Shop Monkeys get Fixed Fix

Bike shop employees don’t often get to ride with each other.  It’s an odd thing, but it makes sense when you think about it.

Folks who work in bicycle businesses tend to do so because the love cycling.  (Heaven knows it’s not for the princely salaries!)

Bicycle Stores tend to be small businesses, with small staffs.  The crew works hard, and the scheduling is tricky.

Usually (especially in well run shops) the crew get along well with each other, enjoy each other’s company.

This adds up to that odd situation, mentioned above.  It’s rare for the whole crew to be able to schedule time to ride together.  This past weekend, we did it.  The four employees of Bicycles Unlimited (and one friend) managed to make that rare match-up of schedule and intention.

We five planned (if I dare use that term) a ride together.  We all had our fixed-gear bikes available, and chose to use them.  The day was warm, the time was our own, and we had no assigned duties.  We went out and just rode, with no particular destination in mind, just ride for the fun of it.

The "Crew."  Ready to ride.

The bikes used were all fixed gear, but as different and individual as the folks riding them.  There was Holly’s custom, brakeless Bishop track bike.  Ty had his new town bike by Felt.  Junior was on a conversion he’s built up from an old steel frame Nishiki.  I had my much modified Giant Bowrey.  And shop-friend Chris, was astride her brand spanking new Giant Bowrey ’72.  The five bikes had a fairly wide range of gearing.  Some had brakes, some not.  There were two Brooks saddles present.  And we five have a pretty wide range of experience and ability.  We have wildly different personalities.  We are old and young.  We range from the very strong to the quick and sneaky.  And yet, we made a ride of it, merging and rolling.

At times we were fast.  At times we groaned our way up some steep hills.  Occasionally we ripped through some tight-and-twisties.  "Leadership" exchanged multiple times.  Water was handed off.  We even took a couple of "breathers."  The idea was ti ride, and to do it together for a change.  In short, we had ourselves a great time, and a lot of fun.

Pictures of bike rides tend to be all-the-same.  There’s the standing-group-shot-with-bikes (as above), and usually some various posed things.  Tourist snapshots.  It’s hard to take photos that show the ride.  That’s because the ride is ridden, and it’s extremely difficult to shoot meaningful photos while doing it.  So we didn’t try.  Below are a few that are meaningful to us.  Our bikes.

INSERT BIKE PICS & CAPTIONS

Noble Steeds, Steel, Aluminum, Retro, Custom, New, and Old.

Not a derailler in the crowd!

Track bars, Flat Bars, Road Drops, Brakes, Brakeless, Heavy Tires, Skinny Tires, Aggressive, and Laid Back.  Can anyone say, "Eclectic"?

We hope your holiday weekend was good and memorable.