A Happy Tale From The Shop

Now and then we get a bike in for service that has a story to it, and those are always a fun experience for both the owner and us.

Well, recently we were asked to fix up the little bike you see to the left here. It's an unusual bike in its own right, being a child's bike built with lugs, in the mixte frame style (two thin sloping top tubes). I've never laid eyes on such a bike before. It was clearly very well made, a quality bicycle, and very stylish with an elaborate, yet classy paint scheme. And look at the fenders and chain guard! The bike was made in Switzerland in the 70s, and while it arrived a bit grungy with dried out tires, you can see it cleaned up really well, and looks great.

What takes it beyond being merely "another pretty bike" is the story behind it. The fellow who brought it in to us told us his parents had bought it for him from the Jean Brun shop in Geneva, Switzerland, when he was a little boy in the 70s. He was bringing it to us to fix up so his own son could now ride it! Needless to say, we were happy and honored to be a part of the project, resurrecting a fine old bike for the next generation.

One challenge right off was the tires... a size never marketed in the US, as near as I can tell, and difficult to find even in Europe, where they were primarily used on Dutch bikes, I think. Some sleuthing on the part of the father ensued, and one day he arrived with brand new Michelins, shipped from Ireland! Then it was in Daniel's hands, and he did a marvelous job of cleaning and lubing everything, making the bike ready to ride and looking great. He even managed to revive the original bell, much to everyone's surprise.

The best part of the whole project though was when the whole family came to pick up the bike when it was finished. Mom, Dad, older sister Madeleine, and of course Avi, the young boy eagerly waiting for the bike. Even the family dog, Wolfie the toy poodle came along! Everyone was really excited and happy to take part in the "unveiling"... all of my staff as well as the family were all smiles and laughter. It was a really wonderful day. We all wish Avi many, many happy adventures with his "new" bike!

An interesting side note for the bike nuts in the room... Jean Brun is still in business... their website can be found here:  http://www.jeanbrun.ch/

More photos can be found here:

Jean Brun bike

A good morning's ride

Yesterday I got out for a morning ride for the first time in a week or two.  Our weather here has been pretty miserable... hazy, hot and humid.  Temperatures near 100° and a heat index between 105° and 110°.  Blech!  But Wednesday dawned clear and cooler... while I wouldn't call it "cool", it's all relative, and it was much nicer than it's been, so off I went.  LOTS of folks out on the trail, enjoying this break in the heat.  And I had a chance to ride for a short way with one of my regular customers... a very nice fellow who rides a couple of older road bikes, mostly for transportation. I've seen him now and then out there, but we've been going opposite directions. Yesterday we actually rode side by side for a while, which was fun.


This time the remarkable wildlife sighting was a sad one... a little bluebird, dead on the pavement.  I don't seeing wildlife killed any time, but bluebirds seem so precious and rare, it seemed somehow sadder than seeing a sparrow.  Of course, that's really kind of a strange value judgement, isn't it? And it calls to mind both the old Simon and Garfunkel song "Sparrow", and the passage in the Bible about God knowing when a sparrow falls.


The crepe myrtles are still in bloom, but beginning to fade I think. Still lovely though.

Trek 530 (cherry tomatoes behind!)

Today's bike was my 1978 Trek 530, the "racier" of my old steel Treks. Set up with mostly original parts, from the Shimano 600 "Arabesque" group. A very nice riding bike, and a very smooth shifting drivetrain. And I'm constantly amazed at how well Trek's paint jobs from that era hold up. They (and many other US builders) used a DuPont paint called Imron, that's very durable and pretty.  And unfortunately very toxic to work with, if I recall correctly!

You Never Know How Folks Will Use Their Bikes

Josh here came by the shop just to say hi today... and to tell us how much he has enjoyed owning his Batavus Personal Delivery Bike. That sort of thing is always nice to hear, but what made this visit even better was hearing how Josh has used this bike... it just might surprise you!

Most folks see these bikes and think purely of "utilitarian" uses for it... shopping at the grocery store, or a trip to the farmer's market, maybe even hauling some hardware and materials home from the hardware store. But looking at the bike that way is really limiting... for example, many of you may recall seeing John Brunow carrying his chocolate labrador, Java, around in a big basket on the front of an orange Batavus.

Well, Josh here has done even more wonderful things and unexpected things with his PDB. He's ridden it on the C&O Canal, all the way up to Cumberland, MD, 185 miles away... AND back again in the same trip! He said it was perfect for the trip, with its comfortable ride and stability... plus the ability to carry all of his gear securely. It reminded me that years ago, when "10-speeds" were just becoming all the rage, the Washington Post carried an article about cycling the Canal, and recommended a lowly 3-speed over the fancier 10-speeds, because of their comfort and stability over rough surfaces. Josh has shown that it's still a great option today.

But he didn't stop there... he's even ridden the Batavus on RAGRAI... the Register's Annual Great Bicycle Ride Across Iowa! Many of you know from John Brunow's tales that this is a week long party on wheels, where thousands of cyclists on all manner of bikes pedal across the great state of Iowa. Well, Josh took his Batavus on that trek, and thoroughly enjoyed it.

And yet that's not really the best part... Josh has found the bike fits into his family life as well. This past weekend, he took his kids on their first overnight bike camping trip, on the C&O Canal and W&OD Rail Trail, including a Potomac River crossing on White's Ferry, carrying all of their gear on his trusty Batavus. And today he when he stopped by, he'd just helped his daughter carry gear to a softball game before he came to see us.

It's always fun to hear how folks find ways to make the bikes they have fit into their lives, enriching their lives. It brings a smile to my face when I see how such a simple machine can make such a difference. Does anyone out there have a similar tale of adventures on unlikely bikes?

Bicycles Triumphant!

Yesterday was a big day... the Bike/Car/Bus Challenge out in Reston, Virginia, not far from me here in Vienna! An event where folks "raced" to get from A to B by each of three different modes of transportation. Bruce Wright, longtime bikes@vienna employee, chairman of Fairfax Advocates for Better Bicycling and friend of mine was triumphant! Check it out at the links below.


http://fabb-bikes.blogspot.com/2011/05/fabb-chairman-arrives-first-in.html


http://reston.patch.com/articles/wright-on-a-bike-wins-commute-challenge

Clever!

Note:  I don't normally run duplicate posts between our shop blog and here, but this one just seemed too good not to share.

Now and then a customer comes in with a way of doing something that I just find amazing. Well, last Friday was one of those days.

Mike rides his high end handcycle competitively, and rides in events all over the place. He keeps us posted on the events in which he races, and we also keep an eye on him on Facebook.

Today he showed me how he manages to cram both his handcycle and his wheelchair into a medium sized sedan. Now, that may not seem like such a big deal if you've never seen a bike like this up close, but trust me, it's quite a feat. So much so I just had to take a few pictures.

First, here's Mike in his car:


And here's the cycle and wheelchair inside:
















And finally, here's the cycle ready to roll:


It's pretty amazing to see it all inside, honestly. Even more impressive is that he manages to pack the car by himself!

Old Friends

Well, Thursday was a good day, made all the more pleasant by a visit to the shop by an old friend. Phil and I were good friends in high school and into our college years, but as time went by and we both went on about our lives and moved various places, we fell out of touch. A few years ago, after I'd been back in the DC are a couple of years, we managed to hook up for lunch once, and caught up on each other's lives a bit. Then life took hold again and we fellout of touch for a while. Fortunately, we didn't go quite as long this time before reconnecting, and today he came out to see the shop.

It was great to catch up... a lot has happened in each of our lives over the years, but it's great to find there's still a bond between old friends. And I have to admit, it was fun showing him around the shop, and talking about this exciting new chapter of my life. And hearing him talk about his family was wonderful too. He's a good guy, and I suspect a great dad. Business was slow today (can you say January?) so we had time for a nice long visit.

One extra added surprise to the visit... and another reunion of sorts...

Back in 1980, I bought my Trek 414 road bike that I've written about before. Part of how I managed to finance that was by selling Phil my '77 Fuji S-10S. The Fuji was the first bike I bought for myself, rather than receiving as a gift from my parents, and I loved that bike. But being young and fickle, a few years later I wanted something "better", so I bought the Trek. And it was and is a better bike all around, no doubt about it, and I've had a lot of great rides and great adventures on the Trek. It's a bike I never expect to part with. But the Fuji always had a special place in my memory, as my first "good" bike, and the first paid for by my ow

n labor.

Imagine my surprise when Phil pulls up with the very same Fuji on the back of his car. And better yet, presents it to me as a gift! I knew he still had it after all this time, and he'd said he hadn't really ridden it in a long time, but I really didn't expect him to just show up and give it to me. It's a little dusty, and could use a good cleaning and probably an overhaul, but all in all in great shape, just like I remember, save for the Fujita leather saddle, which Phil discarded long ago. That sucker was made of some seriously thick and stiff leather, harder and less forgiving than the Brooks saddles I like so much. Still, it was a good saddle, and it's a shame it's gone... but that's a tiny quibble. It's SO good to see this bike again, and to think of fixing it up and riding it again!

Big Changes Here

Hey gang! I've written a little bit about some changes in my life here, but I haven't sat down to write about the biggest change. Until now.

Regular readers know that I've been working as head mechanic at bikes@vienna for a little over five years now. Well, that's all changing now. No, I'm not leaving the shop! Rather, John Brunow, founder, owner, boss and friend, has moved back to Iowa, where his parents live and where both he and his wife Ces grew up. In fact, they'll be living in the very town where Ces grew up, in a house built by her grandfather, with the very same phone number she had growing up.

So what's that mean for me? It means that I am taking over ownership and operation of a bicycle shop, something I've idly thought about on and off for years, what with my love of cycling. I don't know that I ever really expected it to happen, and certainly not in this manner, but it's a wonderful opportunity and I'm excited and honored that John put it in my hands. I have a lot to learn, but I've been lucky to work with good people, both here and at the Community Cycling Center (Hi Beth!) in Portland. And I was lucky to have found some small business counseling services that offer free or nearly free classes, counseling and support here in Northern Virginia. I'm also fortunate to have good people working for me, which makes a world of difference.

For those that don't know, bikes@vienna is an unusual shop. I like to tell folks that "we sell what other shops don't", and that's pretty accurate. You won't find a road bike in the shop, unless it's a customer's bike in for repair, or one of mine. Nor will you see mountain bikes, though you might see a few bikes that vaguely resemble mountain bikes. We don't even sell the ubiquitous "hybrid" style of bike that's the bread and butter of most shops.

What do we carry? Primarily a mix of folding bikes and recumbent bikes and trikes, with a few other oddballs mixed in, such as the Rans "crank forward" bikes, a sort of semi-recumbent. Those of you who are regular readers can probably guess which way I lean, since I've rhapsodized so much over my Brompton and folding bikes in general. I do love the folding bikes, and am quite the Brommie enthusiast, but I think the recumbents are very cool too. If you've never tried one, get to a shop that has a variety and spend an hour or two or three riding. Compared to conventional bikes, the range and differences in design are really striking. I'll write more on that in the future, but for now, suffice to say our selection is quite varied.

So as I move forward on this new (to me) venture, watch this space for the musings and thoughts and joys and challenges of a small business owner, as well as the regular stuff you're used to reading. And if you're in the DC area sometime, please stop on by. You'll find a quiet, low-key shop that has a unique blend of products, services, and staff.

Recent Events

Hey gang!

Time to catch folks up on what's been going on in my life of late. It's been far too long since I've posted, and a lot has happened.

First, as I had said in the last post, I've moved. I didn't know I was moving until shortly before I had to, but it's all worked out in the end. I'm now settling in to my new place... it's a roomy basement apartment in a single family home, with my own kitchen, living room, dining area, bedroom and bath. It's a little farther from work than my last place, but that's ok, I was kinda thinking I wanted a little bit longer ride to work, so I got that.

My little cat Tybalt is also settling in, feeling more at home every day. For those of you who have never owned a cat, trust me, change is NOT their favorite thing in the world. From the time I first started boxing things up, through the process of moving out, staying in a temporary place for a week, and moving in here, he's been a bit freaked out. In my old place he spent most of his time hiding in the rafters.... once I moved here, he burrowed under my blankets whenever I wasn't here, as near as I can tell. But for the last week or so, he's been out and about in the apartment when I've come home, so that's a good sign.

In the middle of all of that, there was the Vienna Halloween Parade, and as always, bikes@vienna made a splash. This year, John's goal was to get as many trike owners as possible to come and hook up their trikes into one giant train, aiming for 25 trikes in all. And I was hoping to assemble a "Brompton Brigade" of Brompton owners, riding and folding their bikes along the route.

Well, neither of us really met our goals, but we still had a lot of fun and made a memorable sight. We ended up with two trike trains of about a half dozen Sun EZ "delta" style trikes, which made quite a sensation looping and circling down the street. On the Brompton side... well, there were only two of us, myself and Christy, who was decked out in a great witches outfit and had lighted plastic pumpkins hanging from her handlebars. In the end, we ended up with me hopping off and folding my bike, walking a short way, and unfolding and remounting, while Christy circled around me, now and then doing appropriate "Vanna gestures" to call attention to what I was doing. Even the announcer at the reviewing stand was impressed, commenting on both the trike trains and my "transformer bike", as he called it.

So far, I haven't been able to find any photos of us in the parade, much to my disappointment. I know folks were snapping photos, but I just haven't been able to track any down online. I'll post links if I find any, or if anyone out there knows of some, please let me know!

Macgyver on a bike?

I've seen some inventive repairs in my life, both in my bicycle work and theatre work, but yesterday a fella came in off the trail with an improvisation that really surprised all of us. Alas, I was unable to get a photo, but I'll try to describe in words what he did.

Apparently, somewhere along his ride, or perhaps over the course of several rides, 4 of his 5 chain ring bolts (chain rings are the big sprockets attached to the cranks that you turn with the pedals) had worked loose and fallen off the bike. When the rider realized this, he figured he needed a temporary fix to get him to the nearest shop, so he turned to something near at hand... grass stems! Seriously... he used a number of strong, fibrous grass stems to TIE the chainrings in place! The amazing thing is, it worked. I'm not sure how far he rode that way, but any distance is pretty remarkable.

So, next time you have a mechanical problem on your bike... maybe you don't have to reach for your cell phone first!

A Field Trip!

Yesterday, I went with John (owner of bikes@vienna, my employer) to the Patagonia store in Georgetown, in Washington, DC. We had been invited to show off folding bikes to the staff and customers at their shop as part of their "Bike to Work Week", which strangely falls several weeks after most other folks' "Bike to Work Week".

It was a slow day of business for them, unfortunately, but it was still fun to do and we did get the word out a bit about folders. We had a sampling of Bromptons with us... each of the three bar styles as well as each of the gearing systems we have in stock - two, three, and six speed. In addition we had catalogs and pricing sheets to hand out, along with some freestanding banners provided by Brompton. Several of the shop staff took test rides, as did some of the customers. All seemed to really enjoy themselves and were surprised at how easy and fun they were to ride.

As it turns out, this may have been a good "practice run" for us, as the folks at Patagonia would like us to come back on a busier day to show off the bikes. Anything we can do to get the word out helps, so we'll make the trip down there again.

While I was there, I also took the opportunity to take one of the bikes out on the street, where I unfolded it, hopped on, rode around a bit, then folded it back up again... all in front of a bus full of tourists. I clearly caught a lot of people's attention, as I heard comments as I did this. Next time I'll make sure I have business cards and brochures to hand to the folks on the bus!

Contrasts

First, I must offer apologies to regular followers of this blog for not having posted anything for over a month now. It's been a busy and challenging time lately, on all fronts, and I frankly just haven't been inspired to write. But let's see if we can fire up the old boilers again and get this ship moving...

Yesterday, I found myself with a set of bikes in my repair stand that made quite a contrast. I tried to get a good photo of the pair, but I fear that it really doesn't do justice to the strange duo I was working on.



To the right, you can see a classic old Schwinn Twinn, the basic tandem out of the grand old Scwhinn company in Chicago. In contrast to the very high end Paramount tandems of the era, this one is a heavy, sturdy, simple workhorse. I won't hazard a guess on the weight, but suffice to say it took some effort and grunting to get it up there in the stand. These were the bikes that were the staple of many a rental fleet, especially a beach towns, where many a happy couple cruised the boardwalk on sunny days. Sturdy, welded steel frame, stout steel wheels, all steel components... and one gear with a coaster brake in the back. Not the kind of bike you'd want to take on long, hilly rides, but for a mellow outing with a friend or sweetheart, perhaps a picnic midway, it was just dandy. This one was found at a yard sale for next to nothing, and I'm sure it will give the new owner a lot of smiles.

On the left, and difficult to make out, is the main frame and back wheel of a much newer tandem.... a tandem recumbent to be more specific. Even more specifically, it's from the Vision line of recumbents, and aptly named the Double Vision (for all you Foreigner fans?). It doesn't look like much without the seats and front wheel, but when fully together this is quite an impressive bike. It seems to go on forever... a very long bike that makes squeezing it in the shop a challenge. I generally find myself driven to sardonically calling them "Battlestar Gallactica" when we have one in the shop, and everyone in the shop knows which bike to which I'm referring. Don't get me wrong, they're good bikes, and the owners I've talked to all love them. They're just a bit of a pain to maneuver around our small repair area.

I actually have a bit of a soft spot for the Double Vision, of all the tandem recumbents. A number of years ago, we had one come into the non-profit bike shop where I worked in Portland, and all of us mechanics just had to give it a try. I have to say, it was a challenge. As I'd never ridden a recumbent previously at that point, and had exactly one tandem ride under my belt, I could not get solid control over it on the first try. Luckily for me, a colleague had a lot more experience with both, so he took me for a spin around on it, with me in the "stoker" seat. It was a blast, honestly.

Anyway, it was a funny situation yesterday with such two very different tandems in the same repair stand. Each has its strengths and weaknesses, each represents a very different set of requirements and limitations, as well as price range. Both could be a lot of fun to ride. And I find it fun to work on such very different bikes. That's one of the joys of my work... I get to handle all manner of bikes. Do I have my favorites? Sure, and I have those that I'd just as soon not work on, if I can skip it. But I honestly enjoy the variety of working on such a wid variety... it's one of my versions of fun!

(Oh, and in the window behind the tandems is a Brompton P6R in Apple Green. I seem to have become the arbiter of what goes in the front window, and it's usually a Brompton of some type. Big surprise, I'm sure.)

It Ain't Macy's, but...

... the only real "decorating" I managed to do this Christmas (aside from my mom's lights) was to put a few strings of battery-powered lights on the bike I built, the Goshawk. The shop was scheduled to do our annual Christmas Eve Luminaries Ride (in which we ride around a local neighborhood that puts out the little candles in bags for the holidays)but due to ice and snow on the roads and on lawns, John decided it was best to cancel. This came about, of course, AFTER I had decked the bike out with lights! So John suggested I put the bike up in the front window of the shop to join our spiffy new "Open" sign and the Christmas lights I had already hung there.



So the only question now is, what is the correct protocol with a decorated bicycle in a shop window for the holidays? Does it come down at the Epiphany or sooner? Later? Decisions, decisions.

Might require serious thought. I know! A walk along the Canal would help with that! On a blustery, cold winter afternoon. Delightful.