Bikes on the floor!

So I am a bike shop. And I sell bikes. Really I do. But other than the list to the right there, I haven't really mentioned what I've got going on in the store. These are a few of my favorites.

The Redline D440. $550. Great rootbeer color, with sweet pinstriping. REALLY attractive bike. Versatile. Comes stock with v brakes, but the hubs and frame are disc ready. Low rider mounts on the fork, rack mounts in the rear. Its ready for some off road touring!





I've sold one of these already, and have a 21" left.

Redline 925 commuter. Simple singlespeed goodness! Comes as you see it here, fenders and all. Again a great brick red color. Size is a 48(virtual 54). It fits Lisa perfectly. Her favorite bike in the whole store. Has real road bike geometry, none of this super twitch track bike stuff. Really comfortable. $525 out the door. I don't know how Redline does it. So many cool bikes for a real reasonable price.





Jamis Nova Pro. Cyclocross bike. I love Cyclocross bikes. Really versatile rigs. Love them so much that my main roadish bike is one. They ride great, and don't shy away from the dirt/gravel diversions. Anyways, this Jamis, for $1095 is a pretty good deal. 9 speed Tiagra(last years 105) full carbon fork, Carbon seat stays and Ritchey parts add up to a noice bike. And I LOVE the Creamsicle paint.





Sorry these pics are so dark. I think I was fooling with a new flash when I took them.

Also some news in terms of products I carry. If anyone is looking to get set up for some touring, I've got you covered! I'm now a dealer for Arkel bags and http://www.oldmanmountain.com/ racks.

Got a single speed you want to bling up? I've got you covered there too. Paul Components are a mere order away.

Want to build up a hunting/snow/go anywhere bike? The Surly Pugsly is you answer. Team that up with Vicious Cycles(tentative dealer) Graceful Fat Sheba rim at a full 80mm wide, and you WILL be able to ride anywhere.

Listening to: Primus, Sailing the Seas of Cheese. And before that A Tribe Called Quest, The Lowend Theory. Feeling retro today.

Is it the summer doldrums?

Ok okokokok. Enough whining. On with it.

Been getting lots of good riding in lately. So much so, that I actually feel satiated! Been a while since I've felt that way about riding. 50 mile road rides. 30 mile road rides. Hours upon hours spent in the woods, playing and scheming. Its all felt damned good, and I feel pretty strong right now. Cool! Could I have done this? Probably. Would have been fun to try.

Last Monday with Sean and Will. Both these guys are off to college this fall. Sean to Whitewater, Will to St. Paul. Who's going to replace them?





Yep, it really is that steep.


Yours truly.


Sean:


Will:


Listening to: Last.fm Station: Ryan Adams. Pretty cool site.

What? Where'd I go?

Yep. We're still here. Still around. And still busy. I haven't forgotten my dear readers here. Just taking a small break during this busy time. Kinda hard to keep going on all cylinders all the time.

I've been super busy with repairs(a good thing). Selling a few bikes(a Good thing). And riding quite a bit(a very good thing). The weather has really been blessing us lately. Guess we're getting our due from this spring, eh?

I'll pick up here with regular posts again soon! I have a few 'Things I like' posts coming up, and I want to start featuring a few bikes from the floor. This IS a shop blog after all, and I AM trying to sell bikes.

Listening to: Bon Iver; For Emma, For Ever

Went for a ride this weekend.

Took a family trip up to Winona to see the Kato Krew. Drink some beer. Watch the kids do silly stuff till we intervened. Drank more beer. Looked at really old vids. Drank more. Ate pancakes and egg bake for breakfast, then ran down to La Crosse and hit up the HPT trails. As always, a great time was had there. Rode the new connector that will link to the Quarry part of the system. Can't wait to see what develops there. Should be a great system when its done.



Listening to: Limbik Frequencies. Got the trance on today. Thanks Rick!

A Short Bontrager History lesson.

So there I am, cycling my way to work with the kids en tow. There's not a whole ton of nice bikes floating around PdC yet(I'm working on it! give me time!). So it stands out when I see a nice lugged road bike toddle on by. Of course we wave as we approach, but as we pass, as true cyclists, we look at each others bikes. Mine is simple. Not flashy. Unadorned with stickers.

As the other rider passed, I noticed a familiar "B" dot script.

Hold the horses!

I squeeel to a stop(stupid brakes...gotta work on those...) and I shout out. "Hey! is that really a Bontrager?" He looks at me, puzzled, like anyone around these parts should know that name? Yes he says, it is in fact a Bontrager. A lugged roadie, all kitted out in late 80's Shimano Ultegra parts.

We circle each other eyeing up the rigs. His is of course the interesting one. He says there's an interesting story behind it too. He got this bike as a form of payment from Keith. Turns out Ells, as he's known, knew Keith back in the Day, and used his student loan to purchase Keith's first batch of tubing.

Kind of a nice introduction to the day, finding a bit of mountain bike history in my little river town. I look forward to riding more with Ells and maybe even prodding his brain for some stories.

The Saturday ride will most likely happen, though I suspect it may be shortened. I'll be taking pictures at the Showdown on Friday, and a few beers will inevitably find their way into my hands.

Listening to: Hammers. And cordless drills. And saws. Why? you'll see soon!

mmmm. DecoraHHHH.

Had a great ride there yesterday. 20+ miles of singletrack bliss.



Mo is in there somewhere.

listening to: Two babbling kids, chirping birdies, and passing cars. 'nother great day!

Unexpected, but welcome guests!

So there I am working away yesterday when pops in one Andy Davis. Who is Andy, you may ask? I don't know! Well, I didn't know. He was just another guy out for ride[a really really long ride] who stopped by the shop. He and his partner, Melissa, stopped by Simply next door to grab some lunch on thier tour through the country. Andy and I got to talking about what they're doing, how they're doing it, and how far they have to go. I"ve always wanted to be one of the locals that folks on a trip like this run into that are able to house, feed, and show a good time. As luck would have it, Lisa and I were able to do just that with Andy and Melissa. We had jam last night again, they pitched a tent in the yard, and took a shower in our house. It really was an honor to have them for the night.



The point of their trip is to highlight sustainable development, and sustainable practices that are happening all across the country, in big cities and small. They're taking photographs, and shooting digital video. They hope in the end to have enough material to put together a movie. Here in PdC, they got two interviews out of a stop that they didn't think would really yield much. They talked to my friend Kathleen and about the project she's headed up - the Farm to School program - that aims to get fresh local produce into the local school system.



They also talked to me about the roles I've played here in town. From City Planner to Businessman, and the differing approaches to community building that each of those postion takes.

I'm putting up a link here on the TPP blog. I hope you check it out and follow along on thier quest. Especailly if you have an interest in sustainability. I'm betting that they're going to uncover more practices than they thought possible. Seems like they already have lots of material!

Oh, and to top it all off, they're getting hitched at the end of the trip. Best of luck you two. It was grand to meet you!



listening to: Boot Liquor. Again. But damn is it good!