
Talk to you later, MC
Tuesday, January 13, 2009
CHAMOIS REPORT, PART ONE!
So - despite the possibility of publicly declaring myself an idiot I am compelled to offer this endorsment of the new-for-2009 Pearl Izumi P.R.O. Octane bibshorts:
It's my habit to test potential new stuff for the shop in the only way I really know how - I use it. In the off-season I like to try out new shorts 'cuz I've always felt that if I can find shorts or bibs that don't bother me on the rollers or trainer then they're gonna be great out on the road. (By the way - that theory applies to saddles, shoes, cleat placement and any other positional changes you might be contemplating. There's no better place to experiment than the trainer!)
So - I've been putting a pair of these new bibs from Pearl to the test. They are pretty good lookin' - featuring the oh-so-trendy black and white look that 90+% of the bikes, bibs, shoes and helmets we saw @ Interbike had - w/ a zippy little red stripe. They are 100% Italian in a departure from PI's US roots and I'm kind of digging them so far.
So.......we had a 2 hour indoor ride scheduled for last Sunday. I thought it'd be a great chance to really check them out so I made sure that they were washed that morning. I had to leave for the shop early so I got grabbed them outta the dryer and threw them in my bag w/ just a quick check to make sure they were dry.
Oops.
90 minutes later I'm kitting up for the ride and notice that the chamois is soaked. Not just "not dry"......................soaked. I figure that I'm screwed, 'twas my bad so I resign myself to a l-o-n-g uncomfortable ride and jump on my bike.
Well.............it wasn't until we had 10 minutes to go in the ride that I remembered the wet chamois! I never thought about it the entire ride! Pretty impressive, I gotta say.
Still stupid, sure............but still.............impressive.
Thanks for savin' my ass, Pearl!
Now - are we gonna carry them? I dunno yet. After all - they are $275 and there are some other bibs I wanna try in that price range. I'll let'cha know.
It's my habit to test potential new stuff for the shop in the only way I really know how - I use it. In the off-season I like to try out new shorts 'cuz I've always felt that if I can find shorts or bibs that don't bother me on the rollers or trainer then they're gonna be great out on the road. (By the way - that theory applies to saddles, shoes, cleat placement and any other positional changes you might be contemplating. There's no better place to experiment than the trainer!)
So - I've been putting a pair of these new bibs from Pearl to the test. They are pretty good lookin' - featuring the oh-so-trendy black and white look that 90+% of the bikes, bibs, shoes and helmets we saw @ Interbike had - w/ a zippy little red stripe. They are 100% Italian in a departure from PI's US roots and I'm kind of digging them so far.
So.......we had a 2 hour indoor ride scheduled for last Sunday. I thought it'd be a great chance to really check them out so I made sure that they were washed that morning. I had to leave for the shop early so I got grabbed them outta the dryer and threw them in my bag w/ just a quick check to make sure they were dry.
Oops.
90 minutes later I'm kitting up for the ride and notice that the chamois is soaked. Not just "not dry"......................soaked. I figure that I'm screwed, 'twas my bad so I resign myself to a l-o-n-g uncomfortable ride and jump on my bike.
Well.............it wasn't until we had 10 minutes to go in the ride that I remembered the wet chamois! I never thought about it the entire ride! Pretty impressive, I gotta say.
Still stupid, sure............but still.............impressive.
Thanks for savin' my ass, Pearl!
Now - are we gonna carry them? I dunno yet. After all - they are $275 and there are some other bibs I wanna try in that price range. I'll let'cha know.
Monday, January 05, 2009
I'm Proud of My Friends.....
....and it's a beautiful thing. I was tryin' to think of a better word than "proud"...it's a great word but it seems kinda, I dunno, serious for an entry on my blog, y'know? Still.....it's the right word and I think that I'll just go w/ it. (After all...you'll never know, huh?)
Heres' the deal (and you can decide if I oughta find a new word)
There's a new face around here. By "here" I mean the shop and the rides and the JDRF team and that whole loosely defined chunk of my life that's all wrapped up around what I usta call "BikeLife". We'll call her "Carol Bishop" (not her real name). She showed up for a Tuesday Night Ride in late November or maybe early December....in conditions that were gnarly enough to keep the majority of the "hardcore" riders home and on the trainer. (Or the couch!) She stuck it out, stayed for yoga, came back for another ride, helped set up the 'cross course, did the 'cross race and has pretty much become a fixture on the scene. No big news there....that happens all the time, right?
Well - yes and no. I've watched the loosely-defined group of folks that I'm lucky enough to get to hang out with bring "Carol Bishop" into their circle w/out hesitation or weirdness. She's a rider, she's a friend of mine and that's good enough for them. (Not implying that being a friend of mine is an endorsement or carries any special weight...at all!).
I dig that. A ton. If I had sat down 25 years ago and tried to tell you exactly what I hoped to accomplish w/ the shop this is what it would be: A place for "Carol Bishop" to discover and use as the entry point into the whole big beautiful world of bikes and bike folks. Especially bike folks like my friends, 'cause they kinda rock.
But they know that.
I'm gonna go w/ "proud". I hope that's okay w/ you.
Heres' the deal (and you can decide if I oughta find a new word)
There's a new face around here. By "here" I mean the shop and the rides and the JDRF team and that whole loosely defined chunk of my life that's all wrapped up around what I usta call "BikeLife". We'll call her "Carol Bishop" (not her real name). She showed up for a Tuesday Night Ride in late November or maybe early December....in conditions that were gnarly enough to keep the majority of the "hardcore" riders home and on the trainer. (Or the couch!) She stuck it out, stayed for yoga, came back for another ride, helped set up the 'cross course, did the 'cross race and has pretty much become a fixture on the scene. No big news there....that happens all the time, right?
Well - yes and no. I've watched the loosely-defined group of folks that I'm lucky enough to get to hang out with bring "Carol Bishop" into their circle w/out hesitation or weirdness. She's a rider, she's a friend of mine and that's good enough for them. (Not implying that being a friend of mine is an endorsement or carries any special weight...at all!).
I dig that. A ton. If I had sat down 25 years ago and tried to tell you exactly what I hoped to accomplish w/ the shop this is what it would be: A place for "Carol Bishop" to discover and use as the entry point into the whole big beautiful world of bikes and bike folks. Especially bike folks like my friends, 'cause they kinda rock.
But they know that.
I'm gonna go w/ "proud". I hope that's okay w/ you.
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