Saturday, October 30, 2010

Get ready for the shorter daylight hours!

We're running a special on dynamo wheels and lights! Get a Shimano NX-20 hub, Alex rim (26" or 700C), DT stainless steel spokes, and a Busch & Muller DLumotec Oval N Plus lamp, all for $160! Ordinarily this setup would cost over $200, so get them while they're here!


We also have a variety of battery powered lighting systems, both rechargeable and non-rechargeable, as well as higher-end dynamo hub options. So come on by!

Saturday, October 16, 2010

Join Us in the Vienna Halloween Parade

We will be riding in the Halloween Parade for the 13th time.  You are invited to ride with us on Wednesday, October 27.

The Vienna Halloween Parade begins at 7 PM.  We are parade entry 84 so we will not step off until  between 8 PM and 8:30 PM.  Our escort vehicle will be in place at 6 PM.  Our plan is to leave the store between 7:15 and 7:30 to travel the back streets to reach our parade position.  The challenge is how to get anywhere in the downtown area after 6 PM.  We would suggest that you park away from the downtown and ride to the store.

Following the parade we'll return to the store for Walking Tacos,  Pumpkin Ale, and good conversation about cycling.  To participate you must wear a helmet.  You should have lights for your bike ot trike (the more lights the better).   Our position on Branch Road for the organization of the parade is dark so lights are important.   A costume is a nice touch, but not necessary.

We are involved in two efforts this parade.  John is trying to connect delta trikes in an attempt to hook together 25.  Tim is putting together a Brompton Brigade which will ride, fold, walk, unfold, and ride again.

Send us an email to John@bikesatvienna.com if you plan to participate.

Tuesday, October 12, 2010

Halloween Parade Challenge

Well, John has been working at getting a band of folks out on a Trike Train for the Vienna Halloween Parade, so I figure it's time to launch a campaign of my own...

Calling all Brompton owners! Let's form a Brompton Brigade for Halloween! Two years ago, I was a solitary Bromptoneer, riding and folding my bike along ...the route. This year, let's see how many we can get! Mark your calendars for October 27th and come prepared to ride n' fold!





That's me, two years ago, riding along, then folding and unfolding the bike. Make sure you practice this in the dark, folks!

Thursday, October 07, 2010

Columbus Day Weekend: Red EZ-3 Classics for $800

If you follow this blog you know bikes@vienna is not sale driven.  It is once in a while that we have a special item or try to attract your interest with some type of discount.  The planets checked into place on Tuesday for us to have one of our most popular recumbent trikes on sale this weekend.


We will have four red EZ-3 Classic trikes offered for $800.  You can find more details by clicking on Sun EX-3 Classic  This trike at this price provides you with a new product with a warranty and our Continuing Care for the price that we have received for used EZ-3 or X-3 models.  We have the connectors in stock so that you could create a trike tandem.  Oh, the possibilities!  Remember we have four, red EZ-3s at this price.

We are open 10-6 Thursday through Monday.  Yes, we are open on Columbus Day.

Monday, October 04, 2010

More from the Brompton World Championship!

Here's Charmaine's report on the race itself... Sounds like she had a great time!


Hi there! I just got back to the hotel after a full day at the races... It was a fun and exciting day!
But before details...I want to let you know that in the category of women over 50 (there were 28 ladies in this category), I placed 9th! :) :) Not bad, eh??! :) :) My overall time was 35 min., which isn't great (the winner did it in 24 min.), but for my category, I'm pleased. :)
There were a lot more hills than I expected....some rollers, one good downhill, but more uphills than down. So I was huffing and puffing, believe me. Fortunately, it was only spitting rain (yea!) - but the road around the palace that we rode on, was wet and there were wet leaves all over. This made things a bit scary going downhill and around tight curves! I only heard of one person falling, so that's good, and hopefully he was okay. A couple other people had some mechanical difficulties (chain breaking, pedal breaking off, flat tire!). That would be VERY disappointing to have come all the way to the race and have something like that happen! My bike did fine - though sometimes the shifting didn't work when I needed it to, but maybe that's because of all the wet conditions I've been riding in the past number of days.
When the day started, the skies were partly cloudy, but at least it wasn't raining, which I was happy about - I didn't want to get wet on riding to the shuttle pick-up spot (at the Brompton factory). There were 3 large tour buses waiting to load everyone's bikes. Brompton provided cardboard boxes for everyone to fold and put their bikes in, and their names on the boxes. So this kept things orderly coming & going. About halfway to the palace, it started to rain, but then stopped when we got to the palace. We picked up our registration packets, applied the race number to our bikes and the "timing chip" (which was just a label!) to the side of our helmets. The label had a radio frequency in it (don't know how!) and once you passed under the Starting Line, it would time you. We folded our bikes in a field that was sectioned off according to your race number. We had an hour or so before the race start, so we got something to eat/drink and walked around. They had some guys who were showing their jumping expertise on their mountain bikes, jumping up and down stairs, and other items. There were also some antique bikes to see, and some interesting road bikes that had 3 full-size wheels (2 in the back)! That was interesting and I heard they are popular over here. It was fun to see all the different people's creative costumes. :) There was a TV crew interviewing various people also. :) (No, I didn't get filmed!). ha.
At 11:45, we all were told to gather near the field where our bikes were, and we were given racing/safety instructions. The guy giving the instructions was funny and telling various jokes along the way. :) So everyone was in a jovial mood. My group was the last in the lined up groups, so we got to watch the other groups set off every 2 minutes, as they raced out to the field area and unfolded their bikes and ran out to the road and took off. There was a long line of spectators next to the road (at the start and finish) as they cheered people on. :) Yeehaw! The race was on! :) :)
Two laps around the palace grounds turned out to be about 8 1/2 miles each lap...so a little longer than I expected also. There was a couple of semi-long hills, so everyone was huffing. There were some photographers posed at the top of the hills to take your picture - - NOT a nice time to take your picture, in my opinion! (as you're tired and out of breath!). Some people even were WALKING up the hills, which surprised me. At first I thought they were having mechanical problems, but then I realized they weren't used to riding hills. I had my business attire on, but also wore rain pants and rain jacket, and had the hood up under my helmet. After the first lap, I was starting to heat up and wish I could stop to slip the hood off, but of course, I didn't stop. My legs seemed to have the energy to do the hills, but my lungs weren't keeping up and I was out of air. I was glad I had brought my Camelback water pack to have a sip of water from time to time!
I poured on the power right near the finish line - but I was pooped when I got off my bike and could barely walk and was SO hot under my jacket and stuff! Everyone was given race medals (saying they participated) and a goodie bag with a cheese & egg sandwich, and scones with butter and jam, and then you could go in a Brompton tent and get free coffee or tea. I definitely didn't want anything hot! Whew! :) They also gave you a bottle of Gatorade, which hit the spot. There were some other vendors there for food, which I got later. There was another tent where there was a computer you could put in your race number and see how you did....but they were having technical difficulties, so I didn't find out my information til hours later, but glad I finally did. :) You're just so curious as to how you placed, you know?!
Afterwards, we walked over to the palace to walk the grounds, but we didn't go in the palace (it cost 7 pounds - which isn't much, but by the time we thought of going in, we didn't feel we'd have enough time to do the palace justice). But in another exhibit room off to the side, they had a film about the palace, so they showed the inside of it, so I got to "see" it that way. Then we took a SLOW lap on the race course again, to stop and take pictures, since we couldn't do that during the race. There were sheep in the field, and pheasants running around like chickens. :) It's a pretty place. Evidently Winston Churchill was born there and spent a lot of his spare time there, and is also buried there.
The return shuttle ride took a half hour longer due to traffic, but everyone was resting or chatting, so that was fine. :)
Charmaine

First BWC Weekend Report!

From Charmaine, our "customer in the field"... here she recounts the events of Saturday, October 2nd, the day before the actual race:

Just a brief note about the Brompton 100 bike ride on Saturday -

I got to the meet-up point pretty early for the Brompton 100 ride - I definitely didn't want to miss it. :) I took the Tube to a station not far from where I needed to meet up with 99 other Brompton bikers for a 10-mile ride from central London to the Brompton bike factory, for the awards ceremony. A number of the riders were "dressed up" in funny or business attire, and they were neat to see. :) As we gathered, the Changing of the Guards (horses) came down the street, so we got some pictures of that. :) We then got on the road and rode along safely, regrouping as needed and "bunching up" at lights to get as many of us through the lights as we could. The route was pretty convoluted - lots of turns, but everyone stuck together. We rode past Buckingham Palace and then past pretty city homes and areas. We rode through the Brompton Cemetary, which was pretty and peaceful (though in spots very weeded and overgrown). Then through the suburbs and along the Thames River and finally got to the Brompton factory, where they were being presented the "Queen's Award" for Enterprise in both Innovation and International Trade categories. This is the second Queen's Award they have received. Evidently only 16 other companies in the UK have received this award - so it is a big thing! A lieutenant who was dressed in his military uniform, presented the award. Andrew Ritchie was present as the Managing Director of Brompton, Will Butler-Adams graciously and humbly received the award. :)

We had a tasty lunch while a good jazz band played. Then we were given a tour of the Brompton factory, which was neat and made me appreciate all the parts to the bicycle (all of which are handmade and assembled). Only the painting of the bikes is outsourced.

So it was a fun afternoon and I'm glad I had the opportunity to attend! :)

Charmaine

Sunday, October 03, 2010

Ride's End

Patterson Park

Halfway point!

Overlooking the Inner Harbor

Tour du Port

At the registration area, Tim and Christy are ready to ride!

Saturday, October 02, 2010

It's Brompton World Championship Weekend!


And sadly, Tim isn't able to go this year. Instead, he'll be riding in Baltimore's Tour du Port, spreading the word about bikes@vienna, folding bikes, and Bromptons.

However, Charmaine Ruppolt, a customer and new Brompton owner, WILL be riding tomorrow, Sunday, October 3rd, at Blenheim Palace, with 749 other Bromptoneers! So please join us in wishing her a great ride (and perhaps a higher placing than mine of last year).

Today she's participating in a factory tour, a scenic ride in London, and witnessing an award ceremony where Brompton is being presented with the Queen's Award for Enterprise in both the Innovation and International Trade categories. Apparently there's a reception with food and jazz as well. Sounds like a really great time.

Watch this space for news of Charmaine's experiences, probably on her return to the US. We'll keep you posted!

Meanwhile, enjoy photos from last year's ride here:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/43828356@N00/sets/72157622417557021/

Friday, October 01, 2010

Pure Pasty Opens

The cars are driving up the alley and slowing to see if there is much activity at Pure Pasty. Here, you can see inside without making the trip.

Pure Pasty has opened and we hope they do very well.