Catrike Musashi

With drums pounding, Catrike announces the new two wheel model,
Musashi. Go to the Catrike home page to experience the video.

http://www.catrike.com/

Brompton US Championship set for March 20 in Philadelphia!

bikes@vienna announces the excitement and wackiness of the Brompton World Championship is coming to America! Soon! Saturday, March 20th is the Philly Phyler Collegiate and USA Cycling Race Weekend in Philadelphia. Today Brompton announced the first annual Brompton US Championship (BUSC) will be held in coordination with the these events and  limited to 100 riders. The prize for the ...fastest man and fastest woman in the competition will be flights and entry into the BWC in October.

This competition is for riders dressed in business attire riding a Brompton bicycle.  It will cover a six mile closed course.  In addition to prizes for the top finishers, just as they do in the Brompton World Championships, Brompton will provide prizes for the Best Dressed.

The traditional "Brommie Promenade to the Race"  will depart the Amtrak 30th Street Station at 9:30 AM on Saturday, March 20th.  Brompton plans to have an afternoon pub reception following the awards ceremony.

You won't be surprised that bikes@vienna's own Tim Fricker is already registered for the event. Take the link below to learn more details about the event.

Brompton US Championship

An Interesting Video About Catrike

If you have fifteen minutes then you should watch the video It's A Catrike.  Even if you not interested in trikes or cycling in general, you should still watch a person with a dream.  A person who is an example of pursuing the American Dream.  Paulo Camasmie tells the story of his journey from Brazil to America and his progress in building his company.

It's A Catrike is two segments on YouTube.  Here are the links:

It's A Catrike Part 1  and  It's A Catrike Part 2

Thanks to Geoff Steele for seeing the video on The Recumbent Blog and being thoughtful by sending a message.

Tighten Up --- We'll not be renting bikes in 2010

We're tightening up for 2010.  My effort is to operate more economically and efficiently.  With that in mind I have decided not to offer rentals this year.  It may seem counterintuitive to give up business in a slow economy, but allow me to share my reasoning.

People come to rent bikes on lovely sunshiny days.  These are the same days that people bring their bikes in for repairs and come shopping for a new bike or trike.  These are the days that we easily can be overrun with requests for our attention.

The people desiring to rent want to consider their alternatives.  They need some instruction and fitting to the bike.  They deserve our focused attention for their safety and well being.  The individual working with them needs to have a level of knowledge and patience. There is also the amount of time spent on the phone answering questions before the rental.  We  have always rented what we sell.  "So what is a crank forward bike?"  "Do you think I can ride a Recumbent?"  "Now I see that your website says you don't rent road, mountain, or hybrid bikes, but I just want to rent a "regular" bike; you do have those don't you?"

Weather plays such a significant role in the flow of this business and rentals are the most uncertain of the business segments.  Having the correct number of people working is one of my challenging tasks.   Keeping tight control of overhead will be even more important this year.  These are the thoughts that lead me to the decision not to rent in 2010.

I appreciate the people who have rented from us in the past.   I hope you will allow us to assist you in the future with repair services or selling you cycling equipment.  Thank you.

A Reminder of Our Used Bike Blog

I sometimes forget that it is possible to visit our website or this blog and not notice the links for the used bike blog.  We have gotten some interesting bikes and trikes in on consignment and trade-in in the last two weeks.  This Schwinn Fastback with a 52 cm frame is an example.  Priced at $525 this clean as a whistle bike would make a great purchase for someone.

For details about this and other cycling products go to bav Used

The ICE Vortex

bikes@vienna is now able to share that Tim Fricker test rode the ICE Vortex in October when he visited the ICE factory. Tim returned to the store speaking in hushed tones about the Compact Flat Twist fold, 700c rear wheel, Hard-shell performance seat, and much more. He had promised not to speak publically about the new model until the ICE team made their announcement. That release took place last week so now the story can be told.  Later this spring we'll have one for you to test. 

W&OD Trail Photo Contest

This posting is about fun and creativity. We are going to have a photo contest focused on the W&OD Trail until the end of February. With so many people carrying phones with photographic capabilities this could be a hoot. To get the creative juices flowing I'm posting photos of our winner of the helmet decorating contest we held in conjunction with ViVa! Vienna! in 2008 which had a W&OD theme..
As you can see from these photos our winner was highly creative and had alot of fun with this contest.  Now apply this same creativity to photos relating to people, animals, and scenery along the W&OD Trail.  Many of the photos will be posted on this blog and on the bikes@vienna blog and Facebook Page.  The winner will receive a new helmet, one of our Nutcase models.

Send your entry as an attachment to an email message to john.brunow@draisin.us.  Please keep the size of the file smaller (under 100K).  I'm directing the entries to an email I have that has quite a bit of capacity, but lots of entries could swamp it.  Understand these photos will be used in multiple ways to promote the W&OD Trail and bikes@vienna.

Let the fun begin.  Let's see what we capture.

Sammy and his Mom

Sammy and his Mom
Originally uploaded by bikes@vienna

We're doing test rides on this warmer day. Sammy and his Mom tested the Nihola Family trike in the parking lot. Sammy liked it so much that he objected when he was taken out. I gave the family the same pitch about the Nihola taking the place of a second vehicle.

Bike To Work Day will be Friday, May 21

Above is the new logo being used for Bike To Work Day in 2010.  I completed the paperwork yesterday to be a sponsor again this year.  This event increases in its importance each year as more riders participate and greater media coverage takes place.  There were over 7,500 riders in 2009.  Coverage of the event was seen or heard by a million people.

I do not have any idea how many BTWD participants get inspired and begin riding to work regularly.  I do hear people at the Vienna Pit Stop talking excitedly about their experience and how they could be riding to work more often.

As I filled out the sponsorship paperwork I heard a news clip on the radio about Metro's funding issues and the steps reducing service which were being considered.  Late in the afternoon the traffic alerts were again telling the story of clogged roadways.  Biking to work is not for everyone, but for some people it is the lifestyle decision of significant importance.  Mark your calendar for Friday, May 21 and I'll put up a post when registration is open.