The West Side

A bicycle has always been able to take you places.  Where depends a lot on the individual.  As kids the where may have been just down the street, but it was likely the first taste of freedom.  No longer confined to our block, we could get out and explore. As an adult, the bicycle still has that power.  It can still take you down the street, or across town.  It may take you to the store, or to work.  It has the ability to show you your world from a perspective that a car never can.  Does your bicycle still have to power to take you places?  If the answer is no, what's the reason?  If yes, where would you like to go?

I've been thinking about some of the things that I would like to accomplish in the New Year.  I've tried to put them in a list (as I've gotten older I find that if I write things down they actually get done). I'm going to ride my bike.....to work, to the store, for fun.....I'm going to ride. No bike I own will have smaller than 28mm wide tires.  It's all about comfort from now on. I will take more pictures while I'm out on the bike.  Check that, I need to take more pictures.  Period.  My grandfather traveled all over the world, and never took a single photograph.  Tragic. I need to get back into the gym. At least one of my bikes will have flat pedals.  So much easier to just get on and ride. We will have a shop ride.......of sorts.  Some Saturday mornings we will ride, and others can, and will ride with us.  That will be nice. I re found the fun of working in a bike shop again.  Don't know exactly how it happened, and I'm n...

This is the time of year when a lot of people start making resolutions.  How many of those are followed through on do ya think? I'm not one for resolutions, but I am excited about the New Year.  As you might expect, my excitement is revolving around bicycles. We've been working on some new bike lines/models over the last couple of months.  These are not revolutionary by any means.  They are bikes that you used to see in bike shops all the time.  They will be durable, comfortable, affordable and really, really fun to ride.  Look for them in store sometime in Feb. 2011 is going to be the year you start to love your bike again.  That's my resolution. Ride on!

It's hard not to be reflective during the Holidays.  I will keep this simple.  I'm thankful for everything I have.  I am looking forward to 2011.  There are better things coming.  Of this I am sure.  I hope each and every one of you have a great Holiday, a very Merry Christmas and a healthy and prosperous New Year. Chris

It's nice when you can take something and make it usable again. Take this old Cannondale hybrid for example. It had clearly seen better days, but it had some sentimental value, and the owner wanted to see if we could inject some new life into it.  But of course we could. For the sake of full disclosure it should be noted that this bike belongs to my girlfriend, and was not what you would call a normal case. Nearly every part was replaced. Not something we would expect most people to do, but many of the parts used had been languishing in boxes for years.  They were cast offs from old bikes of mine.  It was nice to see them used again.  She loves the bike, and it's a great example of what can be done to make a bike useful again.  Check out the photos.  I think it's a pretty dramatic before and after. Ride on! Chris

Things are happening at the bike shop, but it's winter and it's slow going.  I've been meaning to update the blog.  As soon as I organize my thoughts a little better, I will.  Promise, or threat?  Take your pick. Ride on!

For as long as I've been around bikes there have been rules.  They were mostly unwritten.  I believe this was mostly by design.  Unwritten rules keep the "unwashed" from your chosen method of worship.  The rules went something like this; if you ride this type of bike, you wear this type of clothing.  Don't you dare wear this type of shoe with that kind of bike.  Don't even think about that kind of accessory on your bike if you're going to ride with that group. I'm here to tell you that any rule that keeps you from enjoying your bicycle is dumb.  I'm throwing out the rules.  From this day forward there is only one rule. Ride your bike, and have fun. I guess that was two, but you get my meaning. Ride on!