Feeling both young and old at the same time

For those who read this blog every once in a while, you may have noticed that the posting frequency seems to have dropped as of late. It's true but not without cause. Turns out I've jumped back into the academic world as a doctoral student at the University of Washington. It's something that has been in the back of my head for years and things just lined up such that this year was perfect for jumping back in. It's a beautiful campus and the Science Education program is one of the best in the country.














For anyone over 22, going back to school is a big shock to your sense of self. The majority of the population is 18-22 and walking around it is readily apparent that I am old. At the same time, spending your time around so many enthusiastic young people has some contagious effect. Now, I'm not going out and drinking at the normal parties, but going to class, commuting, grocery shopping, and walking around a college campus makes you hearken back to those days when we were all idealists. You feel younger.















Then you try to drive around. Just the other day I saw an intersection frozen for two green lights because the right turning car blocked both lanes, the left hand turning lane decided to position themselfe such that they would be ready when traffic did move (the car seen blocking oncoming traffic). Then a bus, getting frustrated with waiting, puled out into the intersection (blocking all traffic coming from the left side of the picture). I couldn't go straight, oncoming traffic was blocked by a bus, traffic from the right was blocked by that car in the middle, and traffic from the left was blocked by the bus. So, what do you do when stuck in a mess like this? According to my observations you call and text other people. Being an urban campus means that the UW has major traffic issues. Cramming that many young drivers into just a few blocks, letting them Text and talk on their phones while driving, and then surrounding that student population with a million people in the city and you have a traffic nightmare. Riding sucks, it's downright dangerous. Cyclists all dump onto the bike paths along with the walkers. The bike paths become swolen with traffic as well. The traffic makes one really appreciate what a special place Whatcom County is.














On the bike making front, we're still making bikes, just making fewer. Instead we're working on selling the best products out there, at the best price out there, with the best customer service. If you're interested in a bike, a component, or service, give us a call.

Canadian Dollar at par again!

Well, I don't know exactly what happened over the last two years with the Canadian currency, but it seems that the Loonie is back strong relative to the U.S. dollar. For those of you just north of the border, this means that your dollar goes farther than it did just a few months back when buying U.S. goods.

One example of this can be seen in purchasing a frameset. If a fillet brased mountain frame would have been $1500 USD (and $1875 CAN), that same frame, while still being $1500 USD (and now $1500 CAN) is $375 cheaper. This stinks when I go to buy an Italian made tire or a Steel Tubeset from England but it's good for Canadian consumers.

For those of you just across the border in Vancouver or Abbotsford, give us a call when you are shopping around for cycling goods. In many cases our exchange rate can end up saving you a lot of money.

Two weeks later

I can't believe it's been two weeks since the last post. It's not that things haven't been going on in the shop. I've got the bent seat stays to prove it.














Amber's 12" 29er has been on the bench and getting the seat stays to work on a bike that small while keeping the chainstays short was a real challenge. I ended up wasting over three sets of seatstays before I got a set to work. Lets see, three sets at $40/set = $120...maybe that $750 tubing bender isn't such a bad idea.











































In the end, it came out great and the bike has tons of standover, tons of tire clearance, and pretty fillets. I can't wait to get parts hung on it and see it out on the trails.

Funny thing, this 12" frame looks proportionally similar to a regular sized bike built around enormous 36" wheels.

Busted Carbon in Pennsylvania

For those of us who sometimes question the wisdom of fabricating a bicycle frame as light as possible for the sake of a performance, it sometimes is good to take a moment to remember just what it is that we are afraid of. It's not that Carbon fiber is not strong enough to withstand all the forces that human beings can dish out. Additionally, it isn't that they don't ride nicely. Instead, it is the fear that you will take a tumble at an inopportune time, that your bike get knocked over by some kid walking past it on the sidewalk, it's the fear that one small accident will take $2500 worth of carbon and make it worthless.
Walking into a great shop in central PA this week, I managed to see a collection of carbon carnage that made me wince.


















The first was a carbon mountain frame from Fisher that had crashed to the side at slow speed only to have the top tube smashed into a rock and become "mushy"



















The second was a carbon road frame from Trek that had been involved in a crash that messed up the rear wheel. The wheel then somehow came around and tore a huge hole out of the chainstay. Ouch!


















Neither of the bikes were cheap imports that collapsed while just riding along. As a framebuilder I don't think any of the uber-light bikes ever would. What I fear is what happens when the inevitable slow motion spills happen. What happens when a spoke breaks on a low count lightweight wheel that then rubs against your chainstay? 99 times out of a hundred everything is just fine, but that 1 time is isn't, I certainally hope that the bike owner of that superlight frame can afford the consequences. I for one will trade the weight savings on the frame for savings in the bank, and I will try to lose the pound or two that the superlight frame promises from my waistline instead.

Even in Whatcom County

In certain parts of the country we cyclists expect to run into rather ignorant and careless individuals while out riding. People yell at you as you pass, things get thrown at you, cars honk as they pass...but that rarely happens in Whatcom County. If you think this county is bad you had better never leave the confines of this place because it only gets worse. Now once in a while, the plague of rude drivers that afflicts the rest of the nation rears its ugly head here in the Northwest.



















Recently posted on the Bellingham Herald, a letter to the editor (http://www.bellinghamherald.com/letters/story/1041071.html), a local resident complained about cyclists on local roads. He advocates cyclists be relegated to roads with bike lanes and only those roads, citing rude and inconsiderate cyclists as the reason behind his feelings.

As a cyclist, my first response is anger, but upon reflection I start to wonder what sort of interactions this driver has had over the years to make him so against cyclists. Additionally, there are over 70 comments on the posting with some feeling that cyclists are rude and inconsiderate when using the road.

Who are these cyclists that aren't riding responsibly when out on the roads? They are the same people who are inconsiderate when they are in a car, behind a desk, or out on the town. Having ridden thousands of miles both solo and with others all across the county, I have seen riders cutting off traffic, riding unnecessarily far out in the middle of the lane, running red lights, and otherwise acting like an idiot while riding a bicycle. Similarly, I have witnessed cars brush past as they pass on a blind curve, I've seen oncoming drivers veer into my lane as they try to finish a text message while driving, I've had people pull out in front of me as I come down a hill at 40+mph, and I've seen a driver get out of her car and stand in front of a cyclist, causing him to crash, because she was tired of seeing cyclists on the road.

Rude people are rude people be they cyclists or drivers. By and large, the statement by Alex sums it up best.

"I've lived here for 35 years and I've never had a single "incident" involving a cyclist while driving, and for five years I drove a cab so I've probably driven the roads of this county more than him. The most dangerous thing on the road is impatience and it sounds like Mr. Adenau has that in abundance. If you'd risk injuring yourself or another person just to shave a few seconds off your trip, then you shouldn't be allowed to drive. Sit-back, enjoy the scenery, and wait until it's safe to pass."

To all of the Mr. Adenau's who have discovered the bicycle, perhaps you should return to your car. Being a inconsiderate cyclist does a disservice to those of us who work towards sharing the road. Making the slightest effort to ride single file when you hear "car back" goes a long way towards creating good will. A friendly wave when a car waits to pass and gives a wide margin is far more beneficial than flicking off a driver who chooses to be disrespectful.

We will no doubt continue riding on the rural roads of the area regardless of the Mr. Adenau's that are out there. And no doubt people will continue driving on those same roads in this county. If we hope to make both groups safe and enjoyable, we need to take a moment to extend some courtesy to those we share the road with.

In the mean time:

• Thank you to all of those people in the county who give a wide birth when passing.
• Thanks to those cyclists who move over to let me pass when I'm driving.
• Thanks to those who use ropes or fences to keep their dogs from chasing me down the road.
• Thanks to those drivers who offer a ride when I'm fixing a flat tire on the side of the road.
• Thanks to those cyclists who ride predictably down Holly, Railroad, Cornwall and all the other urban roads in the area.
  
• Thanks to those who don't text and call while driving.

Whatcom county is an amazing place to be a cyclist and an amazing place to go for a drive. The Mr. Adenau's of the county may not realize this but most do and for that we can be thankful.

Your border...safe and secure

Was out riding the other day and thought people might like to see just how secure the borders in this country are. The road on the right is Canada and the road on the left is the U.S. with the ditch serving as the border.



















Now, I really don't worry too much about evil doers infiltrating this country when I see images like this one because our neighbors to the north are so damned friendly. If they weren't, we might have to dig that ditch a bit deeper.

A bike for Kent and a couple hikes

Well, Kent's bike is out on the trails now. He went with a true stealth look...black decals on black paint with a black fork and SLX group. Very cool looking.


















On the non building front, the hiking has been beautiful as we've managed to make it up into the mountains a couple of times now. The North Cascades have to be one of the most beautiful places in the country this time of year.