Fixin' Stuff In Kirkland

We spent our Memorial Day in Kirkland this year where we were proud to support the Annual 7 Hills of Kirkland benefiting the Kirkland Interfaith Transitions in Housing Organization. The KITH's mission is to provide temporary and longer term housing for individuals and families threatened by homelessness in the greater Kirkland region. Presently, KITH manages a twelve-unit apartment complex and owns two four-plexes. KITH also provides case-management for its constituents and an assortment of related charitable functions serving the local community. So, very early in the morning we showed up to lend mechanical support to the more than 1300 riders in this great event.

The 7 Hills of Kirkland boasts three great courses. From the traditional 7 Hills course (about 40 miles) to a Metric Century to a full blown Century ride. We were there every step of the way to make sure that people were able to finish the ride. This is the first year that we've participated in the 7 Hills ride and it was a great ride to be involved with. From the top notch courses to the outstanding strawberry shortcake at the end, this is a ride that should be at the top of your list of rides to do every year. While not for the faint of heart (this ride does have as much as 7,000 feet of climbing) this ride was well supported and a great challenge for all involved.

We'd like to thank Chris Fox and the rest of the 7 Hills staff and volunteers for providing a great ride and for allowing us to be part of it.






See a few more pictures that we took
See all the pictures from the event

Gregg's Cycle on the Seattle Channel

Back on the 6th of May the Seattle Channel came down and did a shoot for their show "Citystream". Lowell Deo and the crew of the Seattle Channel shot about 5 or 6 minutes of their show in our store. The show it's self was about a few different topics but they were at Gregg's to talk about bike to work day. The guys that came down were great, but I never new how long it takes to just shoot a couple minutes of video.

You can see the whole show here.

Big Weekend of Support

It was a big weekend for cycling in Seattle. Not only did we have the best weather of the year (as long as you like it over 80), but there were some great events going on. And we were a part of a bunch of them. Whether you were commuting to work, riding for a cause or riding for a cause and for a party, we were there turning wrenches, fixing flats and giving support.

The weekend started early with the Starbucks Bike to Work Day on Friday. We supported three stops. On in Bellevue, one in Lynwood and one right here at Greenlake. By all accounts this was the most populated Bike to Work day in memory. Just at the Greenlake station alone we counted almost 700 riders and I heard news of upwards of 1600 riders at other stops. There were a lot of everyday commuters out there but what was really encouraging was the amount of first time commuters out and about.

On Saturday we packed up the van and went out to Marymoor park to support the American Diabetes Association Tour de Cure. Close to 700 riders came out on the warmest day of the year to ride 15, 25, 40, 70 or 100 miles. We've supported this ride for at least five years now and it's been great to see it grow into a very large and popular event. We set up at the crack of dawn and helped people with last minute adjustments and the such. After everyone got out on the road we set up again at a rest stop and helped a few more people. Riders were hot and tired by the time they got to us buy spirits were high and people really enjoyed the ride and riding for the cause.

We wrapped up the weekend doing support for the New Belgium Urban Assault Ride and event. This event benefited Bike Works and The Bikery and at least 300 people came out to ride from checkpoint to checkpoint taking care of some crazy obstacles and generally have a great time. There were mystery checkpoints, bike limbo and big wheels in effect. Once again we showed up early to make sure that competitors bikes were all tuned up and ready to go.

All in all it was a great weekend to spend on the bike and a great weekend to support those that were out on bikes. That's what we do!





More pictures of Bike To Work Day
More Pictures of the Tour de Cure
More pictures of the Urban Assault

Things We Can't Control

Back in October we decided to change our business model. We took a hard look at our new store configuration and the market and decided that it was time to pull the plug on inline skates, snowboards and rentals. This decision caused a few ripples with our customers and our employees. There were questions about "the soul of Gregg's" and there was also a lot of support and understanding for the decision.

We knew that discontinuing rentals was going to be difficult. What has made it even more difficult is, well, the internet. And to some extent, the phone book. Seems that there a few sites out there, that we don't have much control over, that still list us as place for rentals. Try as I might, there isn't a good way to change this. The other problem has to do with the phone book. As it works out, the 2007 book is put together in 2006 and the 2008 books don't come out right away. So, some phone books also have us listed for rentals. So, we still get a few people in on a nice weekend who are a bit confused that we aren't doing rentals anymore. We certainly want to apologize for the confusion and we hope that in the future there won't be so much misleading content out there. Please give us a call at (206) 523-1822 ext. 119 if you have any questions or you can email us at info@greggscycles.com.