Who's Ready for 'Cross Season?

If you're not, it's time to get ready! Cyclocross is a huge scene in the Seattle area and it's getting ready to go. Today we had a quick clinic on Redline's 2008 line up. Tim Rutledge was out to tell us about all the new bikes.

The Conquest 24 (above) shares the same look as the Pro as well as the frame upgrades of the Conquest and the Conquest Sport. Slightly shorter chainstays and new straight leg front fork improve the ride, curved seatstay and chainstay bridges add it its versatility. New 28 spoke wheels add to the racing look.

The '08 Conquest (above) sports new graphics and a brilliant blue with black and silver trim make this model a standout. Subtle improvements to the 6061 frame (while retaining disc mounts) increase versatility. They added gently curved seat and chainstay bridges with threaded inserts for better clearance. Other enhancements include Maxis Raze tires, Trektro's new rounded shape aux. brake levers and leather like bar tape that provides greater comfort on the bars.

The Conquest Team (above) is Redline's most expensive offering and also their best. When only the best will do, you need the one endorsed by "Mr. Cross" himself (we're assuming this is Mr. Rutletge as he's won a couple of National Championships in his day). this new bike features a scandium frame with a CNC machined right chainstay interface wich allows the use of a singel chainwheel and guard up front without sacrificing vital mud clearance. Add a WCS carbon cross fork, mix in Ultegra shifters and derailluers, Ritchey WCS wheels, bars, stem and post, Hutchinson Bulldog tires, TRP carbon canti brakes with new cross levers, plus a deep drop front cable hanger and you've got the "best of the best". Only 18.5 lbs out of the box! (56cm w/o pedals)

The best deal of the bunch is the Conquest Pro. The Pro for 2008 offers several frame improvements: the U6 frame now has the same oval top tube and teardrop downtube shapes as the Team model as well as a similar CNC machined right chainstay interface. Brake and chainstay bridges now have a slight radius to them for better mud clearance, as well as a threaded insert for fastening fenders. Also new for 2008 are the Sram Rival Deraillures and shifters, and our exciting new graphics. Carbon forks, Ritchey wheels, Avid brakes, FSA bars, stem and post round out the details.

Danskin in the Rain!

For the last 6 or 7 years we've gone out to the Danskin Triathlon to help out in the transistion area as well as on on the course. 2007 was the first time I can remember that it actually rained during the race. Below is a slide show of our work in the transistion area on Saturday. Saturday is really where we earn our money (volunteers don't actually make any money but, you get the idea). We arrived at around 10am and didn't get a chance to breath until almost 5pm. It was a great event and the women that competed are amazing. Check ou the slide show below:



2007 Danskin pics
Thanks to Ken B. for the pics in the slide show.

Below are a few pics from the road. I was out with the van at the turn around to fix flats and other problems that might have happened. The racers were great. The weather was not!

What Have We Learned?

It seems that the "traffic apocalypse" is over. For now. We went through a couple of weeks of construction on north bound I-5 and from all reports... wait for it... traffic was better during this time of construction then it was before (with the exception of my trip to Issaquah during a Mariners game, but that doesn't really count. Traffic is always jacked during games). People rode the bus, got on the train and they rode their bikes. It was good to see. So, what have we learned?

Well, I learned that when there are less cars on the road a person can actually use I-5 as a way to go north to south in the afternoon. It was like it used to be when I was in college. In the early 90's if you wanted to go somewhere, you jumped on I-5 went to the the exit you needed and arrived at your destination in pretty good time. These days you stay off of I-5 at all costs on all days. Too many cars. But with less cars on the road it was like stepping into a time machine.

Hopefully the many people that found an alternate means of transportation also learned something. Hopefully, those people learned that buses aren't half bad, that the train is pretty cool and that biking to work really is the best way to get there. Hopefully they learned that the answer to all of our traffic problems is not more lanes but less cars. If not, well, we'll get another chance next year when they shut down the south bound lanes!

It's Working, It's Working!

The I-5 Construction and closure has been big news all over Seattle and it seems that people have taken it to heart.

On my morning commute from West Seattle to Greenlake I usually see 10 or so other bikers along first part of the route out of West Seattle. Today there was at least double that. I thought for a few moments that I was racing as I had to check my blind spot for other cyclists as I was riding.

From all accounts it sounds like people have heard the message about traffic and are finding alternative ways to get into Seattle from the South. Talking to another employee today who came into Seattle on Sound Transit, she said that they were experiencing double their usual ridership since the beginning of the week.

Yesterday I had to drive to work (needed to bring some demo wheels back from home) so my wife, who works in downtown Seattle, and I left about 30 minutes earlier to make sure to get her to work on time. We figured traffic would be awful and expected the worst. As we got on to the West Seattle Bridge we quickly noticed that traffic was better than it has been in weeks and we ended up getting her to work about 35 minutes early!

This is both encouraging and a little worrisome. Encouraging because so many people are finding alternative ways to get to work that during some of the worst traffic conditions possible the roads are actually very clear. But worrisome in that people may hear this and get back into their cars and start driving again.

What I'm hoping is that people will try out these alternatives, whether they be riding, carpooling, taking the bus, or the train, and find out that they are good choices and even enjoyable and stick to them throughout the year instead of just when there is the potential for really bad traffic. Just think, the roads could always be this clear if just half the people that have tried an alternative to driving this week kept on with their new routine.

What have your experiences been during this "Traffic Apocalypse"?

Tell Us Your First Bike Story

Part of the joy of working for Gregg's Cycle is that it has been around for 75 years. I can't tell you how many times I've been talking with someone at an event, or a party or where ever and had the person I was talking about tell me that they remember when they bought their first bike at Gregg's Greenlake Cycle. Sometimes it was just a few years ago but often it was 25 years ago or 50 or even 60 years ago. My own Grandmother tells me about when you used to come down to Greenlake to rent skates from us when she was a kid. It seems that almost everyone remembers their first bike and the stories are always great.

I'd love to hear more of them. So use the comments field below and tell us your first bike story.