tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16763844607644948442024-03-18T06:44:36.531-07:00A Bicycle's point of viewObservations from my bicycle on my daily commuting and riding through North Texas. Living in Texas is not a nightmare for cyclists, but there is not enough information out there to even convince Texans themselves. The objective of this blog is to bring light to the subject of cycling both locally, nationwide, and internationally from the vantage point of a bicycle.Unknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger197125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1676384460764494844.post-81669268065702990572024-03-05T14:29:00.000-08:002024-03-05T19:09:10.286-08:00Gone Mountain Biking<p style="text-align: center;"> Are we entering into a new era of off road dominance? </p><p style="text-align: center;">To some, it's an era we never left.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBXx6LvgwLltZSPT09lP8D7y0Ahdk8g2TTvRXJjcI58C2gkWMlL0e7Z8P3yL4104qxaa1yeXRnXLye5i-aASADJ83TokXUMEgHglkxx7RUdiWSb8OmmF3K3I0XgNI20VqGvhMGPrZ3esBa2MkRcRUMj5bv3LaHQvp8q_VHDNfOSXZqJ7cn-MFkiVbz52Nj/s800/gone_mountain_biking.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="800" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBXx6LvgwLltZSPT09lP8D7y0Ahdk8g2TTvRXJjcI58C2gkWMlL0e7Z8P3yL4104qxaa1yeXRnXLye5i-aASADJ83TokXUMEgHglkxx7RUdiWSb8OmmF3K3I0XgNI20VqGvhMGPrZ3esBa2MkRcRUMj5bv3LaHQvp8q_VHDNfOSXZqJ7cn-MFkiVbz52Nj/w400-h400/gone_mountain_biking.jpeg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><p style="text-align: center;"><br /></p><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><p style="text-align: left;">There was a time when the humble mountain bike covered almost all aspects of non-competitive cycling. A short trip to the grocery store? Check. Your commute to class? Check. A ride around town or to a friend's house? Check. A weekend getaway to your local trails? Check. In the beginning, there was one bike to rule them all. It was not a fancy carbon road bike costing in the thousands. It wasn't even a gravel bike as in those days we've never even heard of the concept. It was the old school, twenty six inch wheel diameter, horizontal top tube, diamond framed mountain bike with optional (not de facto) suspension. This was a time dominated by cyclists who rode the sidewalk where they existed or rode the shoulders of roads in their area. Fanny packs and saddle bags ruled supreme, and helmet use was still optional. Bicycles were simple, analog machines with cable actuated gears and brakes that anyone with a basic set of tools could learn to service from their backyard. Recently, I have noticed a longing for simpler times and the market slowly gravitating towards the kind of riding that most people who don't call themselves cyclists have been doing for years. For good reason, as the biggest demographic of cyclists has been underserved by the trends that have dominated for so long that it is hard to remember there existed a time before them.</p></blockquote><p><br /></p><p>In the past 30 years, the U.S has gone through three cycling popularity waves. This doesn't include the great bike boom era of the 1970's because that era is well in the rear view mirror of time now. The first wave of cycling popularity came around 1989 and lasted until about the year 2000. This is the era that I will refer to as "Gone Mountain Biking" because of a meme I saw a few years ago on a cycling forum on this very subject. This era coincided with Greg Lemond's last Tour De France victory and the rise of Lance Armstrong in subsequent years. The early years of this era counted on some very good marketing approaches such as televised races and appearances of mountain bikes in shows and sitcoms (does anyone remember Jerry Seinfeld's Klein that hung inside his home?). Road biking during this time was both a niche sport and arguably more dangerous than it is today, although in this article we will discuss the return of those dangers that kept cyclists off the roads during that time. During the entire decade of the 90's, I cannot remember one person that owned a road bike. Aside from a few 70's Schwinns that would occasionally pop up at pawn shops there was no trace of any curvy handlebar bikes anywhere in society. One can argue that I was observing society then through the lens of a child and maybe I would of noticed road cyclists more had I been paying attention, but I can honestly say that during that decade I didn't see a single one. I didn't know those bikes existed until the late 90's and only through watching the Tour De France.</p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnpvfetLwB_Coiv1lXi2bvZrWSXfij6HRMlUrmbz8WY4uxe6nRUu-AsufMHYH6WO25rmTRr4uH08Zd3WNjXEpbFSlYR6RupDr2ky6FodKREhN3sg11ZYubwt6iX1qrAcs9B_YowDTQXOpK4ukjcIOpru9_87fMXmAJPXEjQwYVLFPWsCuSW8-Usi8FwTvQ/s512/seinfeld%20bike.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="370" data-original-width="512" height="289" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnpvfetLwB_Coiv1lXi2bvZrWSXfij6HRMlUrmbz8WY4uxe6nRUu-AsufMHYH6WO25rmTRr4uH08Zd3WNjXEpbFSlYR6RupDr2ky6FodKREhN3sg11ZYubwt6iX1qrAcs9B_YowDTQXOpK4ukjcIOpru9_87fMXmAJPXEjQwYVLFPWsCuSW8-Usi8FwTvQ/w400-h289/seinfeld%20bike.jpeg" title="The Klein mountain bike featured in the backdrop of Jerry Seinfeld's apartment" width="400" /></a></div><br /><p style="text-align: center;"><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>Imagine a society that only rode on rigid or hardtail mountain bikes for recreation and in a nutshell you have what cycling was like in the 90's. I was first made aware of road cycling as a sport in the early 2000's, but still had no connection personally to what it meant to be a road cyclist. Around 2003, a friend of mine showed me his Cervelo Time Trial bike he used when he competed in South Africa. That was the first time I got to see one up close and I remember the twinkle in my eye when he told me how far he could ride on that bike. I think I already owned one of those yellow Livestrong bracelets during those years. A few years later, around 2007 I bought my first road bike. My interest in road cycling coincided with Lance Armstrong's return to cycling in 2009 when he rode for team Radio Shack. With an ambassador for the sport domestically, road cycling enjoyed a resurgence in popularity for a few more years. This popularity led to improvements on multi-use trails nationwide and a much larger national conversation about the health benefits of cycling as well as it's use for transportation. All of these efforts came crashing down around 2012, when Armstrong became a disgraced figure in the sport over his use of performance enhancing drugs. This era is what I refer to as the Lance Era, spanning in earnest from about 2003 to 2012.</p><p><br /></p><p>Since 2012 the popularity of cycling has waned and is now suffering a slow atrophy. Road cycling has traditionally been exclusive in its ability to attract new people into the sport. From it's cost of entry (road bikes being some of the most expensive) to the lack of infrastructure to ride safely it would seem like road cycling is a sport practiced by daredevils and those with a death wish. Instead of local municipalities addressing the concerns of cyclists, the nationwide construction booms for housing have not made any concessions to cyclists on the roads. Many neighborhoods are still being built without sidewalks and many cities are not adding bike lanes or protected shoulders for those who wish to commute by bike. Roads are getting busier while at the same time less maintained. Adding to the difficulty of being a cyclist on the roads, most new truck or SUV grills are on average four feet tall, making it difficult to notice a cyclist riding at about the same height as the grill. The average consumer of road cycling equipment are men over the age of 40. Many who have been at this for a while are now hanging up their road bikes in favor of E-bikes, or simply no longer riding at all. While some Millennials and even some Zoomers are picking up cycling, they are more the exception than the rule and many are chasing the clout that social media showcases them. It is difficult to know whether this new generation of road cyclists that is small in numbers will stick to the sport the way the generations before them did. While the road cycling genre sputters to stay alive, a new movement has been slowing gaining traction and should make it's day view as the next big wave of the sport.</p><p><br /></p><p>Gravel biking has been discussed in the cycling circles way before the first bikes were marketed to the public. I first heard of it in the early 2010s through cycling forums and blogs, which referred to gravel biking as gravel grinding, randonneuring or underbiking. Before purpose built, race gravel bikes were invented, many would fashion gravel bikes out of cyclocross bikes, old mountain bikes or 70's road bikes with clearances for 650b wheels. Here in the states, some of the first gravel events were held in rural parts of the country, such as the Trans Iowa hosted by it's inventor Guitar Ted. Some of the oldest events in my area are the Texas Chainring Massacre and the Red River Riot. Gravel bikes are constantly undergoing a metamorphosis leaning either towards becoming a road bike or back to a mountain bike. Seeing as how gravel events are similar to early XC mountain biking events, I would say that we are on a return to the "Gone Mountain Biking" era. After all, gravel bikes are marketed as do it all bikes, a trait that they share with some of the first mountain bikes. It seems like the gravel bike trend is becoming a segway as more road cyclists get off the pavement and onto rail trails, country dirt roads and eventually mountain bike trails.</p><p><br /></p><p>With no "Lance Era" spokesperson left for cycling in the U.S, it has become increasingly difficult to maintain the hard fought and delicate space we have created for ourselves on the roads. As the nation reverts back into it's car centric identity, the notion of looking out for or respecting other road users quickly vanishes from the collective consciousness of drivers. Maybe this is a phenomenon only witnessed in new suburbia or other sprawling communities, yet it is impactful to society at large as well as in the world of cycling. People will always use their bicycles. The question is going to be how they do so moving forward. Many who were once remote workers during the pandemic have had to return to the office, further adding to the gridlock that exists on the roads. Will people who love cycling simply be forced to move to where there is more infrastructure for it, or move so far out into a remote area where there's no cars to worry about? Or will we see a "Gone Mountain Biking" part 2 play out in this decade, with road bikes falling into obsolescence for a few years? I can only speak from my own experience that I am now using my road bike less and less and find myself driving out to paved trails when I do. I figure since I'm driving either way it might as well be to a mountain bike trail. Also, mountain bikes have bigger tires for all of the rough surfaces I have to deal with when out on the roads. So, in a way I've never left that "Gone Mountain Biking" era and I feel it will eventually come full circle at some point in the next few years. It was nice being a road cyclist while it lasted, but I have always been and will continue to be on a mountain bike.</p><p><br /></p><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><p style="text-align: left;"> </p></blockquote><p><br /></p><p><span> </span> </p><p style="text-align: left;"><br /></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1676384460764494844.post-71657686069310661142024-02-05T18:43:00.000-08:002024-02-06T08:37:12.549-08:00For Old Times Sake...<p style="text-align: center;"> Demonitized, de-incentivized and irrelevant as time has moved on...</p><p style="text-align: center;">...But I'm still here.</p><p style="text-align: center;"><br /></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span> I remember a time when Google would send me a $100 check in the mail every year for my blog contributions on Blogger. It was always a treat to see proof that people were engaging with my written content and it made me feel good as an amateur columnist of the internet. Those were the days when people read instead of scrolled. The modern day chat forums were in their infancy and if most people were interested in researching a topic they would turn to blog posts instead of going on YouTube. </span><br /></p><p style="text-align: left;">A lot of good ideas and good intentions have now gone by the wayside. Technology has left them behind as well as the fickle nature of people's constant wandering interests. Every once in a while, something is picked up from the rubbish heap and trended for a few days on social media. A good idea can be acknowledged with a fleeting curiosity, given a self righteous lip service then tossed back in the heap for a few more years. The truth is, all good ideas are filtered through the sea of bad ones, making it impossible for them to prevail. They are constantly tumbling in an ever changing media spin of trends and content that is making the world's head spin. Society is primed and ready for a Fahrenheit 451 scenario, all too ready to stop reading, critically thinking, creating and imagining all together. Here's the thing, if good ideas were allowed to flourish, progress would be made and our society as a whole would be improved. However, only be bad ones prevail because they promote inequality and division instead of collaboration, inclusion and a societal baseline safety net. Bad ideas only benefit a small group of people who hold the most power, instead of giving more power to the people. Social media has become the coping mechanism for the masses, a means of consuming the fantasies of wealth and status (whether real or imaginary) that the privileged few occasionally decide to share with us. Meanwhile, the infrastructure projects that would improve people's lives are quietly shelved or hollowed out of funds on a local, state and federal level so that a bigger football stadium can be built in one town or more parking space for giant SUVs and trucks can be added in another.</p><p style="text-align: left;"><br /></p><p style="text-align: left;">Reading the list of transportation initiatives that have failed to thrive in the past ten years would easily read like a eulogy. Mixed use zoning was a way of property developers to make overpriced, luxury apartments that gentrified long standing neighborhoods. Bicycle transportation networks have resulted in many trails that lead to nowhere. Sharrows no longer get repainted by city maintenance. Rental bikes were often vandalized, stolen or tossed around towns and college campuses as road debris. Whatever happened to that bullet train that was supposed to go from Dallas to Houston? Whatever happened to that trail that was supposed to connect Dallas to Fort Worth? What ever happened to many cities 2030 walkability plans? Was that bond money re-allocated to say, having the nation's largest High School football stadium only to be outdone by another town the following year? How about the policing and fare enforcement of DART rail? How did DART go from being one of the largest rail networks in the country to one of the most poorly maintained, and dangerous to ride on? Why does most new city planning in new areas not include sidewalks or bicycle infrastructure? Why are SUVs and trucks 3 times the size that they were 10 years ago as well as 3 times as fatal? Why do public works projects like installing a traffic light now take a year or more to complete?</p><p style="text-align: left;"><br /></p><p style="text-align: left;">The changing landscape that has resulted as bad ideas have taken over have left us in the DFW cycling community with little recourse as our roads have slowly become unrideable over the past few years. The post pandemic population explosion has also added more vehicles to an already strained, unkept road infrastructure. All of these new vehicles have grills and headlights taller than a child's head in the front, resulting in poor visibility to the driver and over reliance on lane and other object sensors. Now, already distracted drivers on their phones are behind the steering wheels of much more fatal weapons. What is a road cyclist to do these days?</p><p style="text-align: left;"><br /></p><p style="text-align: left;">The truth is, it is expensive to live near any cycling infrastructure as properties that are built or around existing trails are fetching a premium. In addition to these locations having always been expensive and cost prohibitive, the current mortgage interest rates and property values have deemed areas that once could be aspired to as un-obtainium. For long time locals in the area, moving to another part of the state is simply not doable. The result of all of this is that we now face a grim choice as cyclists if we are to continue doing the sport we love; cycle indoors or quit cycling. In recent years, indoor cycling has enjoyed a resurgence as more technology has been thrown into smart trainers and virtual reality cycling software. I guess when reality sucks the only way to keep fitness gains and be a part of the community is through virtual workouts. As a user of indoor trainers there is nothing I hate more than burning the rubber on my rear bike tire sitting in place or an hour, sweating puddles and giving myself crotch pain trying to push out watts on a traditional trainer. However, with how bad the situation has gotten on the roads I am seriously contemplating buying a smart spin bicycle that can work with virtual riding software. Even with a mischievous toddler and limited space in my home this option seems wiser than riding out of the neighborhood sometimes. </p><p style="text-align: left;"><br /></p><p style="text-align: left;">Driving to the trails isn't much of a better option. The nearest trail to nowhere that is paved is still a good 30 minutes away from my house. To get to a premium riding destination is about an hour drive. I have a few mountain biking trails that are closer, but extreme weather can keep those trails closed weeks at a time. Up until a few years ago, I lived near trails or lived in a bike friendly town. I would routinely get rides in as often as 3 times a week. I had fitness, I had drive and I was in the right environment for cycling. When we bought our first home in many years we were priced out of the areas I had lived in previously. We bought into a new community which was at time a small neighborhood surrounded by quiet, rural roads. In a matter of just a few years, the growth in the area has exploded, but the roads aren't any better. Several neighborhoods are now built or being built in the area. Newcomers who don't respect the slower pace of rural life are tearing up the once tranquil, idyllic roads. The new home we bought as a family has become a money pit of problems caused by rushed construction and rolling black outs in the area. We are in the golden handcuffs scenario as having a mortgage rate too low to refinance and no way of lowering our mortgage payment elsewhere. So unless I leave Texas altogether, there is no moving back to the city or closer to bike trails anytime soon. </p><p style="text-align: left;"><br /></p><p style="text-align: left;">As I get older, the more irrelevant I become. My cycling peers of a similar age have already moved over to the dark side of cycling, aka indoor cycling. Road cycling isn't attracting a younger audience like it did when I started riding, one could even argue that it has always struggled to find its footing with younger people. The fact that I am choosing to blog about it in 2024, when the written language is going the way of analog film cameras, is my therapy and way of coping with life's changes. We are in a malaise era in a lot of ways, but this is probably the worst time to be a cyclist on the roads of north Texas than any other period of time that I can remember . In the grand scheme of things, my problems are only a ripple effect pointing to a much larger moral bankruptcy in our society today. </p><p style="text-align: left;"><br /></p><p style="text-align: left;">It's official that the millennial generation that I am a part of has finally grown up, peaked and fallen out of style and favor with the generation coming behind it. Despite this, I am still here in the sense that I will continually adapt to life's changes and will do my best to make the best of getting older. I do not really feel like my time has passed. There is very little evidence of change of who I am on the outside as well as how I feel on the inside. I must admit, however that the rest of the world is moving on and away from those in my age group, especially in terms of deeming them a target audience in the fitness community. I get more targeted ads for investing and politics than I get for new bikes. No matter what, I will keep going, putting one foot in front of the other, one pedal stroke at a time.</p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1676384460764494844.post-50971468808173256302023-02-21T22:11:00.004-08:002023-02-21T22:38:58.774-08:00Market Trends for 2023 and beyond: Race Bikes are for Racers, Fun Bikes For the Rest of Us<p style="text-align: center;"> Where is Cycling headed in 2023? </p><p style="text-align: center;"><br /></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span> I can remember a time in 2007 as a young twenty something feeling pumped after buying my first bike shop bicycle. It was a 2007 Raleigh Sport from a mom and pop store that has since closed down. It was about two sizes too small for me but it was the only bike on the shelf that I could afford. The store owner swapped the stock stem with an adjustable one so that I could raise the handlebars a few degrees higher. I remember why I bought that $400 bicycle, what led me to maxing out my early line of credit for it. It was an autobiography that I read by a now infamous figure in the world of cycling titled "It's not About The Bike". His experience and watching the Tour De France on TV led me to believe that cycling was something doable, something that could be a long term plan for a healthy way of life. A lot of my friends that I grown up with had disappeared during this point in my life. Those that remained were getting married and gaining tons of weight. Many had an unbalanced view of alcohol and I had yet to understand the damage that consuming two six packs of beer and two bottles of wine a week could do to the body. The point is, I was trying to find a solution to not becoming part of a status quo of unhealthy people in society, which seem to be a majority of people these days. I felt like life was just beginning for me, that I was at the start of adulthood and many good things to come. I didn't want to say in my mid-twenties, like many people do today that "I'm feeling old" where I was nowhere near being old. Up to this point I was a regular runner, but dealt with nagging knee pains after runs that I plagued me since I was a teenager. I had no intention of slowing down, but I needed a new outlet for my exercise routine. For many years, cycling became that outlet. </span><br /></p><p style="text-align: center;"></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgz3A60nvjEIREMkY9DspnZ9egSMk1r0nQCtK73U6REpXmq6pfoHApAPczsfqEiljEK3-wIgNs9dJgsKWx-u53DJlz0-J3q9tYNVTsy6lbijnUC6uH97X4axGeIWx1ZBtPs5QoJZMWi7_bNnshrIUzUhbXV1MLLMONrWfYcGoaeTG8QqZpBhv-aEOUG4A/s1343/Screenshot_20221213-145209_Messages.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1343" data-original-width="1069" height="405" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgz3A60nvjEIREMkY9DspnZ9egSMk1r0nQCtK73U6REpXmq6pfoHApAPczsfqEiljEK3-wIgNs9dJgsKWx-u53DJlz0-J3q9tYNVTsy6lbijnUC6uH97X4axGeIWx1ZBtPs5QoJZMWi7_bNnshrIUzUhbXV1MLLMONrWfYcGoaeTG8QqZpBhv-aEOUG4A/w323-h405/Screenshot_20221213-145209_Messages.jpg" width="323" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My first bike in 2007. I miss the days when I looked like this!</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p></p><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Fast forward to the year 2023. There are no more heroes in the world of cycling. No more inspirational characters to lead the masses in the spirit of sport and competition. Gone are the days where racing aspirations once existed. No one seems to be interested in riding crits or doing road racing, where there can only be one winner and the rest won't get compensated for their entry fees, travel arrangements, broken collarbones or trips to the ER. Many people are leaving the once burgeoning group ride scene. Roads are getting more dangerous as drivers are more dependent on technology and in turn more careless and reckless. Many friends have since hung their road machines in the garage, swearing that surely one day they will take them down and dust off the cobwebs. The truth is many don't have the time or the circumstances to ride like they once did, with the cost of living going up and other life priorities taking the place of an afternoon once reserved for riding. COVID did a number on all of us and many have lasting health limitations as a result of that virus. All of the Lance-era cyclists have gotten older and are becoming a fading demographic, with a shrinking share of the market supported by them. E-bikes are a thing now and many are whizzing away on them into their golden retirements. All of these things point to a massive inflexion point, one that the majority of the cycling industry fails all too often to grasp. Many cycling companies are still dug in their heels, charging a premium for what essently should just be an exercise machine, basic transportation or fun on two wheels. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">When referring to people in general, this is what most associate with a bicycle. To most people, a bicycle is just a tool. It's a means of achieving weight loss, a means of getting from point A to point B, or something to take their mind off of their problems and offer healthy and wholesome recreation. That doesn't mean that people will just use any tool for the job. People are willing to invest in good tools that are durable and effective at getting the job done. That is why I think there will always be a market for good, quality bicycles. There's nothing wrong in having nuanced tools for specific jobs. However, when money is tight, sometimes a crescent wrench does the work for a few missing sockets. Meaning, when all bikes are nuanced, none will sell effectively in a tight economic market. Genres have to be mixed or combined to retain the interest of people to buy their first, or next bicycle. The next generation of cyclists won't have a garage full of bikes meant for different disciplines. The next cyclists need crescent wrench bicycles that cover an array of different uses.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Enter the gravel cycling scene. A few months ago I bought my first gravel bike I have owned in a long time, after swearing that I would never own one again. Now that I am older (not just feeling older, but actually getting past my mid thirties), out of shape and living in an area where bad roads abound I see the usefulness of a gravel bike in ways I had not seen before. Here is a bike that I can ride anywhere; on pavement, on singletrack, on a shoulder full of debris, on a bike path and of course, on gravel. The bike itself is heavy, but in all honesty so am I, especially compared to my photo from 2007. While it is not a race bike, once resigned to it's slowness that is when the fun begins. This bike just works and just keeps going. 30 mile ride? No problem. 50 mile gravel event? Also, no problem. Riding with your buddies on an XC trail while they ride their full suspension bikes? No problem and very fun! </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiadxJYX4rW6rkKd3REJzblVr5HEjIeihDT8MWCkf6IoxWbpTzN9-xBTySzBI8ZjQNggMTQAAcqaca5_PfUIFGsxrH5NFQY5N1kbDgdr-5qeQK9_EaK1RG7FqkwvBL7oJMV5qXJzWcrk7F4v-NSkCSYtEWEMGVzQIDrmnkmaPxwVRHhXk2mtE2PBXWKqQ/s3648/20230121_104239.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3648" data-original-width="2736" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiadxJYX4rW6rkKd3REJzblVr5HEjIeihDT8MWCkf6IoxWbpTzN9-xBTySzBI8ZjQNggMTQAAcqaca5_PfUIFGsxrH5NFQY5N1kbDgdr-5qeQK9_EaK1RG7FqkwvBL7oJMV5qXJzWcrk7F4v-NSkCSYtEWEMGVzQIDrmnkmaPxwVRHhXk2mtE2PBXWKqQ/s320/20230121_104239.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">It's 2023. What's important is, I'm still riding!</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoQTEThQPKv22SL68vIJODQsX0mVqzHISYbaqGBFeYk26zoV9Z4gcm4zHW-qR3XkkM66ahpmqavoTnbN13iw15xyIXPHQhGcbHJbHpRXrDA727acdqw07zw-Fwl4Z5TBjkXvFngmLcrErQA1ctbsaPRAY_Hw_uOOISR3ovB-rsbsS3YEWfTlL2wC_x4w/s4608/20230121_101729.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2592" data-original-width="4608" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoQTEThQPKv22SL68vIJODQsX0mVqzHISYbaqGBFeYk26zoV9Z4gcm4zHW-qR3XkkM66ahpmqavoTnbN13iw15xyIXPHQhGcbHJbHpRXrDA727acdqw07zw-Fwl4Z5TBjkXvFngmLcrErQA1ctbsaPRAY_Hw_uOOISR3ovB-rsbsS3YEWfTlL2wC_x4w/w640-h360/20230121_101729.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">At the Texas Chainring Massacre Gravel ride. My bike is the green one pictured lying on it's side.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEPkEFNvGf1dtotibzMYCQsV9Zreeja454xKk5u1Lm6ysQN7e3NjzEoSQx_t9_TYn1gyM9l8XRLxJv4Z6QRDvWSGOSuEKCjViU3R2GMJByEK1Bttwaw2df5JPg0h625Jh6fvuV2Td7H_z8QyfotOrCW-v8XHh6yHHDaSXVwevEmgweIY-uqG-Zmj58Pw/s4608/20230109_140121.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2592" data-original-width="4608" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEPkEFNvGf1dtotibzMYCQsV9Zreeja454xKk5u1Lm6ysQN7e3NjzEoSQx_t9_TYn1gyM9l8XRLxJv4Z6QRDvWSGOSuEKCjViU3R2GMJByEK1Bttwaw2df5JPg0h625Jh6fvuV2Td7H_z8QyfotOrCW-v8XHh6yHHDaSXVwevEmgweIY-uqG-Zmj58Pw/w400-h225/20230109_140121.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Even at the local mountain bike trail, it still gets the job done.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">So if I were to take a guess at where cycling is headed in 2023 and beyond, I would guess that bikes will be designed not around a specific discipline, but around multiple and the aim of such designs will be to increase the functionality, utility and fun factor that the bicycle has. After 15 years taking cycling seriously, for me anyway, it is time to have fun and share that joy with others. The cycling community cannot continue to exist in the form of what the Lance-era cyclists left us. We have to go from being an old, archaic, disapproving, elitist group of insufferable individuals with narcissistic personalities to one that is inclusive, supportive and looks to expand beyond the racing scene. This not only goes for the cycling community but for those whose job it is to brand cycling to the greater audience. Bike shops, manufacturers and online retailers could all do with a makeover in their messaging, branding and pricing. It is my belief that most of these things will happen organically due to changing demand. So keep an eye out for deals on full suspension trail bikes and road bikes, there will be a lot of them going on sale this year!</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">What about the racers, you might ask? The ones getting paid about $100k a year even though they are global superstars? There will always be race bikes. Race bikes are for racers, who get paid a peanut wage for being professional athletes, who have to be near bulimic to stay at 3% body fat, who have to ingest all sorts of questionable substances to stay on the team. There will always be bikes for them. They are the disc jockeys of our sport. They are not having fun. They suffer for our amusement. It is alright to pity them, that doesn't mean we have to buy the bikes they race on. A $1k bike made of steel will be more enjoyable than a $10k one that isn't designed to take a normal human's weight and will crack in half at the slightest abuse. Think of it this way, as this is a paradox that only exists in cycling; if you like to watch Lebron James play, would you buy his gym, or would you just buy a twenty dollar basketball and maybe his jersey? We don't need to buy the workout equipment of professional athletes in order to be like them. They will not benefit from any promoting we give them either. They get paid with or without us. Again, for the amount of money people spend on cycling, the cyclists themselves are among the lowest paid athletes in any sport. This to me is a glaring irregularity and the reason why I don't spend over my budget on any new bike, as well as why I seldom buy new bikes anymore. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">2023 will bring about a changing of the guard as to who the next new cyclists will be, as well as an economic reset for the industry as they re-adjust their expectations about their products to the reality that is on the ground. Maybe if they succeed at distancing cycling from it's competitive roots to something broadly enjoyable and fun, more efforts will be made to include cycling in city infrastructure planning. One can dream right? Thanks for reading this article.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><p></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1676384460764494844.post-61224770690855761682022-02-02T08:32:00.004-08:002022-02-03T13:13:40.704-08:00The Reverse Gold Rush and the Domino effects of the Great California Exodus<p style="text-align: center;">How Fleeing Californians are affecting the national and global housing markets, reshaping the world around them.</p><p style="text-align: center;"><br /></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span> "It's the edge of the world in all of western civilization. The sun may rise in the east at least it's settled in a final location. It's understood that Hollywood sells Californation." Anthony Kaedis of the Red Hot Chilli Peppers was onto something when he wrote these lyrics over 20 years ago. Indeed, California's biggest export hasn't been major industries or even it's avocado toast, it's been the mass exodus of it's people fleeing it's borders. This isn't a new phenomenon, it has been a long time coming since the early 2000's. How has this eastward migration affected the landscape in the areas they have settled to? What's the driving force behind all this and are we getting to a point of diminishing or negative returns, both for Californians as well as the rest of us?</span> Let's dive a little deeper with some facts that we already know, the export culture from California that is driving up the cost of living as well as some predictions about where this is headed if we continue with the trends we are seeing. </p><p style="text-align: left;"><br /></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span> Texas used to be a more affordable place. While jobs paid less and Texas has always been a right to work state, for the most part most anyone who worked a full time job could eventually own a home if they chose to. Wages kept up with the cost of living and with good financial planning there was no need for a second job or two incomes in a household. I grew up in a simple working class neighborhood in the Dallas/ Fort Worth area and my family were not top wage earners. I still got to see my dad home before 5pm on most days. My mom for the most part was a homemaker. When my parents planned something that was outside of their budget they would work a part time seasonal job to save the money needed to go on vacations. We didn't own a dryer and hung our clothes out to dry on a clothesline. We also washed all of our dishes by hand. What I'm trying to say is that while we weren't rich by any means, we had what we needed and didn't have to sacrifice a whole lot for it. My parents had a $300 mortgage on a fixer upper in the nighties, as opposed to the 2-3K monthly mortgages most people have today. </span><br /></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span><br /></span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span><span> The terms "mandatory overtime" did not exist and any business that would force such a policy back then was sure to have a lot of employees quit on them. While there have always been workaholics in our society, they were the exception rather than the norm. Even then, most people hit their limit at 60 hours of work a week. Now, it is not uncommon to see people putting in 80 hours a week, while having multiple incomes within a multi-generational household. That's right, multi-generational because the parents can't afford to retire and the grown kids can't afford a place of their own. That is the export culture that Californians have brought to Texas. It's not the chilled, laid back surfer stereotype that we grew up seeing in the movies. Truth be told, Californians have no chill. Their increased presence in other parts of the country brings with him a cost of living increase that they are more than ready to make concessions for, while the rest of us get displaced out of our hometowns which have now become too expensive for locals to buy back into. In addition, Californians can out bid the local housing market all day long because of the purchasing power they possess, largely or mostly in part due to the equity built into their homes that they sold back in Cali. Sell your home, buy two more in Texas has been the mantra Californians have been subscribing to for the past 20 years, contributing to less housing available for locals who don't have the windfall of a half a million dollar home when they enter the housing market.</span><br /></span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span><span><br /></span></span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span><span><span> Some who have been able to get into the housing market are having their homes soar to record breaking values, as much as 100k in a single year. This has prompted some locals to sell their homes and cash in their equity elsewhere where the cost of living is cheaper, heading east into east Texas, Arkansas, Louisiana, Florida and so on, continuing the cycle in a domino effect. Some of the younger working force and those with modest retirement pensions are now looking to move abroad to find a solution for their housing needs, only to affect an even poorer local population in those areas. Like an overblown west coast earthquake, the aftershocks can be felt worldwide thousands of miles apart.</span><br /></span></span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span><span><span><br /></span></span></span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span><span><span><span> Inflation is a byproduct of a high demand and low supply situation. When the supply is low either through artificial means or because there is an actual shortage of materials, people are willing to pay more for what would normally be a far less expensive product. It is only when supply meets demand or surpassess it, that prices stop going up and meets a new normal. The current trend of rising property values is unsustainable and can be a big factor in across the board inflation, wealth disparity and a disappearing middle class. Raising interest rates now may come at a time when it's too little to late, where the economy is bailing water as it tries to stay afloat to keep currencies from devaluing further. Even with rising interest rates, this will not deter cash buyers and multinational corporations from buying huge swaths of new home developments and turning them into rental properties. The next recession iceberg looms in the horizon, but it's not too late to reverse course if we act now and with a sense of selflessness. If you can afford to and don't need to sell your home, hold onto it. Lenders and builders need to stop selling homes to multinational buyers and investors who don't plan on living in the neighborhood. Sellers can also choose who they sell their homes to; sometimes the strongest offer on paper doesn't translate into the best or most qualified buyer. While that may seem like a drop in a bucket, any action is better than inaction. A final note to Californians: don't turn the place you live in into the place you ran away from. Texans as a whole don't drive Teslas. They love their brisket, their Dr. Pepper, their Shiner beer and their Cowboys team. If you are moving to Texas, be a Texan. Don't make us have to scratch our heads trying to figure out who you are. In case you need me to say it in Californian: Don't be a kook, we were riding these waves before you got here.</span><br /></span></span></span></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1676384460764494844.post-81180201520049841342022-01-29T21:54:00.002-08:002022-01-29T21:55:59.942-08:00Why I Left Social Media<p style="text-align: center;"> Why I'm Leaving (Already Left) Social Media</p><p style="text-align: center;"><i>Social Media has been a sinking ship for the past few years, It was high time I jumped off it.</i></p><p style="text-align: center;"><i><br /></i></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span> Let me start off by saying that I did not take this decision lightly. I have been on social media in one way or another since 2005, going as far back as some of the very first content sharing sites like MySpace. Posting my status is an action that has been hardwired to my brain for the last 17 years of my life. The endorphin rush that I received through views, likes and comments was a stimulus on a chemical and neurological level. Not having that constant reward of others feedback has left a chasm in the place of the importance it once had. The void reminds me of the many hours wasted in front of my phone or computer making Mark Zuckerberg richer instead of coming up with more original thoughts and creative ideas. </span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span><span> </span>While social media did help me promote my small business that I had for a few years, in the end I was giving to it more than what I received in return. Like most vices that are addictive and take years to overcome, they only serve to cover for our own deficiencies and lack of discipline in our lives. Truth be told, I have suffered from an immense artist's block for almost two decades. It is so bad that many people who know me do not know me for my artistic ability, that includes most friends and acquaintances in my adult life. With all of my grown up responsibilities, I need all the time possible to get back a semblance of a creative routine. In contrast to years past when I would create things for the enjoyment of others, I now have to create art because I need it in my life, because I need to prove to myself that I can still do it. </span><br /></p><p style="text-align: left;">Middle age is a turning point for everyone who reaches that milestone in their life. The question is, "which direction will you turn?". There's the stereotypical midlife crisis where people make foolish decisions that wreck all of the things that they worked towards up to this point in their lives. The expensive sports car, the Rogaine, the Just For Men hair dye, the "I still got it" and other narcissistic and egotistical attitudes are a fast recipe for disaster. Thankfully, those things and attitudes have never really appealed to me. I've never been about being fake and putting out a version of myself that doesn't exist in real life. In the real world, I'm a dad complete with dad bod and a young family (thankfully I'm also not balding, fingers crossed). I've done some really cool things in my life up to this point but that doesn't mean that I will or can continue doing those things at the same level I did them before. As a matter of fact, I don't want to continue to be known for the things that I did, because trying to relive those feats is a tall order to ask for these days. I'm physically and emotionally just not up to the task. I do, however want to try new things. I no longer feel the need to announce the new direction I'm taking my life on social media sites, I'm happy with the self-fulfillment I get just by knowing that I have reached a point of maturity where I am learning new hobbies and going new places without others knowledge or tacit approval. I'm happy with the group of people that I interact with face to face, or at least through WhatsApp or Zoom. I don't need to let anyone else in on my life. The way I see it, I can't complain about privacy violations and getting my information stolen if I'm constantly putting the information out there. I'm sure I have my own city in the Metaverse with all of the information I have volunteered during the time I've been on social media. Guess I'll never know. Unless you read this blog, I guess you'll never know I got off social media either.</p><p style="text-align: left;"><br /></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjqn3Cc-jdpkCdgBYGPwiItHVYIjoF4a6g4dIjg0nrzPCw1kS5Jw2lVN3R-ZrawlEBaoC2fVTgnKkbNIZfFVhJVJqAnYeLTnRSd7z4wkcxFrPJjb0BPxbxDMGGdoAVsGBcoA-8dtgoDDRidwobX7WFjlcwwHNjmTfS2VZKMasd6_4_fNtoIFetY5iL9dg=s4608" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4608" data-original-width="3456" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjqn3Cc-jdpkCdgBYGPwiItHVYIjoF4a6g4dIjg0nrzPCw1kS5Jw2lVN3R-ZrawlEBaoC2fVTgnKkbNIZfFVhJVJqAnYeLTnRSd7z4wkcxFrPJjb0BPxbxDMGGdoAVsGBcoA-8dtgoDDRidwobX7WFjlcwwHNjmTfS2VZKMasd6_4_fNtoIFetY5iL9dg=s320" width="240" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Recently, I have found a new hobby I'm in love with : Paddleboarding</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p style="text-align: center;"><br /></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1676384460764494844.post-51004109192264989122021-05-08T07:20:00.002-07:002021-05-08T08:18:38.415-07:00Pandemic Notes, Global Bike Shortage, Hyperinflation on the rise? <p style="text-align: center;"> May 2021: While more people are vaccinated, other problems loom in the horizon</p><p style="text-align: center;"><br /></p><p style="text-align: left;">Let me start off by saying if you are still reading this blog in 2021, I really appreciate it. I am working on slowly transitioning to Vloging, but don't have the video editing skills needed to create the kind of content I would like to create for my viewers. I have a YouTube channel where I vary my content to attract a larger audience. Currently the channel features skateboarding videos of me because for some reason middle aged skateboarders are becoming more popular. The truth is, just like film photography, storytelling on the printed page is becoming a lost art. It is hard to find those with the ability to ignite our imaginations and keep us wrapt in attention for even 15 minutes to read a blog post. So if you're still here after all of these years, Thank you. The last time blogs were popular we had Nooks and Portlandia wasn't even on Netflix yet. As a matter of fact Netflix still mailed DVDs. Needless to say I don't blog for the money, I do it because it's the medium that I express myself the best in.</p><p style="text-align: left;">Texas is opening up, this time not so prematurely. Vaccines are available to the majority of the population except for kids at this time. While we are still encouraged to wear masks and social distance, the number of COVID cases are continually declining. I look forward to a time where I can take my family to watch a good movie at the drive in or dine in theater. The two to three movies that have come out since the pandemic have all been busts. Whatever happened to feel good, wholesome family entertainment? Along with the many shortages that this pandemic has caused this has got to be one of the hardest ones to deal with. Hollywood really needs to get out of it's depression and give the masses something to take their mind off of the craziness of 2020 that has carried on until now. But a shortage of good movies isn't the only thing that we seem to be lacking as a society. Let's talk about bikes, like we always do, because after all this is a bike blog, not just my life blog.</p><p style="text-align: left;">The global supply chain has not corrected itself. As a matter of fact, it seems to be limping around, fatally wounded. Just yesterday I was at Sun and Ski sports, a popular sporting goods store in my area. Just like Wal-Mart and Target, the bike racks in the stores were almost empty. Whatever was on the shelves looked like they had been purchased from another distributor that the store doesn't normally work with. The bikes looked like overstock items left over from last year. The one singular mountain bike on the shelf that I saw cost $8,000. In a normal time, the same bike wouldn't be worth more than $2K. </p><p style="text-align: left;">Owning a bike will soon be like owning a pair of Nike Jordan's in the 90's. I hope people don't get shot over a bike like they did for a pair of basketball shoes 30 years ago, but it seems with the way prices seem to be going up for bikes it's only a matter of time before crime takes a hold of the situation. Prices are up so much in fact that domestic production for bikes has a chance of being successful more than ever before. Just like when gas prices went up to $4 a gallon and domestic production for oil ramped up in North Dakota (which was not great at all for the environment, anyone remember the Keystone Pipline?) bicycle manufacturers need to mount a similiar response to the shortage of imported bikes. Putting an item on pre-order just won't cut it in the U.S., that isn't the way business is done here. I wouldn't give any business thousands of dollars for a product I'm not sure that I will ever recieve. My message to online bike retailers and bike shops alike is either have the bicycle in stock, or only charge the customer a refundable deposit to place an item on order. Pre-ordering is getting out of control and we as a society shouldn't accept that as a new norm. </p><p style="text-align: left;">Growing up, name brand goods and quality bikes were a luxury. It's safe to say my family kept Payless Shoes in business throughout the nineties. When you wanted to spend your saved pennies on something nice, you had to order it through a catalog, then wait for the product to arrive via the snail mail pony express. We are slowly but surely regressing to those times. The problem is the market, our shopping behaviors and society's expectations have moved on from those times. This is causing unprecedented demand for goods that are creating a domino effect of backlogs in other services and industries. What this all leads to is one word, hyperinflation.</p><p style="text-align: left;">Inflation is a lost of confidence in a currency's value. I would compare it to the spillway of a dam, where excess water sometimes has to be drained. Hyerinflation is a complete rupture of the dam. No matter how much the water runs, it will never fill back up. The dam is a currency's buying power, held together by the market and consumer confidence. The water is currency, and the runoff is inflation. We are headed for a break in a Hoover sized dam. We can look to examples of the detrimental effects hyperinflation can have on countries like Venezuela and Lebanon. Never say "it can't happen here", because that's when it usually happens in your area.</p><p style="text-align: left;">If you have a bicycle and don't need to sell it, now is a good time to hold onto it. Sell it now and you might not be able to replace it. Only sell it in the future as a bargaining item for something else. Stay tuned for more updates from A Bicycle's Point Of View.</p><p style="text-align: left;"><br /></p><p style="text-align: left;"><br /></p><p style="text-align: left;"><br /></p><p style="text-align: left;"><br /></p><p style="text-align: left;"><br /></p><p style="text-align: left;"><br /></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1676384460764494844.post-55525634150688883872021-01-26T21:49:00.006-08:002021-01-26T22:13:42.628-08:00What I learned from Riding a Mountain Bike for a month<p style="text-align: center;"> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYa8XeWMy6FVGz1goPcjxieCha69M90uoOkvOVg8plg03OJd42xy6kheL-V4s6Ep3mZDSrz-aZC-YZn2rX5Xv48xCMNoSbXCIRhhw7wCEG5i4m76uA0fJjGHaHSDQM79stjKlHUx5CVxP5/s1620/DSC_0116.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1620" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYa8XeWMy6FVGz1goPcjxieCha69M90uoOkvOVg8plg03OJd42xy6kheL-V4s6Ep3mZDSrz-aZC-YZn2rX5Xv48xCMNoSbXCIRhhw7wCEG5i4m76uA0fJjGHaHSDQM79stjKlHUx5CVxP5/w400-h266/DSC_0116.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">This was my only bike for a month</div><p></p><p style="text-align: left;">Do we need a bike for every discipline? How necessary are gravel bikes, road bikes and all of the other sub categories that are sold as "essential" items? Can there really be one bike to rule them all?</p><p style="text-align: left;"><br /></p><p style="text-align: left;">Some bikes are designed for speed, others for dirt trail endurance and still others for recklessness. The best bike you can ride is the one you own. Whatever discipline you choose, you will find the limits of your abilities and that of your bike real quickly. Some might trade and "upgrade" to something that might be a better fit for them, at least in their own mind. But what if that isn't an option anymore? What if there is a global bike shortage due to the supply chain being massively impacted by a pandemic? We don't have to imagine that scenario anymore because we are living and breathing it. The industry seems to be sputtering back into life but is still unable to meet the massive new demand it has acquired. If getting a new bike isn't an option for you, you might be able to take comfort in my experience of riding my mountain bike everywhere, for a month.</p><p style="text-align: left;"><br /></p><p style="text-align: left;">Before getting into my story I understand that while you can ride a mountain bike on the road, you can't ride a road bike in the mountains (at least most people can't without breaking it). So while I was stuck with a mountain bike, your experience might be that you are stuck with a road bike, a cruiser, a tandem or a unicycle, which might greatly limit where you can ride your bicycle in the event an upgrade was not possible. With that out of the way, let's continue the story, because there is a point to be made about mountain bikes in the end.</p><p style="text-align: left;"><br /></p><p style="text-align: left;">Last year a lot of the best things happened under the worst circumstances. We welcomed another child into the world, yes a COVID baby. We also bought a house. We couldn't stay where we were living at before moving into our new house, so we were nomads for a month. I got to take full advantage of my campervan which I had spent years getting ready for a big journey I knew I would surely take one day. Out of all my bikes that I had, I could only choose one to take with me while the rest waited for me in storage. I knew that where I was going there would be hills, nature and some singletrack. I knew that I wouldn't be able to escape to the mountain bike trails every day because we would be on a working vacation, using whatever Wi-fi was available in our Airbnb and our hotel. It wouldn't be realistic to think that I would be mountain biking every single day, but I wanted to be prepared just in case I did. I ended up taking my hardtail 29er which I hadn't really ridden much since I already had other bikes that I rode more. I spent most of my time riding roads, and only once did I make it out to the trails. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXJJhFMuz1py3NcHZbJ8H5Qy2idQa3oa9z6BKxblsYJc6In60PzoxHhosD5YjLgSpzpUbwv88I_1WomvfYZ4Rw8LNsJ3oCM3Z3a751P1KlJ9JfmE-VpQkqRCw1wLC-OzP9JLtt1-Vw-Npd/s3648/20201018_182611.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3648" data-original-width="2736" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXJJhFMuz1py3NcHZbJ8H5Qy2idQa3oa9z6BKxblsYJc6In60PzoxHhosD5YjLgSpzpUbwv88I_1WomvfYZ4Rw8LNsJ3oCM3Z3a751P1KlJ9JfmE-VpQkqRCw1wLC-OzP9JLtt1-Vw-Npd/s320/20201018_182611.jpg" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPmrEEzkU5-5E-S_weX7jkZkt1_8uupeDPtMsv_YgeShO7pYhyi2X7cobHAMOtrEYppG1E_dtMA2t3Xe-82KTaP6vpQMILxuSwBN3vxaT4Egfk5UQ3WOvR0oiuJO6IJ-btzKWcIzrk94jj/s4032/20201019_122118.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPmrEEzkU5-5E-S_weX7jkZkt1_8uupeDPtMsv_YgeShO7pYhyi2X7cobHAMOtrEYppG1E_dtMA2t3Xe-82KTaP6vpQMILxuSwBN3vxaT4Egfk5UQ3WOvR0oiuJO6IJ-btzKWcIzrk94jj/s320/20201019_122118.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRjUZ9W2M2LVWhfPPaBL8rblkYCoj6uiu2hJ1Jy_FKsiUfdz4vJkupCSUIX5UsnnEvqfjl_E49OzzNBlb9fxHA7Jsuu2Ks1JYrpV6Rt9Gf7fa0bqa8_dxP68cejr-rqxhzB5A2Re5qlXBD/s1620/DSC_0110.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1620" data-original-width="1080" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRjUZ9W2M2LVWhfPPaBL8rblkYCoj6uiu2hJ1Jy_FKsiUfdz4vJkupCSUIX5UsnnEvqfjl_E49OzzNBlb9fxHA7Jsuu2Ks1JYrpV6Rt9Gf7fa0bqa8_dxP68cejr-rqxhzB5A2Re5qlXBD/s320/DSC_0110.JPG" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJ62OY9YbUMz4-UE-94IlL-foAuaS49tZCkk1EmhBHMRY5f-2Q_tQxGRaIytF5YWoC9sHFw0-p4ZdJPoPExcA1o1BCh396dEfXKPfT6GfkZnHzeS4j-V7iDhyphenhyphenZlmZ0myJ8U9N4XM-9_wN3/s1620/DSC_0115.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1620" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJ62OY9YbUMz4-UE-94IlL-foAuaS49tZCkk1EmhBHMRY5f-2Q_tQxGRaIytF5YWoC9sHFw0-p4ZdJPoPExcA1o1BCh396dEfXKPfT6GfkZnHzeS4j-V7iDhyphenhyphenZlmZ0myJ8U9N4XM-9_wN3/s320/DSC_0115.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwyyGoSZlifNvYWnh0E4a_yxhJabOBbm3mtaoxTXeft7Y0Ad5EudBtEjAf_uUXqXUd9vPWoKBDRc4jASYjDZ-jACJV_GhTwc5B9L29u0UBs9wEkXmm_DaBMOqVB1aUe8cndlk3JswNmc0K/s1620/DSC_0126.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1620" data-original-width="1080" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwyyGoSZlifNvYWnh0E4a_yxhJabOBbm3mtaoxTXeft7Y0Ad5EudBtEjAf_uUXqXUd9vPWoKBDRc4jASYjDZ-jACJV_GhTwc5B9L29u0UBs9wEkXmm_DaBMOqVB1aUe8cndlk3JswNmc0K/s320/DSC_0126.JPG" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiC5gXLR9SN9E3b7ltYTShWQ330pZv8Lr6MrWxdeLXm_qKShwCkYANVgEnC1xKiaouCxQVxPEbwzSFf5wx8cYQgIK_HHCQaMdpQneVz31HoWN5OSHo1ea4pYclRP5vtdg1Tn0TvVXkwZBGD/s1620/DSC_0097.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1620" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiC5gXLR9SN9E3b7ltYTShWQ330pZv8Lr6MrWxdeLXm_qKShwCkYANVgEnC1xKiaouCxQVxPEbwzSFf5wx8cYQgIK_HHCQaMdpQneVz31HoWN5OSHo1ea4pYclRP5vtdg1Tn0TvVXkwZBGD/s320/DSC_0097.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijHd8zuq0Z8MhRN3kUzkicJT93SqwVzb_h6UkWPmRg0qaSNQudYrtEXSX0Hgxl1fdD7bkVd0UZFd-GCUKJO8lZaMc3Bx5yTBxVzUKyFVZNMRXm_Xkk5nX4w8O20ahLhMIH6-EvUd3Wvq6f/s1620/DSC_0073_2.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1620" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijHd8zuq0Z8MhRN3kUzkicJT93SqwVzb_h6UkWPmRg0qaSNQudYrtEXSX0Hgxl1fdD7bkVd0UZFd-GCUKJO8lZaMc3Bx5yTBxVzUKyFVZNMRXm_Xkk5nX4w8O20ahLhMIH6-EvUd3Wvq6f/s320/DSC_0073_2.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcR9fuxyM06rQDt1Te6HoOs3edcxZR-CunaDvfZfUPL97REuBryya1lGJW1nJ78UlRiJmbPRjRg5p_Q0u9XXR2kwfUbJt2sNaIgzctqRt-sywuzP5Tw8iL31hKv0WhTLQdKzo4YNMNd_eX/s4032/20201025_144026.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcR9fuxyM06rQDt1Te6HoOs3edcxZR-CunaDvfZfUPL97REuBryya1lGJW1nJ78UlRiJmbPRjRg5p_Q0u9XXR2kwfUbJt2sNaIgzctqRt-sywuzP5Tw8iL31hKv0WhTLQdKzo4YNMNd_eX/s320/20201025_144026.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLH6R9-jFNO-9x8ctzT7FN-shxDUV6Nx8eLouE518Wu8GRv0R4owOxeb34gjSSi-0-8ddMfwic7kI5zdXWMUIeHB_vGioLrLfI5lkyw-zbKBn0wf5mT9cbXiU7kuxQsJJjujApSBGa71Yb/s4608/20201110_122807.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3456" data-original-width="4608" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLH6R9-jFNO-9x8ctzT7FN-shxDUV6Nx8eLouE518Wu8GRv0R4owOxeb34gjSSi-0-8ddMfwic7kI5zdXWMUIeHB_vGioLrLfI5lkyw-zbKBn0wf5mT9cbXiU7kuxQsJJjujApSBGa71Yb/s320/20201110_122807.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">((As readers can tell from the photos, I did other cool stuff besides riding bikes))</div><p style="text-align: left;">I learned something valuable from this experience. It really important to be content in life if you are blessed with the necessary things. It's foolish to follow every trend and be a sucker for every marketing hype that is put before you. The illusion of speed is just that, an illusion. There will always be someone who is faster, no matter what bike you are on. A bike that can handle the asphalt and the dirt really is the only bike you need. A dedicated bike for a specific riding surface or type of riding should be looked at as an added bonus but not as a necessity. Before the pandemic we had an idea of what needs and wants were. During this time some of us have gained a better understanding of what needs and wants actually are. If I was stuck with only my mountain bike, even though the majority of my riding is done on the road, it would be difficult to deal with at first, but then it becomes second nature, as we humans are good at adapting to new challenges and circumstances. My average speed would go down by about 3mph, but then again I could get on dirt paths or even ride where there were no paths at all. By their very nature, mountain bikes are less fragile and more durable than other types of bikes. They can be ridden on a bike lane in Berlin or in the African savannah. If you are stuck with only one bike you can own, buy a mountain bike or keep the mountain bike you already have. </p><p style="text-align: left;">Today I took out my 29er hardtail again for another road ride. The mountain bike trails in my area are closed due to 2 weeks of constant rain. Wanting to scratch my itch for mountain biking I went on a 41 mile ride through mostly country roads exploring my new area. It gave me the opportunity to reflect on what I went through last year and count my blessings. Compared to some who have had to deal with the COVID virus firsthand, I really didn't have to deal with any challenges of that magnitude. My life turned the page while some closed their books entirely as they fell victims to this horrible virus. It is important to look at things with the right context, because COVID took the lives and livelihoods of many people around the world. My point is that contentment brings happiness. If you are not happy with your current bike, current job or current circumstances, break things down into their simpler form. You <i>have </i>a bike, you <i>have </i>a job and you <i>have </i>the ability to control your perspective on life, which can then allow you to see how to change your circumstances. Contentment is not the same as complacency, which some people seem to get confused. Unlike complacency, contentment is important for your emotional health. Stay happy, and stay blessed friends.</p><p style="text-align: left;"><br /></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1676384460764494844.post-44611497122678417532020-05-10T13:13:00.001-07:002020-05-11T12:46:39.626-07:00COVID-19: The good, the bad and the unintended revival of the everyday cyclist<div style="text-align: left;">
Here in the U.S, we are about two months into giving the COVID-19 pandemic the seriousness it deserves. Even as I write this article, however, most stay at home restrictions have already been lifted and many businesses have reopened. Restaurants are once again reopening their dining rooms and parks are crowded with large groups of people. The warning for continued caution has largely fallen on deaf ears as people blatantly disregard warnings about social distancing and are no longer wearing masks. To be clear, there is no green light to go back to normal. Out of 320,000,000 people, about 1% of the U.S population has actually been tested. To date there has yet to be a vaccine or proven remedy that will work against this virus. Tests are not mandatory to the public and quarantines are no longer being enforced. </div>
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I have to preface my article with a statement of both disappointment and disbelief of how people have reacted to the virus on a national level. There seems to be more concern for the almighty dollar than for saving human lives. Something as fundamental as the value of human life should be an issue we should all stand behind in solidarity. Instead misinformation and political bias has turned our common enemy, COVID-19 into a political issue. Instead of receiving a consistent message from the people that we turn to inform us of current events, some news media outlets have been giving us a mixed bag of opinions and conspiracy theories that are not grounded in reality. It seems that it is up to every person and business individually as to how they are going to protect themselves and their families during this time. There is no guidance or leadership from any of the programs and entities that are supposed to be qualified to guide us through a situation like this. </div>
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There will be consequences for irresponsible actions and disregard for life and personal safety. Those who err on the side of caution now are likely to fare better in the times to come. This is not over and it will likely take on a new dimension pretty soon. Skeptical? Wait and see. Feel free to bookmark this article for historical reference. ;)</div>
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On a different and very positive note (shifting gears, I had to get my nihilism, or factual reporting, out of the way) this pandemic has had a very positive impact on the environment as well as many people who were once overworked but now have found the leisure time for exercise and self-improvement. With the reduced greenhouse gases from people staying at home instead of driving, the weather in Texas has never been better. We are having an actual Spring for the first time in years. The cooler weather has also brought many people out on their bicycles. People of all types are taking to cycling now, not just the competitive athlete types but people with kids and dogs who want to enjoy the outdoors, maybe for the first time in their lives. Bike shops and mobile bicycle repair operations are seeing their business model shift to cater to commuters and casual cyclists over those who ride for sport. If this trend continues we can hope to see a revival of sorts in the way of infrastructure improvements for cyclists along with real transit oriented development initiatives. TOD improvements in my area have been a joke and have missed the mark of their original purpose. Many are glorified high end retail outlets that don't incorporate or support community businesses. High end retail and high end housing have gentrified the former communities that were once here. Hopefully as local governments look to meet the increased demand for cyclists, real strides can be made to connect people to the places they need to go via their bicycles. </div>
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What can you do now in this time of social distancing and reduced work hours? Start by riding your bike (of course, you knew I'd say that). Familiarize yourself with your local bike paths and low traffic roads in your area. Create routes to and from places. Figure out the ins and outs of your town or city, the back roads and the neighborhood roads. Grow a garden. Find a wooded area to social isolate, take in the nature around you. See all of the animals that have come out of hiding thanks to our reduced carbon footprint. Stay positive and take comfort in the fact that there are a few people that still take this seriously, that are preparing for the worst to come. Read the Bible. Read Matthew Chapter 24. Read Luke Chapter 21. Take note that these things that we are seeing now were already foretold to happen. "The shrewd one sees the danger and conceals himself, but the inexperienced must suffer the consequences"-Proverbs 22:3. Pick up a new hobby of your choice. Keep your mind busy. Connect with friends via face time or Zoom. Stay busy, stay active and don't be fooled into complacency. That's about all I have for now. Stay safe and stay tuned for more articles from my blog.</div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1676384460764494844.post-84371123448731591322020-02-03T21:42:00.000-08:002020-02-03T21:42:03.495-08:00If you're cycling over age 30, then please read this blog<div style="text-align: center;">
Of all of my blog posts, this one is the most important...</div>
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Chances are, if you're reading this blog, or any blogs at all these days, you are well over the age of 30. That's okay, you've come to the right place. This blog will address topics related directly to our health and safety as pre-middle aged men and women on our post young adulthood. To put it frankly, there are things that are simply not discussed enough among our cycling demographic. While the internet is full of "Look at me!" video vlogs, dietary advice, action camera footage and bike bling, barely any content is practical to cyclists our age. Brand and lifestyle influencers, as well as industry marketers have given us a false illusion that our fountain of youth will last forever and that it's okay to still be young, wild and reckless. After all of the injuries I had in 2019, some of which I am still reeling from, I'm here to set the record straight as to what exactly is it like to be a cyclist in your 30's.</div>
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To start with, why is our age so important? Because we are in an age where many in life have found a good footing financially and have acquired some disposable income for a hobby of our choice. Long gone are the days in our twenties when we would survive on ramen noodles, spaghetti with tuna, mac and cheese and little Vienna sausages ( I still eat that stuff sometimes, these days by choice). With that newly acquired disposable income, some choose a hobby that is both fun and good for our well-being. Others choose a hobby to keep them in a state of feeling young. Some of us choose cycling, a hobby that when done with moderation and modesty can actually prolong our youthful state as well as physical fitness levels. The problem is that when we roll into our 30's from our 20's some of us don't feel the clock change. Even if only of a little while, it seems that we entered our 30's and nothing actually happened. Our fitness levels didn't decline, our energy was the same and we were still going big and sending it on jumps on our mountain bikes. We naively go about taking risk after risk until the day our bike goes sideways on the trail or we decide to go George of the Jungle on a tree. We fall, something breaks, gets sprained or torn and we immediately realize that we are no longer in our 20's anymore. We learn new words like "Orthopedist" and get acquainted really well with our physical therapists. After 4 or 5 injuries of the same nature our abilities start to decline. Our time on the bike is suddenly regulated on how long we can ride without pain. Daily movements that we used to not give a second thought to are now debated endlessly in our minds. Bending over to pick something up now becomes a chore for our knees. The ground seems a lot higher and our legs don't want to lower us there anymore. Injuries that used to take days to heal are now taking months. Our tendons bulge from our joints as they become scarred and thickened. This is the part of the story nobody seems to be parading on social media. This is what being a cyclist in your 30's is really like. </div>
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I'm currently in this dark place as we speak. Despite my optimism that things will get better or that I will at least reach a new "normal", uncertainty about my ability to recover hides underneath the surface. I find myself deliberately holding back my efforts to ride at the pace I usually enjoy as to not injure myself further and stop the healing process. Since my injuries by body has generously added over 10 pounds on my bathroom scale. I start weighing the cost/benefit relationship that I have with cycling, something I have never done before. I picture myself pursuing other hobbies and accepting a newer, "fatter" me as hypothetical scenario that is slowly becoming reality. I start to think about how cycling helps me adapt and adjust to other changes in life and how stressful life would be without it. I go back in my mind and ask what I would have done different to avoid being in the spot that I'm currently in. I repent, over and over for being so stupid and not wearing knee pads on the mountain bike trail and not realizing that my body was no longer in it's 20's, even though my mind was. </div>
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I put an old, 90's mountain bike with slick tires on my trainer, because the road bike is just too uncomfortable. 10 to 20 minutes in, I stop as soon as I break a sweat. Gone it seems are the times I could ride the trainer for an hour straight. Even though my sessions are really short, I tell myself that I got my heart rate up and I achieved something. The warm up then turns into a stretching session, a process which I have been repeating for the past several months. </div>
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I go on short rides with my son. Then I go on short rides by myself. I try to increase the distance little by little. Right now I can manage 30 miles at about 16-17mph average speed. Even then, I am at my limit and need to promptly ice my knees afterwords. After 5 months from my last injury, I'm left wondering if I will ever be the same again.</div>
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If you are a cyclist or mountain biker in your 30's, please be aware of the following. Jumps, transitions, doubles and table tops are words that shouldn't be a part of your vocabulary. If you don't know what a double is, too bad, you're too old to do it anyway. Instead, familiarize yourself with the words "knee pads", "elbow pads" and "insurance deductible". Trust me, you'll go a lot farther knowing those words instead.</div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1676384460764494844.post-88905010425027068002020-01-20T21:22:00.000-08:002020-01-22T11:21:38.003-08:00Marin Four Corners: Honest Review<div style="text-align: center;">
The Marin Four Corners: What is it, exactly?</div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQJxkF16hUmoTEaZe4QQcARCdPMQ5FH5WE9AtY80GF8XzcM0KaMw64wb5HflhrHTwkvs35p5qqJtNLlSU6qFPlpGpFoMGBLkXnyFXc45_NwG2QDeUSU7Bd8ylda4DJW_AzakfLiwKwwhnr/s1600/20200119_154355.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQJxkF16hUmoTEaZe4QQcARCdPMQ5FH5WE9AtY80GF8XzcM0KaMw64wb5HflhrHTwkvs35p5qqJtNLlSU6qFPlpGpFoMGBLkXnyFXc45_NwG2QDeUSU7Bd8ylda4DJW_AzakfLiwKwwhnr/s640/20200119_154355.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A robust and well built bicycle, the Four Corners struggles to find it's footing in a specific bike category</td></tr>
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I really like this bike, I just need an excuse to use it. Is it a mountain bike? Not exactly. Is it a road bike? Definitely not. Is it a "gravel" bike? Maybe. The bike rides really planted on gravel and soaks up the potholes with ease. But is it a fast, race specific gravel bike? It's not even moderately fast. In fact, I'm about 2-3 mph slower on average when I ride it. So what is the Marin Four Corners? What, exactly, was it designed for? Let me attempt to shed some light on a bicycle that was heavily marketed by the Marin brand and see if it lived up to the hype. </div>
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Marin promised us the possibility of a do it all bike that is stable enough for touring but nimble enough for singletrack use and even getting a bit of air on the trail. I've searched all over the internet in hopes of seeing any actual reviews from real people using their bikes this way. Sure, the people in the promotional video (see video shown above) are skilled professionals who can probably bunny hop a beach cruiser and sell it to us as the next progressive travel enduro bike. But are people actually using the Four Corners as intended?</div>
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The answer from an extensive search is a resounding no. To begin with, most people who reviewed the bike online are actually from Poland and Russia, so I had to go on context clues to try to understand the YouTube reviews. From what it appeared most people were riding this bike similar to the way most people ride hybrid or path and pavement bikes. Granted most reviewers seemed like they had many positive things to say about the bike, however the gnar factor was definitely missing from their videos. Nobody was sending this bike off jumps or careening into drops and no one seemed to be popping wheelies. </div>
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So what has my experience been with the Marin Four Corners? What, in my opinion can and can't this bike actually do? After a year of ownership, I think I have my verdict. I will eventually attempt a ride on my local mountain bike trail with this bike, so this is still a preliminary review based on all the other forms of riding that I have done with it. </div>
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<b>The Marin Four Corners Is: </b></div>
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<b>Comfortable-</b> This is a very comfortable bike. It's upright for a drop bar bike, and riding the drops doesn't leave you gasping for air. The bike soaks up a lot of road vibrations and the ride is very forgiving overall. </div>
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<b>Stable: </b>Even unloaded (I have never loaded mine up for bikepacking or touring) this bike is very much planted on the ground. On loose, gravel descents it doesn't feel twitchy or off balance. The back wheel grips well on dirt climbs. </div>
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<b>Durable</b>: Everything on this bike is built to last. This bike is made from quality parts including what is basically a 29er rigid fork and wheelset to compliment the already robust steel frame. Nothing flexes where it shouldn't. The drivetrain shifts under load and doesn't skip gears. The chain doesn't bounce off the bike on big bumps or potholes. Like a Toyota Land Cruiser, everything on this bike looks made to stand 25 years of abuse. </div>
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<b>The Marin Four Corners Is Not:</b></div>
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<b>Light: </b>Weighing in at just shy of 30 pounds, this bike is not light, not by road bike standards, gravel bike standards, touring bike standards, not even by hardtail mountain bike standards. This bike is heavy, everything about it from the frame and wheelset makes it so. There are no punchy accelerations that can be done on this bike. Rather, it encourages the rider to ride at a consistent pace throughout the whole ride. A day of climbing on this bike will usually result in an evening icing the knees. </div>
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<b>Fast: </b>I have done all of my riding with the stock wheelset and tires that originally came on the bike. So my assessment of the bike's speed comes from the original equipment it came with. Why shouldn't it? It's designed to be a mountain bike with drop bars and road bike gearing. With that in mind, this bike is not fast pointing any direction that is not downhill. Could it be fast with narrower tires and a lighter wheelset? Likely but that is not the point. If you have nowhere to be in a hurry then I highly recommend this bike. This bike will have you finishing your usual routes 20-30 minutes later than you normally would. The rotational weight of the wheels is the biggest cause of all of this and in my opinion the bike is not optimally geared to accommodate for such a heavy wheelset, thereby reducing acceleration and speed.</div>
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A lot of marketing dollars went into making the Marin Four Corners. The <a href="https://bicyclepointofview.blogspot.com/2019/08/marin-pine-mountain-1-long-term-review.html" target="_blank">Pine Mountain</a>, a much more versatile and capable bikepacking bike, did not receive nearly the same amount of marketing. To be fair, the Four Corners seems to sell very well overseas and in areas where the roads are bad or non-existent. Where paved roads and mountain bike trails abound this bike seems to struggle to find it's footing. While there are gravel roads near me, I have to ride my bike 10 miles to the edge of town to get to them. If I lived in Iowa and had gravel roads out my front porch I would see the usefulness and utility of such a ruggedly designed bike. However, being in a densely populated North Texas suburb I have to admit that there is little need for such an overbuilt bicycle. While I appreciate the durability and comfort that this bike can offer I find myself struggling to find an opportunity to use it. This may have to do with the fact that I'm a recreational cyclist living in a well developed area. If I relied solely on my bike for transportation or lived out in a rural village this bike would be a priceless commodity to have. </div>
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In a post-apocalyptic world where the Tour De France is held in Mad Max-type conditions, this bike would reign supreme. For every other scenario, this bike seems a little bit of an overkill. Having said all of that, I really enjoy the bike so I plan to keep riding it for the time being. I will one day write a review on it that does it justice, as soon as I can figure out what it really excels at. </div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1676384460764494844.post-52388424777822137702019-08-16T16:48:00.001-07:002019-08-16T16:54:48.664-07:00My Bike Flew Down to Puerto Rico- Racing Las 100 de La Parguera Mountain Bike race<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">At the start line of "Las 100 De La Parguera"</td></tr>
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If you are a passionate cyclist, be it road biker or mountain biker, you may have wondered what it is like to travel with your bike and ride in a distant land. To go out of one's comfort zone and do something that you've never done before is one of the most rewarding experiences you can have as a person. While I have ridden bikes abroad I have never done an event outside of where I live in Texas. </div>
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The first time I heard of Las 100 de La Parguera mountain bike race was eight years ago, to be exact. I just so happened to be visiting family in Puerto Rico and was spending the day in the quiet little coastal town known as La Parguera. I stumble across the official starting line with a guy in a registration booth next to it. I ask what all of the commotion is about and he tells me it is a mountain bike race, the first of it's kind in Puerto Rico. I get really excited and ask if there was any way that I could rent a mountain bike, but neither him nor I knew how to get a hold of one. The race was only a few days away and a couple of days before I had to go back home, so I concluded that I was not prepared to undertake the race on such short notice. The winner of the race won a new bike and that year 300 people participated in the event. </div>
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Fast forward eight years later. This event is now one of the premiere races of the Caribbean with over 2,000 participants and racing teams coming from as far as Dominican Republic. The kinds of bikes that I saw were almost all top of the line racing bikes, some which I had not seen even stateside . It seemed like everybody was riding some kind of carbon fiber wonder. I saw Treks and Specialized S-Works all over the field, many of these bikes costing up to 10 grand. Needless to say, the participants took their riding very seriously.</div>
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I wanted to do this ride before I got any older, before any kind of life change or health change prevented me from ever doing it. It may sound like I worry too much about that in my blog posts, but let me explain. I'm currently dealing with some kind of knee tendinitis on both knees, injuries brought about from getting back into skateboarding for the last two years. Also, as time goes by, it gets harder to find the time to train for events like this. Knowing both of these things, I did not want to keep putting it off any longer. I wasn't in it to win it, as I knew I neither had the fitness level, correct bike for the race or home field advantage like the locals that knew the route well.</div>
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I opted for the 50 kilometer route, which ended up being 57 kilometers or 35 miles when it was all said and done. I finished in a time of 3 hours and 10 minutes, with a moving pace of 2 hours and 54 minutes. I was 155th out of 313 in my age category (30-39) and 758 overall out of the 2017 participants, so not first, not last. </div>
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I believe in being a life time athlete, as long as health and physical limitations allow it. I also believe you don't have to be a professional to have lifetime achievements in the sport you practice. Making memories such as these will last longer than any win I could ever have. Hopefully my kids will grow up knowing that their dad wasn't just some couch potato. Its important to have all kinds of goals in life. My goal is to stay active for as long as I can.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The last hill of the race, just before the finish line</td></tr>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1676384460764494844.post-69823538724457389672019-08-16T12:55:00.001-07:002019-08-16T16:00:38.442-07:00Marin Pine Mountain 1, Long term Review<div style="text-align: center;">
"A bike you can throw anything at, but it's heavy"</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Marin Pine Mountain 1 in the mountains of Puerto Rico</td></tr>
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I'm a big fan of this bike. In fact, I'm such a fan of the Marin Pine Mountain rigid plus bike that I own two of the exact model. This bike was sold at Performance Bike stores before they went out of business and liquidated their assets. I was able to purchase both bikes for well under store MSRP. </div>
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Every once in a while, in an industry that is becoming ever more proprietary in their design, more prone to all sorts of recalls and bikes that break within a couple of years usage, manufacturers make something admirable and truly bulletproof. Case and point the 2018 Marin Pine Mountain 1 rigid mountain bike. This bike is the Jeep Commanche, the Suzuki Samurai, the Toyota 4runner of mountain bikes. It just keeps on going. Low geared, with a strong frame, wheelset and crankset, this bike is capable of anything that any other bike is capable of. Flat roads, mountain climbs, singletrack, jumps are no obstacle for this beast. Is this a race bike? By all means, no it isn't. This bike will have you finishing in the middle of the pack on XC endurance events. There are much better choices of mountain bikes for cross country racing. However, this is a bike you can stick in your travel case resting assured that nothing will break on it during travel and is foolproof enough to handle any TSA inspections. The bike is very stable on descents and eats up fireroads with ease. A front suspension might be desired on really technical rock gardens, however the bike performs well even though the ride might be jarring. </div>
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The beauty of this bike is in it's simplicity. No suspension on the bike means less moving parts and less maintenance overall. The 1x10 drivetrain means that the user will only have to adjust a single rear derailleur. The clutch system on the Shimano Deore derailleur allows for less missed shifts or skipping gears. The low gear ratio on the bike compensates for the heft of the frame and rotational weight of the wheels, which weigh in at about 8-9 pounds each.</div>
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I recently took my Marin Pine Mountain 1 to Puerto Rico for a mountain bike race that I've had my eye on for years, Las 100 de la Parguera. I'll post another article detailing how I did on the race. While the bike performed well on sand pits, rocky pitches and descents both on pavement and dirt, it was slow going on long, sustained climbs. I was 3 minutes and 19 seconds slower a sustained climb I had done on a road bike a few years before. Manhandling the bike around in a racing situation was more tiring that if I had been on a lighter carbon or aluminum mountain bike. While I finished the race around the time I had anticipated, I felt I was punished more for my effort and speed. </div>
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The thing is, I can't personally fault this bike for being heavy. It's weight plays a big role in this durability. Over time, I could get used to the heaviness of this bike, even in extreme mountain environments such as is the case riding in Puerto Rico. At 33 pounds for a size medium frame, this bike is in the same weight class as some entry level full suspension bikes. Tubeless tires, carbon wheels and a carbon or air suspension fork will make this bike a quiver killer. However, I'm of the belief that if it isn't broken you shouldn't fix it and if you don't need it then you shouldn't buy it. In the case of the Marin Pine Mountain, it might be a really long time before anything on this bike breaks. </div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3g4uMaJTvPnQyQbad_f0hDF_kelO2RPqeD6Hytzc_4mh-Yd_7xP0IEtsVBwQvQvKUQu6LI0q_PBgUqIx48jLX1cPhY4-0f4lhKL9jXSnAougsodSHrXcrV8rWvhiWyDrKgp3AZcufX3Lb/s1600/20190810_103047.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3g4uMaJTvPnQyQbad_f0hDF_kelO2RPqeD6Hytzc_4mh-Yd_7xP0IEtsVBwQvQvKUQu6LI0q_PBgUqIx48jLX1cPhY4-0f4lhKL9jXSnAougsodSHrXcrV8rWvhiWyDrKgp3AZcufX3Lb/s640/20190810_103047.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This is a great bike for rolling terrain, but it pays to pace yourself on it up those long climbs.</td></tr>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1676384460764494844.post-76511681726116452642019-02-24T05:44:00.001-08:002019-02-24T12:36:49.508-08:00How Mountain Biking has changed in the last 20 years<div style="text-align: center;">
Dropper Posts, Attitudes and Full Face Helmets...</div>
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Is This A New Sport?</div>
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The truth is, mountain biking is barely recognizable from what it was in 1998. Back then, bikes had 3 chainrings up front, bar ends, grip shifters, 26 inch wheels with the widest tire width being 1.95. Most people still did not ride with suspension, elbow or knee pads or any mountain bike specific clothing. People did thankfully wear helmets back then but these were poorly designed and made the wearer look like a bobble head doll. </div>
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It was an easier sport to get into 20 years ago. Sure, there were still premium bicycles back then too, as there have always been since people started riding bikes. However. there were more bikes priced for the masses. $400 was a serious chunk of change that could buy a decent and durable bicycle from an LBS. Most people did not even splurge that much on a bike. The average person had a $75 to $100 bike that they bought at Sears. The limiting factor back then was technology. Bicycles today are far more capable of handling rough terrain without the same set of skills needed to ride the same terrain 20 years ago. In fact, trails are being designed with more jumps, drop offs and other technical features that most people had to walk around back in the old days. So the trade off is that now bikes are more capable, but they are no longer as affordable as they were back then .</div>
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The image of the stereotypical mountain biker has also changed. 20 years ago mountain bikers were daredevils or unconventional hippie types left over from the seventies. Make no mistake, these guys could still shred on their old bikes and they were sending their bikes off of big obstacles before "sending it" was even a thing. Since technology was so primitive back then they knew there were no shortcuts to being a good mountain biker. Popping a wheelie and being able to lift up a front wheel, as well as using your body as the suspension where essential skills that had to be learned before taking any serious risks on the trail. As a result, people in general weren't going as fast on the trails or "sending it" off big jumps like they are now, at least not without extensive amounts of practice and skill building. </div>
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People that are getting into mountain biking today have a big expectation on their bikes and equipment to bail them out of sketchy situations or error-correct a lot of their skill deficiencies. That's because many people are coughing up some big bucks to get into the sport. Some mountain bikes can cost as much as $5000 and even upwards of that. A lot more people are buying bikes at this price than they were in the 90's (as a point of reference, a new car in the early 90's cost the same as a new bike does today). The ensuing carnage due to lack of skills on the trail has opened a new opportunity for the bike industry to make more mountain bike specific apparel. However mountain bike specific apparel today looks like a typical motocross outfit; full face helmet, pads and sometimes body armor, full fingered gloves and goggles. In addition to that, a lot of riders strap at least 3 GoPro cameras on their bike so that they can record themselves "sending it" whenever they can. While I can appreciate that the fun factor hasn't left mountain biking, there is an underlying corporate culture and emphasis on branding that has been creeping into the sport in order to make it more exclusive, premium pastime. </div>
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Recently it dawned on me how clueless some new mountain bikers were when riding a section of my favorite trail, Northshore. Experienced riders know the safest line of passage when weaving through rock gardens or going down drops and rock beds. I had approached a rider planted dead center of the trail, with a full face helmet, pads and a full suspension bike, contemplating whether is was going to roll of a giant boulder to land on the other side. "Take the drop to the left, that's the best line" I said, trying to alert his attention as a was getting closer to the drop myself. "Says who?" the guy retorted. "Says the guy not wearing a full face" I snapped back. We were on the notorious "West side" of the trail, known for it's rock gardens and technical terrain. I grew up riding this trail and there are still sections of it that I am not ashamed to walk. Sometimes there can be a problem when someone overly relies on their bike or their gear to cover for their lack of experience. Case in point the guy at Northshore.</div>
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In another instance I heard a guy referring to a mountain bike ride as "A no drop group ride". I nearly fell of my chair. Group rides are roadie (road biker) events where everybody rides together in a paceline (also known as a pelotón) and people get dropped when they can no longer hold the pace of the group. Not only would riding in a paceline on a mountain bike trail be impossible, no one would or should be getting dropped. If some riders are faster than others, they are simply faster. Discuss this in your group and determine where on the trail the group needs to stop and wait for the others to catch up. Mountain biking is awesome fun to do with a group of your friends, but keep in mind that there is more individual effort involved and speed and skills come eventually. Don't get mad if you're the slowest in the group. Be humble enough to admit it and ask the group to re-group at certain junctions along the trail. </div>
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These are my observations (and my latest beef) on how mountain biking has changed in the last 20 years. </div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1676384460764494844.post-17801846779972253862018-11-16T19:01:00.000-08:002018-11-16T19:01:42.157-08:00My 2018 Marin Pine Mountain-Initial thoughts<div style="text-align: center;">
The 2018 Marin Pine Mountain- A Classic Rigid MTB with all of the Modern Benefits</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Marin Pine Mountiain 1, pictured on the right</td></tr>
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In the past few years, there have been a few modern cult classic bicycles that have held or even exceeded their original retail value. The Salsa El Mariachi, GT Peace 9er, Vassago Jabberwocky, Redline Monocog and Kona Unit are all names that come to mind. All of these bikes are reasonably light, bombproof built, steel framed, modern mountain bikes that will take any beating on the trail and will come back asking for more. Well, I'm excited to say that I too now own a cult classic that most people are not even aware of. It made such a low key entrance into the market that it has been able to safety hide away from view, tucked between the full suspension 27.5+ bikes and the 29er hardtail carbon rockets on offer. It is on it's second year into production and possibly going into a third. However, my prediction is that it will be eclipsed by all of the other choices on the market, making it a short lived one-hit wonder. It is such an underrated, quality bicycle that it is on par with boutique level brands such as Surly and Jones. I'm talking about the Marin Pine Mountain 1, a modern, rigid, steel mountain bike.</div>
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I don't really do product reviews anymore, so to choose this bike to review is a big deal for me. This may very well be the last time we see such a well packaged offering at such an affordable price from Marin, or from any bike manufacturer for the foreseeable future. Having a durable bike with no suspension to worry about was a deliberate, long term investment that I had been planning on making for a while now. Knowing about a possible <a href="https://www.bicycleretailer.com/industry-news/2018/11/09/nrf-retail-imports-remain-strong-ahead-tariff-increases#.W--D6OhKiUk" target="_blank">market-wide price hike on bicycles</a> I decided the time was now or never to get into a Surly Krampus-esque styled bicycle with a 1x10 drivetrain and hydraulic Shimano disc brakes. </div>
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Let's get down to the knitty gritty. The ride quality of this bike is amazing. The ability to run the tires at low pressures means floating above mud and rocks where a normal, non plus size tire would normally sink into. The 42t low gear is as massive as the 160mm brake rotor on the rear tire. There is little this bike can't climb. At 33 pounds out of the box the bike is no lightweight, but when considering the bike is a steel framed fat bike, 33 pounds seems very reasonable. The weight is on par with my mid-range full suspension 29er. </div>
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This bike comes with a extra thick, tapered rigid front fork that has a double reinforcement to ensure stiffness. That being said, the front end of this bike feels amazingly light and easy to pop off of the ground. The extra wide handlebars and short stem make this bike exceptionally nimble and easy to throw around switchbacks and rock gardens. </div>
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I will eventually write a long term review of this bike, but I'm loving this bike so far. It's one of the best bike purchases I have made so far.</div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1676384460764494844.post-78829360258039526072018-09-23T21:29:00.002-07:002018-09-24T07:12:33.225-07:00Bike-terialism, N+1 and how many bikes are too many?<div style="text-align: center;">
How Many Bikes Do you Have? How Many is enough?</div>
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Let me start off by asking the reader "Are you a cyclist or a collector?" If you are a cyclist, chances are you at least own one bike, or a few bikes for the different types of riding you do. If you are a collector on the other hand, you either specialize in a type of bicycle or in a period of time when bicycles were designed in a specific way.</div>
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I am both a cyclist and a collector. My collection comes from years of being into cycling. Some bikes I would like to sell, but either can't procure a buyer for or I am offered way less than my asking price. Some bikes I bought, rode for a few years and was never able to move them on when I upgraded or changed preferences. Some bikes are loaner bikes that I let friends borrow when they visit. The truth is I dare not mention how many bikes I have. Some people think they have too many bikes when all they own are maybe 3 or 4 bikes. I'm just going to say that it's more than 4 bikes. </div>
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My family has gotten used to the bike furniture and I am fortunate enough to have a wife that doesn't freak out about things like that. My bikes are all bought and paid for and I would actually feel guilty buying a brand new bike these days with all the other bikes that I already own. In the last couple of years I have added a few 90's mountain bikes to my collection, because that is the era where it all started for me. Most of these bikes I get on Craigslist or some other buy/sell online group page. They are never super expensive and seldom ever cost more than $100. </div>
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Recently I have come to the realization that just because you <i>can </i>do something, doesn't mean you <i>should. </i>Sure, I can have a large collection of bikes, which I already do. It doesn't break the bank, it's financed mainly by bicycles that are sold, spare parts that I already own or my disposable income. However it's not the best use of my time or my space. In fact, sometimes it can be like being the custodian of my own museum. It goes against the grain of my life's motto of living simply. It also gives off the idea that I'm an affluent individual, which would be far from the truth. </div>
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Lately I have been getting into the practice of letting things go. Literally giving away bikes to friends who I feel could use them. This year alone I have given away 5 or 6 bikes. I am getting to the point where soon I will be giving things away at quite a lost. I guess sometimes it cost money to simplify. Some bikes are harder to let go of than others, because they represent years worth of searching or an iconic and rare example of something that I might never again run into. The truth is I need to sell some of these things, but finding other collectors that will appreciate things and are willing to pay the asking price takes time. </div>
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So this is why you should never get into owning too many bikes. If I could do it over again I would buy three bikes. One road bike, one mountain bike and one fixed gear bike. I would ride the fixed gear bike most of the time to avoid wear and tear on an expensive road bike, which I would race on and then only use the mountain bike on the trails. That's it. I would figure out my frame size, likely buy all three bikes used and spend no more than $600 on all 3 bikes. </div>
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The smug engineer cyclist who came up with the whole <a href="http://www.velominati.com/the-rules/#12" target="_blank">N+1 theory</a> is a stupid bike hoarder. An eternally and hopelessly single, dork of a man.When you start calling your garage a bike "stable" and your bikes "steeds" you know you've gone too far. The formula that should of been come up with is a formula of contentment based on the number of bikes already owned. To me that number is three. Why three? Bicycle a triangle is the strongest geometric shape and has three sides. Three bikes used in rotation will still put light use on each one and will get maximum longevity out of each bicycle. Any more than three and that can easily turn into bike-terialism. Materialism is the practice of valuing material things over human relationships and spiritual pursuits. Bike-terialism is materialism with bikes. We can't let bikes get in the way or physically or emotionally hide from view the more important things. </div>
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I hope to one day be one of those normal people who has 3 bikes</div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1676384460764494844.post-68947255972527338392018-09-19T12:53:00.000-07:002018-09-19T14:40:10.806-07:00Why We Will Never Be Bike Friendly Like Europe<div style="text-align: center;">
Why we will never be able to "Copenhagenize" Ourselves</div>
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Ah yes, another bicycle commuting blog post. There are many countless blog posts about bicycle commuting already out there. Bloggers like Bike Snob NYC and others have made a name for themselves narrating, oftentimes hilariously, about the daily life of bicycle commuters. People who are really passionate about bicycle commuting and a location's bike friendliness will never stop talking about it. That is, until they have more than one child and then realize that they will have to permanently park their Yuba in favor of a more practical minivan. About 8 years ago, youthful optimism drove a small movement to revive bicycle commuting in many parts of the country. Some millenials, then in their 20's and 30's would wax poetic about places like Berlin, Copenhagen and Amsterdam and tout them as model cities for pedestrian and bicycle road sharing (I should know, as I was one of those young millenials). Local initiatives were started to make "complete streets" and "transit oriented development". If cities didn't act fast enough some zealous advocates would spray paint bike lanes and do the job themselves. City council meetings started getting younger audiences, Critical Mass started to actually become a thing in Dallas and bike lanes were eventually painted in downtown. A small victory for some, but alas we did not win the battle. It can be argued that some city centers like downtown Dallas benefited and saw slightly improved conditions for cyclists. On the other hand, cycling fatalities in the area have also gone up. All that hoopla did nothing for the suburbs outside of Dallas. Bike trails don't really go anywhere, rather they are just glorified jogging paths. People don't really ride in to work unless they live within reasonable distance of a rail station or can access their work off a cycling path, which is the case for less than 1% of 1% of the people that live in the area. "Transit Oriented Development" became a catchphrase when developing overpriced mixed used retail projects that gentrified neighborhoods and priced out many from their homes. The whole movement fell flat on it's face and in my honest opinion, left a lot of it's supporters looking stupid. </div>
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The number one reason why we will never see bike friendliness on the level that exists in other parts of the world is that the existing infrastructure of those old European cities was created a long, long time ago on a cultural mindset that placed emphasis on walking and having places for people to gather. In many cities in Europe there are promenades, or roads completely dedicated to pedestrian use. These roads are long and can sometimes span the length of the entire city. There are also plazas in abundance were people can walk to that also serve as natural barriers to slow down traffic that would otherwise be too fast for cyclists. People in city centers usually live there and don't commute from the suburbs to get there. Those who do live there oftentimes use public transportation when they are not walking, such as taking a cab, train or bus ride. Many people in these cities do not own vehicles. Even those who do own vehicles opt for a small car that doesn't take much space on the road. Lifted trucks, Ford Excursions, Cadillac Escalades and Hummers need not apply in Europe.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8xT4ZnEMwgXhmRwbdK3tKaTSjkOe4NnUidob7JjyrL7CaxvdL9bvLHw8EtP_S1gYHOC1_aBB8gncEixiq2nVf0WUkF2OtutP3x0TrVnCMds24l1w5lLETTpf5s8ha4yN9oJlrTiBhMsA8/s1600/IMG_20180915_023926401.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8xT4ZnEMwgXhmRwbdK3tKaTSjkOe4NnUidob7JjyrL7CaxvdL9bvLHw8EtP_S1gYHOC1_aBB8gncEixiq2nVf0WUkF2OtutP3x0TrVnCMds24l1w5lLETTpf5s8ha4yN9oJlrTiBhMsA8/s400/IMG_20180915_023926401.jpg" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">On a recent visit to Europe, in Barcelona Spain. Las Ramblas is one of the most famous promenades in the world.<br />
This picture was taken in the morning before the hustle and bustle of the day started.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRFlXVODlwrt4rYs4-I4fGaceZi6wQsOi5k_IxxyV5y_zDV4FlcDzA4tyiMXWetZfi5yirQJa7Si9pQhtwVeHY6r2BpELH9n4auszjqlVYnL9jEj_WsXJbGqz2EHwcD2hosD2u9iqJffiC/s1600/IMG_20180915_024349852.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRFlXVODlwrt4rYs4-I4fGaceZi6wQsOi5k_IxxyV5y_zDV4FlcDzA4tyiMXWetZfi5yirQJa7Si9pQhtwVeHY6r2BpELH9n4auszjqlVYnL9jEj_WsXJbGqz2EHwcD2hosD2u9iqJffiC/s320/IMG_20180915_024349852.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Very cleverly designed bikes are used as part of a city sponsored bike share program.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1VEQ59Zu-p5X6EHXBkwytOZBUCPgyjJ4g_zRo-BLMzZHV192tlJhIWLJZewLb5WRq0rInC7ik-QwauLJ-btmmaVfZJ_tII48_dQIzt3ofqZJsKPu8JGnuR7VJpacWR50dWoqcvlmmGxM4/s1600/IMG_20180915_053258949.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1VEQ59Zu-p5X6EHXBkwytOZBUCPgyjJ4g_zRo-BLMzZHV192tlJhIWLJZewLb5WRq0rInC7ik-QwauLJ-btmmaVfZJ_tII48_dQIzt3ofqZJsKPu8JGnuR7VJpacWR50dWoqcvlmmGxM4/s320/IMG_20180915_053258949.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">There is bicycle parking everywhere</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhlGCsTRqdmdHHvJn3h1IEmNPRgedS1xBuCYgPePjqnWW-3a8YctJ3C65v5DcN-wnTxHrrl8uoGdr9NArExAbExhf6pKXuEypHmP1yCp0pLSi74p5J3MNEjE9Iza2XJTNwohriG3miCVIx/s1600/IMG_20180915_045250912_HDR.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhlGCsTRqdmdHHvJn3h1IEmNPRgedS1xBuCYgPePjqnWW-3a8YctJ3C65v5DcN-wnTxHrrl8uoGdr9NArExAbExhf6pKXuEypHmP1yCp0pLSi74p5J3MNEjE9Iza2XJTNwohriG3miCVIx/s400/IMG_20180915_045250912_HDR.jpg" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Taxis and other public transportation are the primary way people get around.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"The emphasis is placed on pedestrian use, with everything else like cars, kept small". <br />
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On a recent visit to Europe, I was reminded why things can not be the same in the United States. They have been putting people before expansion for hundreds of years, modeling their infrastructure in a way that best suits the needs of their citizens. Every town in every country in Europe no matter how small, has a proud cultural identity and is reflected on how each city is distinct from the other. In addition to placing the emphasis on pedestrians, everything else from cars, roads, housing, ecetera is kept small. The united states in contrast, has a larger land mass that it is still expanding on. The cultural mindset of expanding is so deeply rooted even in the way people view their personal space. Spacial bubbles are larger, waistlines are larger, roads are larger, cars are larger. Everything is focused on expanding one's personal space. The more space a person takes up, the better. That is why we will never have what exists over there in the way of bike friendliness. All we will have is a romanticized view of how things should be. A commuting bike should be some post apocalyptic-looking piece of metal that we use to get around, not a shiny status symbol that costs a couple of thousand dollars. An E-bike shouldn't be a deal breaker for bicycle commuting, unless someone is elderly or has special needs. Excuses for not riding a bike need to go out the window. For people to make that paradigm shift in their social collective consciousness, well let me just put it this way, it will never happen here. Hipsters can keep dreaming, but I doubt they are anymore. As millenials get older and start families, there is very little time to keep dreaming and keeping hopes alive. Oh well, maybe the next generation can pick up where we left off. </div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1676384460764494844.post-7509036188612907922018-08-23T21:11:00.002-07:002018-08-23T21:11:29.362-07:00"When I grow up, I want to be a kid"<br />
Tom Hanks had the right idea when he played the character in the movie <i>BIG. </i>For those of you who haven't watched that movie, it's about a boy who wishes to become a grown up only to realize that being a grown up is full of awkward situations and general unhappiness. After having spent the last 30 plus years growing up into the adult that I need to be, I would like to be placed in a time machine, and go back, stat. I would like to go back to a more innocent, less complicated time free of the stresses that managing adult relationships involves. Here are a few reasons why I would like to grow up to be a kid.<br />
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1. Grown ups are always talking about money: Grown ups are infatuated, obsessed, with always talking about their jobs, their income or how to acquire more money. When your friends grow up, even those you knew from childhood, expect fun conversations about cars, movies, jokes, etc. to be replaced by conversations about money, business at work, investing, expanding, yada-yada-yada. This conversation usually follows the other predictable conversation about the weather, usually followed by a complaint of how hot or cold it will be that given day.<br />
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2. Grown ups don't play sports, they only watch their kids: This is a trend that I have been seeing for a while now. Parents put their kids in team sports, but don't actually play with their children. Very few kids are learning how to ride a bicycle. Something that can be taught in as little as a week with the right parenting skills seems to be a hurdle most modern parents, with the short attention span and patience that they have themselves, are not able to master. I see parents just sitting there watching, delegating to a coach or a swim instructor what they could be teaching the kid themselves.<br />
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3. Relationships are complicated: Adults hold more grudges and are prone to have more hurt feelings than kids are. Back in the day it was easy. We would say sorry and stay friends, forgetting within a few hours what we were angry about. Adults can hold grudges for years for even the smallest offense.<br />
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4. Adults think they are important: When we grow up, we start valuing positions, titles, ranks, promotions, wealth, material things and think that these things are important and that they define our success. Adults also use these things to measure themselves against other adults so that they can prop themselves up if they have more of these things than someone else. Pride and a belief of self-importance are often the false narrative that adults subscribe to.<br />
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5.Adults don't share: Very few adults share. While there are many people out there who are generous with their material things, most people are stingy with their time. People are always busy, and whatever free time they have they spend on selfish pursuits such as web surfing on their phone. "Phubbing" is an actual word in the dictionary now. It combines the words "phone" and "snubbing" into one adjective. While most people don't phub on purpose, this practice usually takes time away from their spouse, their kids and the real life that is happening around them. It's such a time waster that it's the equivalent of when our parents would spend five hours a day on their cable TVs watching the news and other sitcoms.<br />
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Here are my top five reasons why I would like to grow up to be a kid. Being an adult is overrated, boring and all of your friends become bitter old curmudgeons later in life. My friends in real life are starting to fall off the map. I relate more to young people than I do with people my own age. I honestly feel like a man-child, but I guess I rather be a man-child than a self loathing adult. Real talk.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1676384460764494844.post-20135693194696592292018-06-01T09:09:00.001-07:002018-06-01T09:09:21.603-07:00Mobile Bicycle Repair By The Numbers<div style="text-align: center;">
This article discusses the earning potential, market research and operating costs involved in starting your own mobile bicycle repair business</div>
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Ever thought about starting your own mobile bicycle repair business? Tired of working a dead end job at a bike shop and looking for something that will grow your experience and industry knowledge? Are you a competent bike mechanic and a self taught learner? Are you self managed at the workplace? Then maybe it's time to consider owning your own mobile repair business. This article discusses the real numbers in terms of profit, operating costs and the customer base you will most likely be dealing with. The purpose behind this article is to either convince someone to take the first steps into launching their own business or consider whether a career in mobile repair will really suit them. This article discusses how to start a non-franchised, non-incorporated sole proprietorship.</div>
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<b>Start Up Costs:</b></div>
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The first thing you will need to work mobile is a vehicle. There are many ways that you can go about this, but the best vehicle for the job is going to be a cargo van. That is because a cargo van has plenty of room to install shelves for parts and tools as well as room to haul bicycles. There are many good options out there for a cargo van. The Mercedes Sprinter, Ford Econoline, Ford Transit, Nissan NV200 and Dodge Pro Master are all good options. I personally own a Ford Transit Connect I purchased lightly used from a dealer. With only 20,000 miles on the odometer, I was able to purchase this vehicle for a little over 15k. Van Shelving cost another 500-800 dollars. Vinyl lettering cost around $450. Tools cost around $2,000, although I had quite a few tools already purchased when I went into business. Let's add up our start up costs.</div>
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Van:$16,000</div>
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Shelving:$800</div>
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Graphics:$500</div>
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Tools: $2,000</div>
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<b>Total: $19,300</b></div>
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This is what you will need to start a mobile repair business. I am not going to discuss inventory, but it helps to have plenty of inner tubes in all sizes, cables and housing, cable crimps and housing ferrules, linear pull brake pads, grips and bar tape, and 7-8-9-10 and 11 speed chains in stock for any situation. Most everything else can be ordered as needed. Until you understand your market, only carry the essentials so as to not have inventory sitting without being sold. </div>
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A bicycle mechanic on a shoe string budget will have to make priority based choices depending on how funds for the business are procured. For the first year, most of what will be earned will go back to paying start up costs and putting the business in the black. It is imperative as both an entrepreneur and a sole proprietor to have assets paid for. Do not expand while in debt. We are bike mechanics and we cannot leverage that kind of debt. This is a seasonal occupation that will have busy and slow periods and we will not always have a continual revenue stream like other types of businesses. So have all your startup costs bought and paid for by your first year of business. </div>
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<b>Profit: </b></div>
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This is the part most of you have been waiting for. What is the earning potential as a mobile mechanic? I was fortunate to land a contract for developing and maintaining rental bike shares for a company very soon after I went into business. That along with customer house calls brought me a take home pay of about $22k for my first year of business. I did not put in the hours most entrepreneurs put in and worked the business on a semi part time schedule. Had I been more ambitious that figure would have easily exceeded $30k. In case you were wondering, you will not get rich repairing bikes for a living. You will, however have the independence to work the schedule you want, schedule appointments based on your availability and need and work as much or as little as you desire. This job is simply a means to an end and hopefully an avenue for more bike riding and living a simple life. </div>
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If you want to make more money, go to law school. If you want to live more, be a mobile bike mechanic. The choice is yours.</div>
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<b>Your Market:</b></div>
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Depending on the area that you live in, the median age and demographics of your market will vary. Also worth noting this will vary on the prices you charge. If you are undercutting your competition by a lot you will only get customers who do not want to spend money. If you are on par with your competition then you will get their customers. There is nothing wrong with testing the market, playing around with pricing, or cold calling other competitors and requesting a quote for services. There <i>is </i>an arbitrary number for how much to charge for certain services that the market will bear. You may choose to cover a larger service area and offer a broad selection of services, thereby charging at or slightly above your competition. You may also choose to cover a smaller service radius and offer 3 or 4 main services, thereby charging slightly less than your competitors. The price you charge can also be based on your experience. The more experience you acquire the more you can charge. </div>
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In my personal experience, about 95% of my customers are homeowners. Most are over 40 years of age and live in middle to upper middle class neighborhoods. About 60% are men and 40% are women. Most of my customers have bikes for the rest of their family members, so most of my customers are actually couples with families. This is a good target market because they seem to have the best circumstances to have disposable income for bicycle repair. A younger audience will not want to spend money to get their bikes fixed. I have only had one young customer in the past two years that was a college student. This is the market that chose me based on the services and the prices I charge. Others might have a different experience based on their pricing and willingness to expand to other markets.</div>
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There are no suspension fork oil changes and electronic shifting repairs in mobile bike repair. You will do yourself a favor and pass on complicated jobs like these to a local bike shop. While you can learn how to do these things and while they are useful skills to have in your resume, you will never use them outside a shop environment. The only way to offer such services successfully is to be directly affiliated with a brick and mortar store. </div>
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The number one repair that I get calls for is a basic tune up. The number one bicycle that I work on is a 7 speed mountain bike or hybrid bike. As plain and as simple as that sounds, this is where actual money is made in mobile bicycle repair. Parts can be bought for cheap and marked up at a profit, while labor is charged the same as if it were a more complicated bike. What bike mechanics must realize is that most people are happy with their 90's 3x7 speed mountain bikes. Most will continue to fix them forever, and ever and ever. So have no illusions of fixing exotic Colnagos as a mobile repair mechanic. The Trek Antelope is your friend in the business.</div>
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So are you ready to cut your teeth in the industry and become a mobile bicycle repair mechanic? This calling isn't for everyone, but maybe its for you. If you work to live and not live to work, if you are not defined by a title, if you value experiences over possessions then I would say you have found the right career to be in. Hopefully this article will convince the reader one way or the other. Stay tuned to my blog for more informative articles. </div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1676384460764494844.post-75934160808270791672018-05-09T07:51:00.001-07:002018-05-09T08:10:03.773-07:00How to Find and Keep Good Bike Mechanics<div style="text-align: center;">
How the industry is losing it's best mechanics, and things they can do to keep them.</div>
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These days a bike purchase can be a great financial commitment. When a customer purchases a bike from a store, they are at times spending upwards of thousands of dollars. Their expectation is that their hard earned money serves as an investment for great service down the road. However, when it comes time to fix something complicated on their bike, there isn't a skilled mechanic around to address their issue. Warranties on bicycles have a lot of fine print on them that will cover only very specific types of situations. So when a customer's bicycle breaks down after five years, they are the ones left holding the bag.</div>
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There are a few reasons why this is happening. First of all, there is a severe lack of disposition to train every employee at the shop. This stems from the competitive nature some people have to not train their replacement. They are not thinking in terms of what is best for the company, rather they are trying to safeguard their own employment. Unfortunately, in many cases the one journeyman at the shop has already earned the trust and respect of the shop owner, who is usually too busy with the shop operations to train their employees or even know what is going on at their store. So this usually results in one knowledgeable employee and an untrained staff who cannot assist with the workload when the shop gets backed up. In addition, that misplaced trust and lack of oversight usually leads to time and monetary theft when such employees feel that they can do whatever they want and get away with it. I have seen this play out at small LBS's I have helped out in the past, over, and over again.</div>
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The other scenario that occurs is that an experienced mechanic oftentimes cannot find a gig that pays according to the experience that mechanic has. When trying to get back into a bike shop gig, I once experienced negging* from a shop owner who looked at the things that I couldn't do rather than the years of experience I had providing excellent customer service. He then proceeded to belittle my experience because I wasn't up to par with the latest technologies. He offered me one day of work a week at entry level pay while I gained the experience he said that I didn't have. Needless to say the opportunity to work in a professional level bike shop, with wholesale distributor access, online training modules and other industry access was too much to resist so I bit my lip and tried it out for two weeks. After two weeks of not even being in their payroll system or even being brought in as a formal employee of the company, in addition to not receiving the training I was promised I then could no longer continue to work for that company. I had potentially lost about 5 times more in personal revenue than I was making at the shop in the two days that I worked there. </div>
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If my experience speaks for other experienced mechanics out there, it's no wonder many of us are becoming entrepreneurs. When you are good at something, you know your worth despite what others may say so that they can buy your talents out for a bargain. Many of us just don't want to do anything else, having come from other industries and even professional backgrounds. And, to be honest, a cargo van, some vinyl lettering and a basic set of tools is relatively cheap to acquire or finance. So as time goes by, more and more mobile bike shops will be popping up, this being in direct response to the hiring and training practices of the established LBS. It's too bad wholesale distributors or manufacturers usually won't work with standalone mechanics, because there are many good ones out there and it really shouldn't matter as long as the money is green.<br />
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How to find and keep good bike mechanics? I think the issue comes down to respect. It's a very fundamental thing. This unfortunately will continue to be a problem for as long as bike shops and the systems that keep them in place continue to exist. The loss of talent in the bike industry will lead to some unanticipated consequences. Only time will tell what those damages will be.<br />
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*Negging is a word used by millenials to describe an action when one person starts to dissect and demean the value of another individual. This word comes from the dating scene when an inferior guy tries to get a girl out of his league by jokingly demeaning her. </div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1676384460764494844.post-70621577989339377472018-02-21T11:20:00.000-08:002018-02-21T15:00:14.644-08:00How to Survive as a Local Bike Shop in the Digital Age<div style="text-align: center;">
How to Retail in the modern age:</div>
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What most LBS still don't understand about online retail</div>
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The local bike shop, or LBS, has been a long standing staple of the cycling community ever since bicycles have been around. It can be argued that they were some of the first service centers of any kind, since the automobile came after the bicycle and it was probably sometime afterwards that the concept of a auto shop became established. Since it's inception, the modus operandi for shops has been the same. The focus has been on retail and service, with retail slowly becoming the emphasis of where a bike shop tries to profit. Service has been steadily ignored, even though most shops continue to operate almost solely on profit that is made from their service. Because shops are managed by passionate cyclists and not objective businessmen, many times a bike shop can become a showroom for bikes that may not actually sell to the public. Every time I walk into an LBS, the store layout is almost identical. Three quarters or more of the store space is dedicated to retail, with the most expensive bikes being showcased at the front while the more inexpensive or middle of the range bikes are towards the rear. There are unnecessary products on display that take much needed inventory space because they are aftermarket accessories that can easily be purchased through a store catalog if that arrangement were to exist. Shop employees are mostly a sales team looking to steer the customer away from fixing the bike they already own and selling them on the next year's model, all in an attempt to clear their inventory off of their shelves. The small service center in the back of the shop is usually run by a skeleton crew that becomes backed up on repairs during the peak summer months. Bike shops like these have a well known reputation of treating customers like they were shopping at a jewelry store or looking to buy a Mercedes. Aloofness and lack of basic customer service skills are a common experience, unless someone is looking to buy and has the means of obtaining that 15,000 dollar Colnago that is sitting on their shelf. </div>
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The average lifespan of a bike shop like this in a given area is about 5 years. While there are some cases of shops thriving on this business model, those cases are far in between and those shops have been around for many decades. Even in this case these shops may only appear to be thriving and expanding to cover their profit losses. Some shops deliberately locate themselves in well heeled areas, because they know that their customer base will cater to them instead of adapting to their customer base. For those shops that continue to operate on the same old, tired out business model; I have news for you. There's a tidal wave that has been building at sea for some time now, some would say it's a tsunami, and it's going to wipe you guys off of the map if you don't change. "What is it?" You may ask. It's called online retail. With a discreet click of a button, customers can get exactly what they want, without being judged, pre-qualified or coerced into buying a product that is more expensive and that may not suit their needs. "But what about service?" There are mobile bicycle repair guys for that now. Bike shops everywhere have been put on notice. Some are adapting, some are resisting change, some are badmouthing the new competitors and some are running scared. Those who adapt from the same old business model will live on to introduce cycling to a new generation of cyclists and consumers. Those who are set in their ways are doomed to failure. So the question remains, how does a bike shop survive in this digital age?</div>
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Service. That's right, rolling up the sleeves and getting dirty. Being a shop mechanic, not a salesman. Having a service focused and dedicated shop is the key to long term survival in the new digital age. The current service model has to change. The repair shop cannot be understaffed, underpaid or under talented anymore. Mechanics have to be trained and certified, especially in lieu of all of the new technologies that have come out in recent years. A capable mechanic needs to now know to to bleed hydraulic disc brakes, convert and service di2 technology, update hardware and software on a Bosch electric motor and so on. These are skills that need to be taught by the industry across the table and made available to anyone who wishes to learn them. </div>
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Some more established shops may want to consider running pick up and repair shuttle services for their customers. This will provide the same convenience of mobile bicycle repair even though it may not provide same day service. Some shops in my area already have a mobile service shuttle as part of their overall outfit. While still more expensive than an individual mobile bicycle mechanic, they are at least on the right track to meeting the demand in their area.</div>
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<b>Eliminating Inventory</b></div>
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When a new customer walks into a bike shop, there is more than a good chance that the customer has already done some online perusing and has a basic idea of what he or she is looking for. Therefore, it isn't necessary or cost effective to have a bike of every kind and every size on the shelves. Why not display one bike model in one size, fit the customer on a jig and order the model that they are looking for? Maybe to make it more enticing include home delivery if they spend over a certain price? Mattress shops and furniture stores do it, why not bike shops? That would cut the inventory room needed by over 60%. A bike shop could therefore require less square footage and could be located in a variety of places. That would also reduce the amount of sales people needed on the showroom floor. That payroll savings could go into hiring qualified bike mechanics. If I leased overhead I would carry no more than ten types of bikes and have each model on display in a neutral size, like a medium. The rest of my shop would be focused on service. </div>
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Bike shops need to eliminate the practice of buying large purchase orders from suppliers with a conditional manufacturer discount. Most of these suppliers require a six month repayment on their purchase orders, meaning that the store needs to sell through their supply in six months or less, otherwise pay a full MSRP price back to the supplier. What this has done is led many local bike shops into a perpetual cycle of debt. According to the book <i>Leading out Retail</i>, after all store operating expenses are covered a there is only a 10% profit margin to be made on a single bike purchase. If that same bike goes on sale for under MSRP price, then the store will sell that bike at a loss. If a store stocks items that do not sell or always sell at a discounted price, that store is taking on massive amounts of debt. In time that store will no longer be able to operate if all it's customers just window shop and do not buy anything. Let that sink in for a moment. Most bike shops, especially the ones with the 15,000 dollar shiny Colnagos, are hemorrhaging in debt. </div>
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<b>Change that Attitude</b></div>
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99% of the things that happen to us are a result of our attitude. Successful people are responsive to suggestions and willing to learn. A successful business will put their customers first. They will listen to their customers and make changes according to what the needs and demands of their customers are. It is not the customers' responsibility to keep bike shops in business. It is the bike shops responsibility to gain the loyalty and trust of their customers. The success or failure of a local bike shop falls solely on their shoulders. While online retailers may eventually takeover the retail market, bike shops can still excel in services. That is one thing that the online world will never be able to do. Becoming service providers for online bike manufacturers is also key. Knowing how to repair a Canyon or a Haibike E-bike is going to be paramount in the near future, and is something that I have personally discussed with shop owners. They need to be open to the new arrivals. The world wide web, the free market and the global economy are actually a good thing for the bike industry. It takes a half-glass full and innovative approach to see things that way. </div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1676384460764494844.post-85861360164267944812018-01-17T16:21:00.001-08:002018-01-17T16:25:48.423-08:00Vanlifing: What is #Vanlife and why is it so popular?<div style="text-align: center;">
This Article will talk about the pros and cons of camper van ownership, and how this applies to bicycle adventures.</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Meet Ruby, our new Volkswagen Vanagon, and latest family addition</td></tr>
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If you haven't been living under a rock for the past year or so, you have probably heard of the term van life. Van lifing is essentially living or traveling for an extended period of time from within your van. Let me give a disclaimer; neither my job nor my wife's job allow for us to actually live in our van. We bought the van for the sole purpose of all weather camping trips where we could in theory sleep in the car if we had to and maybe the occasional road trip out of state. So some self proclaimed van life experts might say that "we're not doing it right". That's okay, we are doing it our own way.</div>
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On that note we can start discussing the pros and cons of actually living in a van, or any vehicle for that matter. First off, the illusion to being part of van life is saving money by living in your vehicle and not having to pay rent. I'm going to burst that bubble real quick. It takes money to set yourself up for van lifing. First you will need a van. Depending on how new or practical the van is (ours is not, as we bought a 35 year old van, even though it is in good condition) you will incur maintenance and repair expenses. Right at the onset, be prepared to shell out $5-8k for a vehicle that is decent and in running condition. Be prepared to spend another grand right off the bat getting it roadworthy if it is an older, vintage vehicle. In the specific case of Ruby, our VW Vanagon, we will in the long run look to spend another small fortune on a modern engine retrofit. For right now, the van runs fine, although it is cranky to get off and moving and needs a few tries to get it cold started. In the specific case of our VW, regular inspection of the engine is required and fuel lines and ground wires need to be checked regularly for leaks or tears. This requires a willingness to get to know the car mechanically and oftentimes do our own repair work. If this isn't your cup of tea, I would recommend starting with a cheap Chevy panel van or a late 90's/early 00's conversion van. If money is no object then $40-$60k will get you a new Sprinter or just an RV. A starter van in good mechanical condition, no matter what you decide on getting, will be equally hard to come by. That is because very few full size vans were made after the end of the 90's. Fuel efficiency and smaller families have popularized SUVs and mini vans to the point that they are most of the large vehicles seen on the roads today.</div>
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Having a vehicle that is large enough to carry all of our camping equipment, bikes and ourselves in it is the main draw for our recent van purchase. I always thought of vans as the ultimate dork mobile. That is because my first daily driver was a Ford Aerostar, during a time in my teenage years where friends drove in mustangs, pick up trucks, Toyota Celicas and Honda Civics. Now, my view has changed somewhat. I don't see owning a van as the ultimate compromise anymore. Rather, I just see it as the right tool for the job. Especially if said van can be used as a bike hauler, interim camper and comes in metallic red with a manual transmission. I'm sure that the honeymoon will wear off as soon as I roll up my sleeves and get under the engine of this thing. But for now, we love our newest addition to the family.</div>
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We can conclude that unless you already had a van and lost your job or got evicted out of your home, living in your van as a way to save money and try to live the simple life is oftentimes a false narrative. People who live in their cars do so out of necessity, not choice. I know this first hand because I have a brother who lived in his van for almost a year (remember the Ford Aerostar?). He was one stinky hippie when someone finally decided on giving him room and boarding. He was also one step away from being homeless; a starving musician that would eye people at restaurants so he could swoop in on their leftovers once they were done eating. Not exactly what is pictured on Instagram nowadays under the hashtag #vanlife. The true vehicle for traveling around the country and living in is an RV. That doesn't mean that you can't live in your van and be a telecommuter or just someone who works from their laptop and travels, the question more or less is would you really want to if you had the choice not to? An old, full size van is the perfect vehicle for a weekend mountain biking trip or out of state adventure. For more permanent, on the road living situations there are better vehicle options out there to choose from. No matter how many adventure blogs I read and YouTube videos I watch, I can't wrap my head around the thought of ending a camping trip with my van in the back of a flat bad tow truck. It very well could happen being that I have an old vehicle but it would most certainly happen if I lived in it full time. Of course, sometimes hasty decisions reap unforgettable experiences. Sometimes risks pay off with dividends. Case in point we took Ruby on a 10 hour drive all the way to South Texas. The van had a broken fuel gauge and odometer, so we were guesstimating on when to stop for gas. We made it all the way to South Padre Island and repaired the van on the way back. We ran into some unforeseen expenses, but we spent our winter break traveling instead of being cooped up at home feeling sorry for ourselves. That is what the Vanlife movement means to us.</div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1676384460764494844.post-24117961796353037462017-12-05T18:38:00.000-08:002017-12-06T07:52:11.834-08:00Op Ed: Chris Froome Should Win 5 and Go Home<div style="text-align: center;">
"It's hard to leave the table when you're winning"</div>
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The 2018 cycling season is already being discussed with a tremendous announcement that Chris Froome, the current winner of the Tour De France in recent years has decided to take on the two most hardest bicycle races back to back, The Giro D' Italia and the Tour De France in a single year. This is coming off his success as having won the Tour/Vuelta double last year, also a difficult feat in of itself. The last person to do that was Marco Pantani in 1998, a good 20 years ago. Back then Pantani was loaded to the gills with an experimental drug that later became known to the world as EPO, the same drug that Lance Armstrong took during all of his tour victories. Marco Pantani was 28 at the time of his Giro-Tour victory year, a good 5 years younger than Froome will be by the time he starts the Giro next year. There is one fundamental difference between these two riders and I'm not referring or alluding to EPO use. Marco Pantani was a talent at a very young age. He had always been an accomplished rider even before he won his first Tour De France. Chris Froome blossomed later into his career. Chris Froome and I are a few months apart in age. It doesn't matter if you are the best athlete in the world, at a certain point age will catch up to anybody. Falls start to hurt more, recovery times slow down and a person may never fully recover from some injuries. So I'm not speaking as a world class athlete, I'm speaking as someone who is the same age as Chris Froome. It's time to rake it in, cash the chips and go home. It's hard to leave the table when you're winning, but that's the smart thing to do. It's not about matching records with the greats in the sport, because people will never know to what lengths those greats went to so that they could achieve those records. Stick around any longer and you will risk losing it all; your money, your success, your accomplishments, your credibility and your reputation.</div>
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Hubris sometimes doesn't allow people to know when to quit in a high risk game such as gambling, or in this case, professional cycling. They might as well be the same thing, because both require a poker face. If you call someone's bluff, then the game is over. So the question remains, if Chris Froome goes for one more Tour De France, will someone call his bluff? Unlike the last person that this happened to, Chris Froome is a likeable character that lays low and stays down to earth even when success comes his way. This has calmed any negative press that might be said of him to the point that even David Walsh, a famous reporter and Lance Armstrong whistle blower has come to his defense. Once in while, we will hear the suggestive mutterings of Greg Le Mond or Bob Roll implying that something fishy is afoot, but without the conviction or condemning language used against Lance Armstrong. Can Chris Froome manage to keep them silent for two more back to back grand tour victories? </div>
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I hope Chris Froome takes a lesson from the Miguel Indurain playbook. Win 5, cash in and go home. Indurain wasn't trying to one up Bernard Hinault, Jacques Anquetil or any previous 5 time Tour De France champs. He knew better, and was long gone by the time Marco Pantani, Jan Ullrich and Lance Armstong day-viewed with their superhuman cycling feats. He didn't try to rationalize a reason to go for number 6; he was confident that the world would remember him for his 5 victory contribution. He left with his money, his legacy and his reputation intact. He is the Michael Jordan of cycling, nothing negative or controversial can be said of him. Let's hope Froome follows in his footsteps. I really like the way Froome treats his teammates, the press and his rivals. At the end of the day that counts for a lot and even protects his career to some extent. Counting on that, let's see if Froome has it in him for a Giro-Tour double as well as a fifth Tour De France victory.</div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1676384460764494844.post-44137613088460911592017-12-02T21:51:00.003-08:002017-12-05T11:17:20.414-08:00Bike Mechanic Confidential- Money saving tips, mechanical advice and the inside scoop that the industry won't tell you<div style="text-align: center;">
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Thinking about a new upgrade to your bike? Not sure if you need the latest gadget? Thinking about replacing your 5 year old bike with a carbon fiber wonder? Have you already looked at next year's bike catalogs? If you answered yes to at least one of these questions, you are on the consumer end of the bike industry. The customer, the end user, the money tree that keeps on giving and keeping the bike shops, online retailers and the whole entourage afloat. Need a fat bike? Just rationalize the purchase by saying "why yes, I need a bike for the one week out of the year when it snows, or to go frolic on the beach". Bike shops love you and are eager to take your money to have the privilege of working on your Colnago, oogling the bike over because it's a bike that a $9/hour bike mechanic employee will never be able to save up for. You make it rain dollar bills like Lil' Wayne in a purple drank video...</div>
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Or do you? Are you getting tired of spending an arm and a leg every time you walk into a bike shop? Not an independently wealthy trust fund kid? Wondering if some things are unnecessary, or are things you can do yourself? Then there is hope for you, my friend. Welcome to the club of bike aficionados of the non-corporate, non doctorate inclination. Welcome to the club of do-it-yourselfers. Let me share with you some insider tips that the industry doesn't want to share.</div>
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<b>Never use the lockout on your suspension mountain bike:</b> </div>
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The first rule to proper mountain biking, to getting longevity out of your suspension and to not blow out your fork seals, is to NEVER under any circumstances ride with the lockout engaged while you ride off road. Some people may argue with this notion but I maintain that unless your first name is Nino and your last name is Shurter then you have no business trying to fiddle with your lockout mechanism on your mountain bike. Set sag, pre-load and have the right air pressure in the fork if the fork has an air chamber. Those things are more important than locking out the fork for climbs and forgetting to disengage it on the descents. No suspension fork, no matter how expensive, will stand up to that kind of abuse. A good fork should last a number of years if the lockout is never used. Forget 30 hour maintenance oil changes, forget overhauling the fork and having all of the internals replaced. No lockout, no worries. You will, however, need to do is if you are a remote lockout, trigger happy fool. My advice? Take that remote lockout straight off the handlebars and chuck that thing as far as you can throw it. This leads into another suspension related, money saving tip.<br />
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<b>Your Suntour coil shocks work just fine:</b><br />
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I rode a set of Suntour XCM shocks hard for over 5 years before they finally died. They came on my first full suspension bike which went through some of the local hard trails in the area and even went off road in Georgia and North Carolina. The failure of my shocks was due to leaving them locked out and taking them through a technical descent. Otherwise I don't think I would have had any problems with them. I currently have another set of Suntour XCR 32's on my full suspension 29er. These shocks are super value coil shocks with oil dampening rebound adjustment. True to their reputation they have given me excellent performance and have taken everything I have thrown at them so far, from technical rock gardens to 3 foot drops. The only upgrade that would make sense, if only to save a little weight and add a little stiffness, would be a set of Fox 32's.<br />
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Why the emphasis on Suntour? Rockshox seems to be leaving the coil suspension game to try to be a more premium brand the way Fox is. Rockshox at one time made some of the best coil forks that could be found on the market, such as the Judy, Tora, Dart and XC28 models. These had the ability to be self serviced and fine tuned depending on what kind of suspension coil they had. They seem to be exiting the entry level price point and their products are usually found on bikes starting at around a grand. So that leaves Suntour with the $400 to $800 market, the target which most beginners or new kids to the sport would be able to afford.<br />
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Was there anything wrong with coil shocks in the first place? No, in fact once the industry got it right and built a bombproof, indestructible coil shock like the Rockshox Judy, they realized that they weren't going to sell any more bikes, because the thing would just not break. They needed to find a graceful way to sell us another bike so they gave us longer travel options, tapered head tubes and a more affordable mid-range solo air option. Also counting on user error, they gave us the lockout feature on our forks, because that's how they guarantee repeat business.<br />
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The moral of this story? As we say in Texas, if it ain't broke, don't fix it. Ride your bike to the ground and o-nly upgrade things to add comfort to your ride, like your grips and your saddle. Shocks are a part of the bike and represent about a third of it's overall value, so it's a big ticket item to upgrade just for the sake of upgradeditis. </div>
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<b>Unless you park your bike outside, never replace cable housing:</b> </div>
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Cable housing becomes damaged only if it is cut, severely bent or exposed to the elements and becomes rusted from the inside out. Ride a lot, but leave your bike stored indoors in a dry place? You will never have to change cable housing, no matter how many times a mechanic brings it up as part of a performance tune. Not necessary.</div>
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<b>Dawn or Simple Green cleans better than that bike wash stuff they sell at the shops: </b></div>
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Forget buying bike specific cleaning products. All you need is a bucket with water, a rag, a brush, some dish washing soap or an environmentally friendly cleaner like Simple Green to get the job done. It will cost less and give a better clean than the stuff the store sells.</div>
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<b>Stop shaving, using chamois butt-r and slurping gels:</b></div>
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<b></b>The pro's are the people you see on TV. They are not you and I. We are but mere mortals that have to work for a living and must carry on with dignity and self-respect. We will neither see or appreciate the aerodynamic gains of having our legs shaved or our rear ends slathered in chamois butt-r. Hair stubble hurts, no joke. Not even Peter Sagan shaves his legs anymore.</div>
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<b>Emphasize needs and wants, and pick the right tool for the job: </b></div>
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Looking for a new bike but already have 20 bikes in the garage? Let me stop you right there. You don't need a new bike. Maybe a kid in Malawi needs a new bike, but you certainly don't. Chances are that you already have the tool needed for the job required. With a little modification, an old mountain bike can become a drop bar gravel grinder or a commuter with some street slicks. Don't have a road bike but want a road bike? Take a rigid mountain bike and put drop bars on it. That bike will hold you over until you are averaging 18-19mph with the fast guys in the club. Looking for your first bike? Think about all realistic scenarios that you will be riding your bike. These days there are many good options in the "one bike that does it all" category. They might be heavier, have knobby tires or made of steel, but one good bike can last a lifetime.<br />
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<b>Mid-range is the best range: </b><br />
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Not sure if your 9 speed Shimano Sora or Shimano Alivio groupset is up to par with that of your friend's Dura Ace or XTR groupsets? Have you found yourself being talked out of your triple chainring crankset to go to a 1x? Have a solid set of wheels but saving up for some carbon ENVE's? Do you find yourself blaming your bike more than your time off the bike for performance loses?<br />
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My go to road bikes for group rides lately are a 1988 Schwinn Tempo with downtube shifters, a 6 speed freewheel, 32 spoke count wheels and a steel frame. My other is a 2012 Cannondale Caad 8 with an aluminum frame and Shimano Tiagra shifting. I can average 20mph or more on the fast rides in my area and stay with the rest of the pack, on both bikes. My go to mountain bike is a Fuji Outland 29er full suspension mountain bike that I bought new. I have less than $1,400 invested between all three of these bikes. So while I'm not saying that my bikes are cheap by any means, all three of those bikes might equal the price of what the industry advertises as a "performance" or "race specific" bicycle. The difference between the bikes that I own and a $1,400 bike ends at the price tag. For $500-$800, or about half the price, the same kind of bike can be had. I don't mean a dumb down version of the $1,400 bike. I mean oftentimes, the same performance can be had out of a mid-range bike. The mid-range package might be less flashy, less desirable and less advertised. However, it might have parts that are more durable and have less proprietary technology on it that makes it easier to maintain. What if I told you that 9 speed groupsets were the sweet spot? 9 speed groupsets for road and mountain have the best price point, best durability, best functionality, best reliability and oftentimes the best design. There are also the staple groupsets of mid-range bikes. Something to consider whether you are a beginner cyclist or a seasoned rider eyeing their next bike purchase.<br />
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<b>Don't be a poser: </b></div>
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There are other cyclists besides Chris Froome. Don't be that guy that shows up to the club rides in full Team SKY jersey kit. Not only does that reek for noob behavior, but you will be on the wrong side of history later and will look back on how much of a tool you were for being such a bandwagon Team SKY fan-fan.</div>
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<b>When in doubt, Youtube it: </b></div>
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You can learn literally anything on Youtube, even bicycle repair. Don't want to learn? That's fine too. We in the bike industry appreciate your dollars. However, I will suggest at least learning how to do basic maintenance on your bike. Because when all of the shops in the area are a month out on repairs, you don't want to drop your bike off at the shop because of a flat tire. </div>
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These are some insider tips that the bike industry isn't talking about. Hopefully this has been a helpful article for some of my readers out there. Till next time!</div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1676384460764494844.post-88257868144903078652017-10-04T22:03:00.000-07:002017-10-05T07:55:49.229-07:00Vintage Mountain Bike Racing<div style="text-align: center;">
Tales of the rigid mountain bike</div>
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The vintage mountain bike race</div>
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Mountain bikes have been around since the late 70's and mass produced since the mid 80's. Therefore, it's fair to say that some of those early mountain bikes can now be considered classics. Lately, people are reminiscing about all things 90's. Even mom jeans tried to make a short lived comeback. What's next, acid washed jeans, neon and the like? One cool trend that I have been noticing, at least in the world of mountain biking, is an appreciation for old school mountain bikes, like the ones I grew up riding as a kid.</div>
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It was probably 1997 or 1998 when I first got my Huffy rigid mountain bike, with grip shifters and cheap brakes that imitated a much earlier but more functional U-brake design. It was about 98' or 99' when that bike hit dirt for the first time at a flat trail then known to the locals as California Crossing. By then, good suspension systems were just being developed and we dreamed about doing the things that we can do today on our modern suspension 29ers. We lacked the skill and the equipment to be good at mountain biking, but the motivation was definitely there. </div>
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Mountain biking was on experimental territory back then and so were mountain bikers. It wasn't unusual to see people riding in cut off jeans, flannel shirts and gardening gloves. Lycra as common as it now is wasn't the norm back in those days. Sure, some people wore Lycra in mountain bike racing. Most people however didn't buy their clothes from a bike shop and wore whatever exercise clothing they could find or make themselves. That's right, even exercise clothing had to some extent, be made because no one really wore exercise specific clothing aside from Richard Simmons and a bunch of suburban Mom's doing aerobic workout routines in front of a TV. </div>
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A few weeks ago, I had the chance to relive that old 90's feeling to a certain extent. The local mountain bike racing association decided to host an exibition vintage mountain bike race, only accepting bikes that were made before 1999 with no modern modifications. I had found this 1990 GT Karakoram on Craigslist that I'm sure I only paid 20 bucks for. The bike needed to be stripped down to the frame, cleaned, re-greased and needed a couple of new parts. All in all I think I added around $100 to that original $20 purchase price. I lined up against guys with some pretty iconic 90's bikes that where real contenders in their day. The winner of the race had a Schwinn Homegrown with a Rockshox SID fork and lightweight Mavic Crossmax wheels. The guy with the Schwinn posted a lap time that could have easily put him in a top ten position in the regular races. The guy in second place had a titanium Merlin mountain bike that probably weighed nothing, as he ended up modifying it with carbon cranks ( I seriously don't know how he didn't get DQ'ed from a 90's themed mountain bike race). I came in fourth, with my friend Nathan taking third on his 90's Ironhorse with Rockshox Quadra forks that he engineered to turn them into rigid forks. There were other cool bikes that were way lighter and more responsive than mine, so 4th place out of 11th was a good ride for me. I received a cool participation award for most vintage bike, and a lot of kudos from other riders for having the guts to show up and narrowly miss the podium on a nearly 30 year old, rigid bike with a front shifter that dropped the chain. I did, in fact have a mechanical which caused me to fall 3 places back and I had to overtake 3 guys to get back in 4th position.<br />
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Here's a couple of more pictures of the vintage mountain bike race...<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSiYUY44RgC0KVnrTxArEnQ58SNR3wQFyqemRJE8PhbArEfPQkmylhZPUjfWur8hRlsuirsH84bWlA0LoE42Yt-VYAKSktDpv-FJaztTvorYMVWm71aw32OgaOnB9PWvGXYtUHT8GnxnOJ/s1600/dsc_0767_36361610233_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1067" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSiYUY44RgC0KVnrTxArEnQ58SNR3wQFyqemRJE8PhbArEfPQkmylhZPUjfWur8hRlsuirsH84bWlA0LoE42Yt-VYAKSktDpv-FJaztTvorYMVWm71aw32OgaOnB9PWvGXYtUHT8GnxnOJ/s320/dsc_0767_36361610233_o.jpg" width="213" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Nathan on his Ironhorse with modified shocks.</td></tr>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzZh4XJWDDsJi6QalMkS5ytWmR-mTNvQojykLBkFuGUJacbFhy1ua5tmNE2XsZQKn3NILG5tRsHiRvU0CCAQJJnMXhRlyRqpw0eiJW3042FtVKphhR6BD8d5NcS1bQSCmYzFYkJ91T47cx/s1600/dsc_0790_36986106486_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1067" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzZh4XJWDDsJi6QalMkS5ytWmR-mTNvQojykLBkFuGUJacbFhy1ua5tmNE2XsZQKn3NILG5tRsHiRvU0CCAQJJnMXhRlyRqpw0eiJW3042FtVKphhR6BD8d5NcS1bQSCmYzFYkJ91T47cx/s320/dsc_0790_36986106486_o.jpg" width="213" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_3tKC6QCkdarCUXOcAJNQs3LcyR4v3BkQdpEWy-fPGy_B863xuYr0bwU3929rggwN8u6QkHJCsGhgmhT9FyQuQTQZV5Xi3CzZiLylvpIY1XscZh4WS2LiMTDXGJCiKVcWLGj5DOxQPohF/s1600/dsc_0835_37033599221_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1067" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_3tKC6QCkdarCUXOcAJNQs3LcyR4v3BkQdpEWy-fPGy_B863xuYr0bwU3929rggwN8u6QkHJCsGhgmhT9FyQuQTQZV5Xi3CzZiLylvpIY1XscZh4WS2LiMTDXGJCiKVcWLGj5DOxQPohF/s320/dsc_0835_37033599221_o.jpg" width="213" /></a></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggmgTY_u9N7xWQzb1un20QJZ6xDC2GtaixUrIDxQFEz0daCeGpVKkw39y5ENfWidCw7YhRKc6Fb5PvZMoX9sZjUZFRW2KNP8Af7DPoJnL50ko2c7_mVTQ_mkJcZbqq13Kh33pEzFpteYU9/s1600/dsc_0847_36361483793_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1067" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggmgTY_u9N7xWQzb1un20QJZ6xDC2GtaixUrIDxQFEz0daCeGpVKkw39y5ENfWidCw7YhRKc6Fb5PvZMoX9sZjUZFRW2KNP8Af7DPoJnL50ko2c7_mVTQ_mkJcZbqq13Kh33pEzFpteYU9/s320/dsc_0847_36361483793_o.jpg" width="213" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The only other rider who had a bike older than mine</td></tr>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9qVS5riZRLIv3Xs6I4c6JPPTEL7z5tcireAPDMXT3dt81hgvskNfdVf8eN9TGCDh8ZhQC-7ly3ZGEc9yS4YhgHAVpStMA94m8DwKPDpVYObyy1mqy7c_ZMpvbkJJ64h8PNvBZ9JI4gVl9/s1600/dsc_0851_36339032724_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1067" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9qVS5riZRLIv3Xs6I4c6JPPTEL7z5tcireAPDMXT3dt81hgvskNfdVf8eN9TGCDh8ZhQC-7ly3ZGEc9yS4YhgHAVpStMA94m8DwKPDpVYObyy1mqy7c_ZMpvbkJJ64h8PNvBZ9JI4gVl9/s320/dsc_0851_36339032724_o.jpg" width="213" /></a></div>
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I hope to see more races like these as time goes on. I appreciate the nod <a href="http://www.dorba.org/" target="_blank">DORBA </a>gave to us former 90's kids and mountain bikers. In a world that is ever more serious and focused on tech, nutrition and other nuances, it's nice to get back to our lighthearted roots and more innocent times. I will still continue to ride my modern mountain bikes because I'm not a curmudgeon or a retro grouch. I will nevertheless look forward to the next event like this and hopefully this one won't be the last!</div>
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Possibly to come on my blog; I will try if time allows to showcase some of my recent vintage mountain bike findings, write more point of view articles and try to revive this blog a little bit. My goal is to go from a roadie to a mountain biker and come full circle with myself. Let's see if changing the format up a little bit will bring life into a bike blog that is nearly a decade old.</div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1676384460764494844.post-59690051117032460072017-08-28T04:36:00.000-07:002017-08-29T08:47:56.323-07:00Are Cyclists Selfish?<div style="text-align: center;">
Taking The "Me" Out of Cycling:</div>
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A Look at how to be a cyclist without making it all about us</div>
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Self-centered people are often the ones making onlookers and would-be cyclists refer to all cyclists as "douchebags". Of course, selfish people and self-centered people are not limited to the confines of the bicycle riding, Lycra wearing types. Someone who exhibits these traits doesn't just have to be a cyclist. In fact, these attitudes in cycling are just a symptom of the bigger problem of where we have come to as a society. Smart phones, selfie sticks, status updates, targeted advertising; everything is geared to put our own interests ahead of everything else. We come to see ourselves not as contributors to society. Rather, we at many times expect the rest of the world to wait on us and attend to our needs. The more I pay attention to this, the more obvious it becomes. </div>
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I'm going to preface this by saying that this is my first blog post in well over a year. I have been busy with life since my last blog post. If I'm honest I have also lost interest in trying to write about the same cycling topics that have been already extensively discussed in online forums and around the cycling inter-webs. I don't want the articles that I write about to be aimless content filler that just gets lost in the void of useless information. Since I have very little time to write anymore, I want my content to matter somewhat and to make a positive impact. Having said that I'm writing this article with the intent of looking inward and becoming better cyclists from the inside out, not relying on the latest gadget or the newest bicycle to do it for us. </div>
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Like all bad habits, a selfish attitude is a bad habit that goes from being a mere tendency to a lifestyle once it is left unchecked. Cycling is a sport which can be as expensive or as inexpensive as we want it to be. Most of the time, the guys and gals you see participating in clubs where there is organized riding or racing have opted to make it as expensive as they can make it for themselves. On that side of the spectrum, the industry that retails the sport is one that highly discourages contentment. The aim of the game is no longer about fitness, recreation or the personal enjoyment of being in the outdoors. The motivation for spending is not getting "dropped". That is why bikes these days are marketed as lighter and faster. That is why people often times end up spending ten times the amount for a delicate carbon fiber paper bike rather than a durable, steel touring bike that can last a lifetime. And let's face it, once we are no longer happy with the current bike we own we see buying another bike as the solution. It doesn't help that most cyclists have a morbid fear of getting dropped. Well, someone who is always buying without regard to price and can never be satisfied with what they own is already making it about themselves. So in that regard cyclists can be selfish, to the point of narcissism even.</div>
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So how can you be a cyclist without becoming selfish? You have to look at the greater picture. Getting dropped is a part of life, and every ride is a learning and training opportunity that will make us stronger so that eventually we will no longer get dropped. No bike no matter how expensive is going to teach that lesson for us, only lots of humbling experiences will. You might find after a while that group riding really isn't your thing. That's okay, you don't need to ride at race pace to enjoy cycling. Maybe you are more suited to riding by yourself, adventure riding, mountain biking or simply riding with a different social group of people who are not interested in racing. You can still become a very fit individual doing it this way if that is what you are aiming for. </div>
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My Mom once told me that 99% of the things that happen to us are as a result of our attitude. So if we have an "attitude of gratitude", that can go a long way. I have seen ungrateful people in all levels of society so this is not really based on our upbringing or where we are from. We can have a humble beginning only to get spoiled later in life. We could also have everything given to us but still have humility and accept things that might be a little lower than the standards set for us. Being grateful will also allow us to get out of the rat race, live within our means and have more time for riding. It will also prevent us from getting "upgraditis" and replace our bikes every few years. Buying an expensive bike doesn't make us a contributing member to society as some would portray it, on the contrary that's just being a wasteful consumer and in some cases, a hoarder.<br />
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There is another aspect of cycling where most people act really selfishly towards one another. In a group ride setting, it's common courtesy to wait for an individual that has a mechanical, call out gaps in the pack and start and finish rides as a group. More and more even on social, non-competitive rides these kind gestures are disappearing as people become more selfish. More and more group rides in my area are becoming "drop" rides, meaning the group doesn't wait up, on purpose. Blowing through traffic lights and not calling out to pedestrians is another selfish way for cyclists to behave on the roads, since they are posing a danger to themselves and others. Reckless cycling is just as bad as reckless driving and it's inconsiderate to the family members of those cyclists who already worry about them being on the roads. </div>
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After many years of riding to be one of the fastest, riding not to get dropped and paying attention to all of the market trends, I'm just about done with it. It has become the ultimate game of chasing the rabbit for me. That still doesn't mean that don't love riding my bike. The difference now is that I'm going to forgo my pride and there will be times where I will get dropped. There will also be times where I'm slower. That's okay, I've earned it. I'm no stranger to the fast guys in my area. They know who I am and who I can be with the right amount of time and training. It's time I put things in their proper place. My rides from here on out will be done between family obligations or with my family and for my personal enjoyment and well-being. I don't see myself going to the bike shop and shelling out a few grand on a new bike anymore. The bikes that I currently have are just going to have to last for the long haul. Besides, there are other things and people in life that are more important. </div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2