It happens so fast

Yesterday's news carried the story of Governor Warner's fall while on Bike Virginia and the broken bones in his hand. The description of the accident had me thinking of the accidents that I've seen or in which I've been involved.

When we ride a bicycle we need to be careful and alert. It takes but a moment for situations to arise which necessitate good decisions and quick reaction. No matter what age and no matter what level of experience we need to anticipate dangerous situations and take action to reduce the opportunity for an accident.

The joy and exhilaration of riding a bike is wonderful. We need to be careful while we're riding.

I hope you ride your bike today. I hope Governor Warner has a speedy recovery.

A New Grandson.........new generation

CyrusJohn
Originally uploaded by bikes@vienna.

Yesterday Cyrus arrived with the race to the hospital and lots of good family stories for the future. I closed up early so Ces and I could drive to Richmond to meet him. The photo shows Cyrus and I getting acquainted. I'd donned my glasses to count fingers and toes. I was also trying to figure out which features came from which sides of his families.

There is joy in the birth of a baby. There is perspective to be gained. I hope to enjoy many hours with Cyrus.

Thank you, Thank you, Thank you

subscribe-dc
Originally uploaded by bikes@vienna.

The Washington Consumer Checkbook (Summer/Fall 2005) has a detailed article on buying and maintaining a bicycle. We did well in the ratings. They rated forty establishments in the greater Washington area and in all categories bikes@vienna was a leader in the number of customers who rated us "superior". That earned us Checkbook's top rating for "sales service quality" and "repair quality".

I want to thank all our customers who provided information for this rating process. I was gratified by the higher number of bikes@vienna customers who submitted ratings. It takes time to participate and I was thrilled to see how many people took the time to rate us.

My heartfelt thank you.......

Bike Friday Cross Country Ride - Last State

For those of you who have not been following her progress, the Queen of the Road has nearly completed her cross-country bike ride on the Air Glide Bike Friday that she purchased from us a few months ago. She's had an interesting trip, as does everyone who takes on this challenge, which for many is a once-in-a-lifetime experience. We wish her well on her last days of riding across Florida.

Offers Worth Considering

C&OFREEGuidedTour020
Originally uploaded by bikes@vienna.

We received this flyer and I wanted to make certain that you were able to consider the possibilities. The offer is for free guided bike rides along the C&O Canal. There are actually ten or eleven rides during the course of the summer. The rides range from two hour trips to riding the whole canal. I think these would be wonderful. Please click on the flyer and you will get a larger version and then a click on the magnifying glass get a bigger look.

Just in case, the flyer asked you to call 202.653.5190 for more information.

Ah Ha, Oh No, Don't Let the Rain Come Down

BTW
Originally uploaded by bikes@vienna.

Bike To Work Day brought back lots of those old songs that relate to rain, floods, and the strength of the human spirit. At the Vienna Pit Stop we had a steady flow of both riders and rain. People had a wonderful attitude and most had smiles. It again re-affirmed what I admire in the character of people who ride bicycles.

Our registration at the Vienna Pit Stop was at 263 which is a new "high water" mark. If you were not able to stop at the Pit Stop we have extra t-shirts, water bottles, and drawing items. If you were registered at the Vienna Pit Stop, please come passed bikes@vienna and we'll provide you with the t-shirt and water bottle while they last. I would ask that you stop by during the week because our weekends are wild and crazy enough.

I want to express my personal thanks to Ann and Peggy at Whole Foods for their participation in Bike To Work Day. The support that they give this event is wonderful.

A clean chain is a happy chain

I've recently discovered the benefits of using a wax-based chain lube. In the past I've always used a conventional oil lube like Phil Tenacious Oil or a synthetic lube like Pedro's SynLube. They worked well and when I would consistently wipe the chain with an oily rag and re-lube, the chain stayed relatively clean. When I didn't spend the time to keep it clean, it became a black, oily mess. Anything that touched the chain would likewise become a black, oily mess.

We mostly use White Lightning at the shop. In the past when I've used it, I would see large chunks of a black, waxy substance on the chain, derailleur pulleys, cassette, and chainrings. This didn't seem like much of an improvement over the oil, so I stopped using it.

What I didn't realize, is that when one changes from an oil-based lube to the wax-based lube, there is an initial cleaning process that occurs. All the grit and dirt that is embedded in the chain works it's way to the surface and adheres to the wax, even with a “clean” chain. This dirt/wax mix must be cleaned off and the White Lightning re-applied. After a few applications, the chain becomes purged of most of this embedded grit and only periodic applications of White Lightning are needed.

I decided to make the switch a while back and after this initial cleaning period, my chain has remained surprisingly clean. I apply the White Lightning regularly, more frequently than the oil-based lubes of the past. It probably costs more, but the cost is minor compared to the benefits of having a clean drivechain. And a clean chain is a happy chain. It works more efficiently, and there is less buildup of gunk on the derailleur pulleys, cassette, and chainrings, a common cause of shifting problems.

The Diva's Day

SaraGrad
Originally uploaded by bikes@vienna.

Last Saturday, Sara graduated from Shenandoah University. You may know her as the young woman at the front counter of bikes@vienna. You may know her as an actress. She is our youngest and we are proud of her and her graduation with honors. She's going to work at bikes@vienna for a couple of weeks and then go to Richmond to work for the summer. She auditioned earlier this week in New York. She's looking for opportunities in the world of musical theater.

Six years ago Sara participated in the "Powder Puff" football game during James Madison High School's Homecoming events. The young women personalized their football jerseys with nicknames. Sara had "Mad Diva" printed on the back of her jersey because of her participation in the drama department at Madison. So I started calling her Diva.

This clear, beautiful day was the Diva's Day. Once again she made her mother and I very proud.

Okay, let's get this over with now.

I took bikes out to Kinkos at Tyson's to ship them Fedex this afternoon. I finished that task and looked at the Route 7 parking lot and pondered what other errands I should run in that strip mall. I thought of a customer's comment about me getting tanned along with Ces' concern about me wearing sunscreen. Bruce had also made the point that I'm out in the sun a good part of the day. So I walked to Ranger Surplus to see if they had any straw hats. A ball cap doesn't do much for the ears and back of the neck.

Ranger Surplus had a number of choices. I looked silly in virtually all of them. There were pith helmets which brought a smile because growing up our neighbor Dewey Bear had worn a pith helmet as he worked in the yard (well I never went in his house so I suppose he took it off in the house). Years after Dewey passed to his reward I bought my dad a pith helmet and he still wears it (or a successor) during his outdoor projects. Sooooooooo, I tried on a pith helmet. It looked silly, but no worse than the other straw hats.

I took the pith helmet to the cash register. The young man looked at the pith helmet and asked, "Planning on bagging some big game this evening sir?" To which I replied, "No, just battling a family history of skin cancer". He nodded and took my money.

Okay, I know I look silly. There will probably be some funny "big game" jokes. Bring your best one and come see us. I laugh better as someone is buying a bike.

Fingerprinting A Bike

Warm weather has escalated our traffic. It was not unusual to have two men visit the store looking for a scooter for a daughter. What was unusual was the way that they moved around the store and kept trying to get us away from the front counter. They left and I turned to Bruce to share the thought that they'd been "checking us out". Within ten minutes one of our customers, who is a Vienna police officer, brought in a bike for repair. I recounted the story to him and he jotted down information. He was on his way to work.

In a very short time we learned that another Vienna business had been robbed. The description of the robbers was the same as the one we'd given for our visitors. The police dispatcher called to ask if we have video in the store. No, but one of the visitors had ridden a bike. So the bike was fingerprinted. I'll let you know how this story ends.

Catrike Increases Prices June 1

Big Cat HPV announced yesterday that they will increase their prices on the Pocket, Road, and Speed as of June 1. The revision of their pricing is the result of escalating costs for the aluminum stock used for their trikes. The new prices will be:

Pocket $1750

Road $2350

Speed $2750

bikes@vienna has two Speeds in the store. The price on these trikes is $2350 until June 1. We have two Roads on order and the price of those bikes will depend on the date of their delivery.

Day 05 - 7 Directions in Mazara

Day 05 - 7 Directions in Mazara
Originally uploaded by bikes@vienna.

Bill Perlman and Pat Shooltz recently returned from an adventure in Sicily. Bill brought me a CD of photos and this photo captured my attention. It is a mix of the contrasts in the photo which endears it to me. Bill is shown on his recumbent consulting with a local cyclist on a conventional bike. The photo is shades of gray and earthtones except Bill's helmet and some red on this shirt and bike.

Pat, you took an award winner in my opinion.

Thule Days May 6 - 15

bikes@vienna will be participating in Thule Days. We have trunk mount and hitch mount racks on sale with substantial savings (-20%). We also have some Thule stock from last year at even better savings. We do not have any roof mount kits as part of the sale.

In preparation for taking advantage of the sale you might like to go to www.thuleracks.com. Thule has a good interactive site that will let you know which of their products will work with your vehicle. You just let the software know the make, model, and year of your vehicle. You'll then get to express your preference for the roof, hitch, or trunk mount rack. From this exercise you'll know what models interest you.

At bikes@vienna we help you install the rack and explain how to effectively use the rack.

Whole Foods and bikes@vienna Team Up in May

Peggy Williams
Originally uploaded by bikes@vienna.

May is Bicycle Month. You knew that. We work with Whole Foods in Vienna in staging the Pit Stop for Bike To Work Day (Friday, May 20). Many years we both help with the Vienna Bike Rodeo (which this year is Saturday, May 21). This year we'll also be teaming up to give away a 2005 Dahon Boardwalk D7. The adjacent photo shows my Whole Foods partner in these efforts, Peggy Williams, sitting on the Boardwalk before it gets suspended from the rafters for display at Whole Foods. Stop by Whole Foods and you'll be able to enter a drawing to win the Boardwalk. Look for the Boardwalk as you enter the store and you 'll find the registration area right underneath the bicycle.

If you can't wait until the end of May to find out if you've won this Boardwalk then come see us. Yep, we'll be happy to sell you one.

Reston Bike to Work Day

For the fourth year in a row, Bike to Work Day will also be celebrated in Reston, at the Town Center Pavilion. There will be bread rolls available along with peanut butter & jelly, bananas, juice, coffee, raffles for bike accessories on the half hour, and information displays from several groups. It's a great way to show your support for bike commuting and to talk to others about how you can make Fairfax County a better place to ride. Supervisor Hudgins will be there at 8:00 along with other invited dignitaries. Maybe this will be the year that Supervisor Hudgins takes us up on our offer to provide her a bicycle for the event.

Sponsors include the Reston Bike Club, Whole Foods, Great Harvest Bread, A-1 Cycling, Greenberry's Coffee & Tea, VDOT, Equity Office, LINK, Fairfax County, Reston Association, and the Friends of the W&OD Trail.

If 1 is good then 22 is spectacular. Think $240.

05_HT_AL_Pioneer_Trail_W
Originally uploaded by bikes@vienna.

Adam always kidded me because in ordering things I followed a thought process that if 1 is good then 2 is twice as good. Now take that a little farther. If 1 is good then 22 is spectacular. We will soon receive 22 Marin Pioneer Trails in a 15" women's frame in preparation for Mother's Day. The bikes are 2004 models which I noticed on the Marin inventory sheet. The adjacent photo is of the 2005 model, but think a white frame and that's what 18 of the 22 will look like. We'll have them on sale for $240 which is a good value. We'll have a package to add a basket (it clicks off the handbars to go into a store), a mirror (you've got to see what coming up from behind you), a bell, and a water bottle cage with a bikes@vienna water bottle. The package adds $50 to the transaction. These will be nice bikes for a mom or for a young person in need of a new bike.

If you think this sounds crazy then one of these times I'll tell you about the time I bought 103 bikes from Marin on close out. We made some cyclists very happy.

Reason for a folding bike at the office?

FolderAd
Originally uploaded by bikes@vienna.

Beginning this week there will be advertising for folding bikes from bikes@vienna in the Washington Post's Express which gets handed out at the Metro stations. You see the ad on the right.

My wonderful wife works in the American History Museum. On September 11th as we communicated back and forth we decided that I might need to ride a tandem to the city to get her if Metro was not a practical way for her to get home. I supposed that traffic would be so difficult that my old bike cummuting route of the W&OD to the Custis Trail might be the quickest in and out of Washington.

That discussion and others led us to the idea that she needed to have a folding bike at her office. It was an idea that other people must have examined because bikes@vienna had more calls about folders. We've continued to expand our folding bikes not as a response to terror, but a practical answer to how to store, transport, and get more enjoyment from a bike.

In Northern Virginia the traffic makes people consider interesting solutions. Women come to the store shopping for a bike and when presented with the idea of a folder they see opportunities for excercise and enjoyment while their children are at a piano lesson or ball practice. It is not practical to return home and then come back for their child so why not go for a bike ride? Parking can be a challenge so why not zip from one errand to the other on your folding bike when the locations are close, but not quite close enough to walk?

Metro allows folding bikes on trains anytime in a bag. Commuters can ride a mile or two to the station, bag their folder, and take it to the office. Let's see......not getting as hot and sweaty going to the Metro without a car, saving money on parking, or just the thrill of a ride on a beautiful day. Which concept appeals most to you?

You can see where the idea comes from for the folders ad in the Express. The joy of being alive on a sunny, beautiful day with the experience of a breeze in your face and the smell of blossoms sweetening your experience. The glory of riding a bicycle. That's the number one reason for having a folding bike at the office or in the back of the vehicle.

Fairfax County Trail Maps

Several people have asked about the Fairfax County Existing Trail Maps that are on display at the store. They were produced by the Fairfax County Trails Coordinator, Sheng Leu, with input from the Non-motorized Transportation Committee. Committee members took parcel maps and walked, biked and drove around the 9 supervisor districts to determine where the major trails and sidewalks were located. Sheng Leu and an intern used those maps and aerial photos to then draw the maps on the computer using a geographic information system. This data was then used to create the existing trails maps.

The maps were divided into four quadrants. The NW and NE quadrants make up the Northern Portion map, and the SW and SE are the Southern Portion. The maps are available on the committee website at www.fairfaxcounty.gov/nmtc/maps.html. They are large PDF files, so a broadband connection is recommended for downloading and viewing.

The maps are undergoing revision. On the current maps, the symbol for sidewalks and trails are the same, regardless of width or type of material (concrete vs. asphalt). Since most cyclists do not ride on sidewalks, it is important to indicate the difference on the map. On the updated maps, different symbols will be used for 4- and 5-foot sidewalks vs. 8-10-foot paved trails. The new maps will also include many segments that were omitted or built since the publication of the existing map. Publication is expected by the end of this year.

Paper copies of the trails maps are available from the Publications Center located at 12000 Government Center Parkway, Suite 156, Fairfax, Va. 22035. Hours: 8:15 a.m. to 4:15 p.m., Monday through Friday. Phone: (703) 324-2974.

SPORTWORKS SELLS QUICK-LOAD-BIKE-RACK DIVISION TO THULE

After nearly nine years of making innovative consumer bike racks, including the original Quick-load bike rack, Sportworks has sold the consumer bike rack division to Thule.  I received this news by email this morning. As with any vendor change I blink and wonder what it will mean to bikes@vienna.
 
The email included this information:

"This news may come as a great shock to many of you who have been our ardent supporters and pioneers over the years.  The reasons for the sale are many, including a very competitive market and the challenges of competing with the larger manufacturers.  Sportworks will continue to make and sell bike racks for transit vehicles as well as perform contract manufacturing for a variety of customers."

I just got in a shipment of Sportworks racks. I have more back ordered. bikes@vienna has been a Thule dealer since I opened in 1998. I believe you'll continue to find the Quick-load racks here without regard to the name that appears on the sticker.


 

Off She Goes

This week I received a phone call from a customer who is starting a grand adventure. She is cycling from San Diego to St. Augustine, FL and she flew to San Diego this week to get started. She is riding a Bike Friday Air Glide equipped with fenders and racks plus the travel case set up as a trailer. All of which she purchased at bikes@vienna.

She plans to let us know about her adventure by visiting public libraries and posting information on a blog. Are you ready? Her blog is named "queen of the road". I checked this morning and there is no information there other than her tests, but soon I hope to track her travels by going to Queen of the Road. Join in the fun and read about her travels.