Thursday, November 27, 2008

Guilt Reduction Ride 2008

Twelve hearty cyclists turned out for this year's Guilt Reduction Ride from Vienna to Herndon. The thermometer registered around 28 degrees this morning as we bundled up for the ride to the shop. There was quite a collection of bikes on the ride; uprights, long and short wheelbase recumbents, a recumbent tandem, crank forward bikes, and a trike. The temperature steadily rose as we rode in the bright sun along the W&OD Trail to the Herndon station. We reduced our anticipated guilt from overeating later in the day by getting some exercise and donating several canned goods for the CHO Food Drive. It was a great way to start the day.

Monday, November 17, 2008

Guilt Reduction Ride on Thanksgiving


ReducedGuiltRide 004
Originally uploaded by bikes@vienna
A bikes@vienna tradition is a bike ride on Thanksgiving morning that we call the "Guilt Reduction Ride". We ride up to Herndon (or beyond if you're feeling energetic) and back to burn off calories. We ask people to bring in canned goods for the CHO Food Drive. We provide ways for you to reduce the guilt that you might feel eating the traditional Thanksgiving feast.

You will have exercised. You will have been charitable. You will have had fun. How can you possibly resist such an opportunity?

I will start serving hit cider at the store at 8:30 AM. We will ride from the store at 9 AM. Come join us.

The photo is of a Guilt Reduction Ride at the Herndon Depot.

Red Bike Fridays on SALE


PockRockRed
Originally uploaded by bikes@vienna
This holiday season we have something exciting for you. We've brought in eight Bike Fridays for your gift giving. These are Pocket Rockets and New World Tours (NWT) all in red. We have the bikes in small, medium, and large. These would be amazing gifts for the cyclist wanting a quality folding bike.

How good is the sale? A similar Pocket Rocket would cost you $1054 for the bike and the shipping. Our offer is $960 (you do have to pay sales tax which creates a total of $1008)

The New World Tour would typically cost you $955 for the bike and shipping. Our offer is for $875 (the sales tax brings that to $918.75)

There is limited choice of sizes so I'd suggest you come in early. How about this weekend?

.

Holiday Stroll on Church Street coming December 1


StrollAd
Originally uploaded by bikes@vienna
This is our ad for the Holiday Stroll on Church Street which is Monday, December 1. The stroll has become a Vienna Holiday tradition with the lighting of the Holiday Tree, Santa's arrival by fire truck, horse drawn carriage rides, and warming fires that serve as marshmallow opportunities.

bikes@vienna will be taking 25% off the baskets, bags, and racks that you buy for holiday giving. We call it "Practical Gifting" because these items allow you to use your bike to serve as transportation as you run your errands. As we all tighten up in our spending the bicycle has a role to pay in our day to day travels.

Please mark your calendar for the Holiday Stroll. Please pencil in cycling equipment from bikes@vienna on that holiday gift giving list.

Friday, November 14, 2008

How's those hours working?

The Presidential campaign is over and although we live just outside the beltway the appointments of cabinet posts has not gotten fully underway. So the few people that are coming in the store are talking about their uncertainty about the economy and ask about our winter hours. How are these hours working?

We may know that beginning in November we began an experiment. Three days a week (Monday, Thursday, and Friday) I open the store at 7:30 AM. The store is open until 1:30 PM and we close until 5:30 PM when we open back up for two hours until 7:30 PM. On Tuesday and Wednesday we are closed all day. Our weekend hours are 10-5 on Saturday and 11-5 on Sunday.

It is kind of working. There is no line at the door at 7:30, but people are coming earlier. I think we're working our way to having earlier hours throughout the year. When I note the businesses along Route 123 that provide services which people use as they go to work. Why not be able to drop your bike off for service as you go to work? It may not be practical to have your bike on the back of your car in the parking lot all day and then go to the bike shop on the way home.

There is another important point. If people are going to commute to work on a bicycle then having a bike shop open in the morning may provide support for that effort. The press to use a bike for commuting may have lessened with the drop in gasoline prices, but as a society we are looking for cost savings in our personal lives and commuting by bike provides those savings even with less expensive fuel.

How's those hours working? Not bad, stop by and do some business some morning.

Sunday, November 09, 2008

New Cool Weather Accessory...?

... or fashion statement?

The other day, one of our customers stopped by the shop while on a ride, and demonstrated a remarkably clever improvisation for keeping her ears warm:


Yep, those are autumn leaves, tucked into the straps of her helmet, covering her ears and keeping them warm!

Our customers never cease to entertain....