Spring cleaning

Well, we are on our way into the shop this morning.  We have stopped off at Aroma Roasters Coffee shop for some refreshments and 10 pounds of coffee.  Yesterday we spent 4 or 5 hours in the back cleaning things up.  Boy, did that make a difference.  We can fit many more bikes in there.  I wish I had some before and after pictures.  Maybe I can describe it for you.  Close your eyes, now imagine a big room filled with bicycles placed safely, but chaotically around the floor.  Now imagine all of the bikes in a nice row with some hanging safely from the ceiling.  That is before and after.

A good couple of days off

It is back to work this morning, but not before Claire and I had a couple of good days off.  I was able, with Claire's persuasion, to get out for some exercise 4 days in a row.  Saturday I rode into the shop, taking the hilly route.  Sunday morning, I got us out for a run around the neighborhood.  Monday I rode the rollers for an hour, see graph on the right, and then we went out for a hike in Armstrong Redwoods.  We got hailed on a bit, which made it all the more interesting.  Yesterday I went out and did my favorite loop again.  I felt much, much better than I did last week.  Last week my whole body was aching on the ride, and this week I felt great.  I was around 6 minutes off of my best time.  And to top it all off, yesterday I made 6 loaves of sourdough.

Willow Creek loop AGAIN

Well, after being off the bike for a couple of weeks, I decided that I needed to get out and hurt myself a bit. I did my favorite loop on Monday hoping to beat the rain.  I did beat the rain, but just barely.  I was about 20 minutes off of my summer times for this loop.  I knew that I would be slower, but I didn't think I would be hurting quite so much by the end.  For the most part, the ride was uneventful as far as traffic goes.  I did see a couple of mountain bikers up in Willow Creek State Park, and I think I startled them as I cruised by on my cross bike.  Duncan road was a bear as usual.  It is around a 20% grade at the bottom, and it is always a hard transition after coming down the flats of Hwy. 116.  There were a couple of more trees down across the trail, but nothing that I couldn't claw my way over.  When I got home I realized how sore my entire body was.  At first I thought it was the ride, but after even waking up the next morning still feeling the same way, I figured I had caught a little bug.  Claire knew I was feeling too good when I chose Sprite over beer and only one slice of pizza at Zachary's in Berkeley.

Back in the "Spring" of things

Well, we are back from Minnesota.  We had a great time, but it is always good to get back to Northern California after some time away.  The shop has been hopping, at least when the sun comes out.  It is great to see everyone busy here.  A1 has his hands full trying to unpack and merchandise Claire's huge orders, Andre has been working his poor fingers to the bone repairing bikes, Paul has been trying to get as many new bikes built as possible, Jim has been trying to balance his last semester of school and work, and I have been just kicking back keeping them busy.

Frostbike

Well, it is our third day in Minnesota, and we are really enjoying our stay.  We have been visiting one of our favorite bicycle parts supplier, Quality Bicycle Products.  QBP is probably the biggest supplier in the US for the bicycle business, and they have flown us out and put us up in a hotel so that we can visit their warehouses and visit with other bike shop owners.  There are probably a 1000 dealers here or so, almost a small Interbike, which is our industry trade show.  This has been much more satisfying than some of the Interbikes we have been to because of the fewer people, and the real concentration on the bike industry.

Here is a photo of their warehouse and a photo of Claire with the Michelin Man.  We are heading back over today for a couple more seminars and then they are having a big giveaway of stuff at the end of the show.  We will be flying back to CA on Monday.

 It has been a whirlwind adventure.

A couple of good rides

Well, we are back to work tomorrow, but not before I had a chance to get out on a couple of bike rides.  Yesterday Claire and I went out on a 40 miler to Healdsburg and back.  We stopped in Healdsburg for a cup of coffee and a sticky bun, which fueled me for the way home.  I had just put some new fenders on the Burley tandem, and it was fun to see them doing there job as we cruised through a few puddles here and there.  On the way back Eastside Road, we decided to head up Windsor River Road to get away from the narrow sections.  It was a great detour that added about 2 or 3 miles to the loop.  We went down Starr Road and over to Mark West Station Road.  That is such an awesome area to ride.

Today I met Eric the Fireman in Graton for a little loop out to the coast.  We headed up Harrison Grade and made our way into Occidental before heading up Coleman Valley.  We are very, very lucky to have these roads in our backyard.  After hitting the coast, we turned South and headed over Bay Hill Road before stopping in the town of Bodega for some Gatorade and Cheese-Its.  From there we headed up JOY Road, which is such a beast from that side.  After dropping back into Occidental, we headed over Graton and then split up from there.  It was great to ride with Eric, but I felt a little guilty for making him pull me down the coast before Bay Hill.  Not too guilty.

Just a quick post from San Jose

Well, I am down in San Jose for the second day of the Park Tool Summit.  Yesterday consisted of leaving the house at five in the morning, checking into the hotel, and then eight hours of classes.  Yesterday was Rock Shox, Campagnolo, and Fox.  Today will be Hayes, Shimano, and SRAM/Avid.  These classes are VERY hands on.  We rebuilt a couple of shocks and also some Campy Ergo levers and hubs.  It was a good time, but I was exhausted by the end of the day.  I will write more about this later.

Last Saturday was the Grasshopper.  Since I was doubling my miles for the year in that one ride, I was not expecting to be very competitive.  This worked good since I was able to try and take it easy on some of the climbs.  I still suffered miserably on the way up Willow Creek.  Here is a link to my Garmin data.  What could be worrisome here is the fact that my average heart rate was 179, and that was "taking it easy" on the climbs.  A1, Jimmy Neutron, and Engin, our Cannondale rep were all there also.  I will try to post a picture later, I need to get down for breakfast and some coffee.