He-Man and the Rock Stars

Come in on any given day and you'll see our staff dressed in collared shirts and looking presentable. Come in today and you'll see something quite different!

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Bikes are Fun!

I commuted in on my bike this morning as I do at least a couple of times a week. Commuting is serious stuff. Saving the world, watching out for cars, checking for potholes... serious stuff. I use my 12 mile commute as my training for racing. Again, serious stuff. Gotta keep my cadence up, use stop lights as interval training and beat my best time. This riding my bike is serious stuff.

Then I get to the light at the top of Stone Way...

Two riders cross in front of me, both hop up onto the sidewalk and continue their commutes. One is a mother pulling a trailer with a small child. She's smiling. The other rider is a father pulling a trail-a-bike with his son pedaling along behind him. They are both smiling. Not just smiling but grinning ear to ear. One passes the other, they smile at each other. Maybe this commuting thing isn't such serious stuff after all.

I smile for the last mile in to work. I still ride fast, I just have fun doing it. Bikes are fun.

Pain in the...

Back in 2006 I wrote an entry called, "Your Bike Doesn't Have To Hurt You!" It was my most commented post to date and really struck a chord with a lot of readers. Seems that many people believe that cycling hurts and that there really isn't much they can do about it. This is just not true. But pain while cycling is a problem that just keeps on giving for many people and especially women. The post that I wrote in '06 didn't talk about women's specific fit and pain issues, but recently I ran across a great blog post that does...

Dear Girl,

I returned to road biking this year after many years of mountain biking and I have been suffering a slew of issues including a very painful bartholin’s cyst and urethritis. I underwent surgery and several uncomfortable procedures and I am now starting to suffer urinary problems again. I never had a single problem in all the years I was mountain biking. Are there any fit issues that are more related to road riding that I may not be aware of? (I am planning to get a bike fitting with a physical therapist in town who specializes in biking issues)

Any further insight would be greatly appreciated.
A.H.

Read the very informative answer here...

So, I knew that people in general have issues with saddle comfort but I hadn't given the specific issues that women have much thought (I know, typical guy attitude...) so this post really put in to perspective those issues and gave me a clearer understanding of how to help women find a bike that fits them correctly. Thanks to girl meets bike for that!

Building Bikes for Kids

Many times throughout the year we get calls or emails from different companies in the region asking us to help them out with their own community service projects. Everyone loves a bike, right? So recently the good folks from the transpoGROUP called us and asked about getting some bikes that they could use for a team building exercise. The transpoGROUP takes their commitment to community very seriously,

We are very aware of the many transportation issues in our communities. We actively participate in public forums and apply our professional expertise to define and resolve transportation issues. Transpo provides in-kind funding through volunteerism to assist non-profit organizations in achieving their goals.

We were happy to help them with getting some bikes that they could first use in their team building exercise and then donate to the Boys and Girls Club in Kirkland. It's through community partnerships like this and others that our region will continue to prosper and be a great place for our kids to grow up in.

Learn more about transpoGROUP

BGT Missing Link

I attended the open house in Ballard for the Bridge the Gap project last night and came away very impressed. It seemed obvious to me that the project managers had spent a lot of time talking to, and watching cyclists who navigate the area.
I came away with a healthy respect for the myriad of details that must be addressed with something that SEEMS like just a little trail along side a road.
I would encourage people to watch for and attend these information meetings. If this is any example...They are well organized. The folks running the event are very open to questions and comments. The project managers will take the time to talk to you directly...even if you oppose their ideas. I watched the project manager politely take questions for an hour BEFORE the presentation. Never did he try to skirt any question put before him or say "wait for the presentation".
The Project
Anyone who rides in North Seattle has found the end of the BGT. It is between Fremont and Ballard at the North end of the Fred Meyer store. If you want to continue to the Locks or to Golden Gardens you must run the gauntlet. The worlds worst rail crossing. A really narrow road that seems to be the express lane for people avoiding the arterial. The busy and narrow Shilshole Ave that seems to have the most creative parking I've ever seen alongside.

A plan to continue BGT from Fremont to Golden Gardens has been in the works for years. As roadblocks to the project are addressed a section is tackled. Last year the section from the Locks to GG was completed.
The project has neccesarily been carved up due to pressure from various groups and the logistics of safely getting a trail thru a busy corridor without sacrificing business traffic or the safety of trail users. The most difficult section is this "missing link." Many roadblocks have stood in the way of moving forward.
The issues...

• How to plan around an active Railroad right of way
• How to safely separate trail users from roadways
• How to use the project to address multiple already present drainage problems
• Working with the business owners around the corridor to find workable solutions to thier concerns
• Creating a new road layout that still works for oversize truck traffic.

You'll have to go to the Project Website to get all the details but here are a few of the highlights

• Trail will be 12 feet wide. Separated from both rail and road traffic
  
• There will still be a small missing link where users will need to leave the trail to ride on reasonably quiet Ballard Ave for a couple blocks to get around a section which still has multiple large problems. (too narrow, grade, biz cooperation, many driveways) The city told the planners. "you can go ahead with the rest but we're not tackling all that right now ....or you can wait on the whole thing"
  
• A dedicated red light controlled crosswalk will allow access to this hopefully temporary link
  
• The famous Train Tracks of Doom under the Ballard Bridge will no longer be a factor...unless you decide to ignore the trail and ride in the traffic lane. Then you will still have to deal with the shallow angle of the track layout.
  
• A good way to think about how the layout of this first section is that traffic will be on the North side of the thruway, train in the middle and the trail will be on South side
• The trail will follow along behind the businesses on Market, and behind the Lockspot
• Many of the businesses along the route have welcomed the trail

Section One Fred Meyer to Ballard Bridge
Aerial Section One
Section Two Ballard Bridge to 17th
Aerial Section Two
Section Three 11th to the Ballard Locks
Aerial Section Three
Aerial Section Four
FAQ
Website for the Project

Nice Trip Down The Coast

We sell a lot of bikes each year and every once in a while someone will let us know what they did with them.  Here's a trip that a recent customer took.  Unfortunately it's all in German, but the pictures are great!

http://silviaundwolfgang.blogspot.com/

If you've got a story or some pictures of bikes or trips you took on your bike send it on!  We love seeing people having fun on the bikes that we sell!  

Seen in the Shop - Oct. 9

We get all types of bikes in our service department. Some of them just aren't worth working on. This particular 10 year old Murray is one of them. Unfortunately when we inform the customer that we can't work on their bike or that it will cost much more than the bike is worth to fix it, they get a little miffed and then... leave the bike. Anyone want it?

Seen in the Shop - Oct. 3

Just had this bike come in to our service department. Sweet. Anybody know the model and year of this bike?