30 June 2011 - 1:09Four Letter Words – Revisited

Alright folks, I am back and blogging again. I feel that the funk that has blocked my creativity has passed. I can get past all the storm clouds. There is a lot of big blue sky beyond. I have a backlog of interesting things to talk about, but for now, I am going to finish what I started yesterday.

Yesterday, I posted up some images on the Facebook that shook the tree a little. Some might say they are a little unsettling. They might make you wince, it isn’t an easy thing to see. No less than 47 (47!) bicycles were taken from my store yesterday. I had a lot of texts, face messages, emails etc asking me if things were OK, if I’d been robbed, skipped town and/or let loose the hounds of hell. I appreciate all of them.

I can assure you that everything is ok over here, situation normal. How are you?



Boring conversation anyway…

Let’s revisit the past a bit shall we? (taken from my first post ever – in case no one clicked the link yesterday)

BIKE, for instance. The bike is a magical machine, for me, not only can it transport me back in time to when I was a kid, it can give me moments of clarity when everything else is falling down, it can scare the crap out of me, and it can reward you with an unbeatable sense of accomplishment when you can pull something really big off.
LOVE is another. Anything that you love is worth spending time on.
WORK, is a good example of a four letter word that can be both good and bad.
SHOP. Now there’s a good one…

Here is how it translates in today’s world.

LOVE, I still love what I do. Because of what I do, I get to meet some extraordinary people. Awesome people. Peers and customers alike. I get to live on the leading edge of bicycle technology, and let’s face it, that is just more stuff to love.

WORK, I’ve worked my ass off 7 days a week for the last 5.5 years. I do my best to keep the bases covered, even when I’m not at the shop. It can be tiring for sure, I’m just one man, but at least I can go to sleep knowing I’ve tried my best. Sure, I might not get it right 100% of the time, but I try to every time. I would not have changed this for anything.

SHOP, a physical manifestation of some place that traditional bicycle retail has come to expect the sun. moon and stars from. A location. An anchor. The one thing from this list that has been the single, most consuming thing in my life. I’m not going to lie, I have a love/hate relationship with it, mostly because it has always been a compromise. What I want to do, vs what I think I have to do. I’m about to turn it on it’s ear. Compromise will now be on my terms.

I saved BIKE for last.

I love my bike(s). I love everything about them because they are the way I made them. My bikes have taken many shapes and forms over the years since I started this business. I still have and ride my trusty old Karate Monkey, and Kermit, along with a few other revolving stable mates. I make bikes for people that love bikes. I always have. But they are still my bikes. I make them for the people that ride them. And I’m damn good at it too.

Pre-packeged TV dinners are out. Gourmet is in.

Get some.