New Website

First of all you might have noticed that our website finally up and running! It has been almost a year since we opened the doors and it has been very exciting! I was so busy in the season that I left the website project till the fall. With a lot of help from Lev at Level Online Strategy we finally launched and I should be able to improve it as time permits.

I hope to use this blog to let you know about new products and services that we bring in as the shop develops.

What have we been up to this past year?

I first dealt with the organizational aspects of getting the shop off the ground. Where to locate? How large a space? What will we start selling? Who will we get it from? Where will I bank? How much work can I personally accomplish in a given time period? Can I hire anybody to help me? I had always inherited these answers when working in previous shops. I also had other questions that could only be answered through time. How will it work in this part of town? Will my plan even get close to my expectations? Am I as crazy as my industry insider pals said I was? (Even more than they could possibly imagine).

Luckily I set up shop in the blossoming community of Arbor Lodge. Directly across from a Yellow Line Max stop and across the intersection from the New Seasons market, which has become my extended pantry. I had no idea that the community would respond with such zeal. Man these people needed a local bike shop! Even before I had the shop walls painted and the fixtures delivered, locals were stopping in thanking me for bringing bicycle service to their neighborhood. Happy people giving me the thumbs up! Fantastic. The positive attitude has not stopped. The quality of bike geekitude in the neighborhood is outtasite.

My neighbors surprise me every week with their needs and concerns. I look forward to each day, sussing out the problems that the community brings.

Ryan. el badass mechanico

Ryan Vergeront (Verg) has worked with me in our constricted service area since late spring. I had worked with Verg previously at another shop for two seasons, and I was floored by his skill and zeal for cycling. After filling in for me as much as he could arrange this summer, Ryan began working in the shop full time this fall. Our small size requires each of us to function in both Bicycle Sales and Service and Ryan continues to serve with increasing skill in both those capacities. He is knowledgable and devoted, easy to be around and he appreciates my program and nonsense. He is planning on staying with me through the winter as we keep changing, but inevitably he will move on once the season starts next year. Probably in some team mechanic position. Time will tell. He will thrive wherever the wind takes him.