In the trenches

My typical acclimation to working full time in the shop is coming along nicely.  There are slow times when we look at each other and wonder what we can do to keep occupied and then there are times when we wish we could employ 20 people it is so busy.  I like being busy - down time is too much for me to bear.  The best moments come when you get to talk to someone for a while; someone new to the shop or the area who likes bikes and likes to talk about bikes.  Some of the stuff that has rolled in for repair lately has been pretty amazing.

We've had a pair of '60's era Raleigh 3 speed English Tourers come in.  A matched pair of his and hers in British Racing Green.  We even discovered a beautifully worn Brooks leather saddle hiding under a cheap gel seat cover on one of them.  I also got to rebuild a Marzocchi suspension fork from the late '90's for a customer.  Amazing how simple that fork is compared to how most are now.  All in all, back getting my hands dirty, helping people out and getting to hang out in a bike shop all day is a nice way to spend the summer.

Our good friend Joan is heading for surgery today for her recently diagnosed breast cancer.  Joan has been one of the most amazing people in our riding community.  A tireless organizer with a smile and manner that melts everyone around, Joan has turned the Mellow Monday ride into a wild success and has been instrumental in organizing the women's riding group.  We are showing support for Joan by adding some pink on all of our rides and encouraging you to do the same.  If you can wear pink or add pink to your bike to show support for Joan, we know she would greatly appreciate it.  And since Joan has done so much to improve the Mellow Monday ride, we want to encourage everyone to continue participating in the ride.  I know Joan would be disappointed if participation dwindled in her absence, so let's try to make the Mellow Monday ride even bigger than it has been in the past!  Join us monday at 6, bring something pink and we'll take a picture before we start and send it off to Joan.  I know she'll love it.

Don't forget that the Saturday ride will start at 7:30 in the morning to beat the heat.  As always, there will be plenty of people with different schedules to make the ride as long or as short as you would like.  See you then!