Cycle RAT

Hmm, Where Might this Colorful Tree Be? Annie SAID Bikes had to be Involved!

Back in the day, Rantwick held an annual "Rantwick Autumn Throwdown;" RAT for short. It started when he looked for challengers to "The King of Autumn." The King was a spectacular tree. After a few years, seems it was the third or fourth RAT, Anniebikes took up the responsibility, and now it's just a fond memory. JUST IN CASE, however, at top is my own mysterious RAT entry for this year. It was shot somewhere north of Texas and east of Washington. For those still mystified, the photo at bottom clears up the "cycle" part of this title and also the particular locale.

Tending to the Bikes on an Autumn Tour

God Bless Bike Mechanics

Interior of the LaVogue Bike Shop, in Hoquiam's "Historic LaVogue Building"

This last week, I was reminded that a bike mechanic is more than simply someone who knows how to turn a wrench on a fastener. He or she is someone that can get you back on the road, whether your problem was complex, or simply minor but irritating.

I decided to “multimode” by bike and bus into Aberdeen again, taking advantage of the “local knowledge” acquisition I did here on “Steve’s Day Out.” Well, as it turned out, I had problems of a different sort. My now venerable U Lock has been getting a little cantankerous lately, but still seemed to have a lot of life in it. After getting off the bus, I rode over to the nearby Walmart to see how THEIR film processing compared to that of Rite Aid. As it turns out, their film processing is both quicker and cheaper, though it is clear that the days of quick and good film processing are sadly behind us. Rite Aid has their film developing horse and buggy come by once a week while Walmart has twice a week service. Still, either of those are better than Tall’s “Camera” in Seattle which not only doesn’t handle film developing, but didn’t know of any place closer than about ten miles away.

To make a long story short, after completing my recon at Wallyworld, I rode over to Safeway in order to get groceries either not available at IGA, or with greatly superior value. Pulling up to their bike rack, my lock would not open. Golly! I tried again. Sheesh! Suddenly, it seemed I was 25 miles from home and on a shopping trip with a lock that wouldn’t open. While I felt lucky it didn’t fail with the bike locked inside at Walmart, shopping and a library visit now seemed out of the question. After considering options, I decided that the best option would be to ride over to neighboring Hoquiam and pay a visit to the only bike shop in Gray’s Harbor County.

Front of the LaVogue Bike Shop

The ride was uneventful, retracing a route I rode the week before, and in due time, I was at the LaVogue Bike Shop counter saying “I need a lock” as I plopped the frozen U lock down. The owner indicated that usually, the locks just needed lubrication and he tried that. Apparently, however, lube doesn’t help locks where the mechanism is falling apart beyond making stuff greasy. I indicated that the only thing it would be nice to save from the old lock was the cable which I use to attach the front wheel to the frame/rear wheel/bike rack combination. The owner stated he could probably get the lock apart and proceeded to put it in a vise until a potential customer diverted his attention. It is a wise bike shop owner that will ignore a bike sale in favor of hacking into a now-greasy lock.

U Lock in Happier Days

Still, I was not out of luck. The mechanic in the back of the shop inquired about the problem and I related how the lock was terminal, but I’d like to keep the cable or, if he couldn’t save it, to buy another to go with the new U lock. Being a guy with a golden touch, he cranked away on the lock and soon had it broken in two, with my old cable free to go with the new lock. In reply to my jesting “golly, if you don’t make it as a bike mechanic, you can always go into the business of breaking locks,” he said “yup, as long as I have a vise and a big hammer with me, I can break most any lock.” Well, perhaps a vise and a hammer is not the most subtle way to steal a bike, but I was reminded, once more, that bike mechanics are blessed. Anybody can adjust a working derailleur or replace brake pads, but fixing stuff not designed to be fixed is a talent not given to us all. And they DID sell me a new lock! I let them keep the key for the old one...

I Still Swear by the Combination of a U Lock and Cable

Bike Marketing

No Sign Visible in the Hoquiam Bike Shop

It is odd, but many around bikes are not too savvy about how to market them. Advocates, for example, often use fear as a means to sell people on riding bikes. I think you'll never see a photo in a LAB publication, for example, that doesn't have a cyclist without a helmet and a bike in the same picture. You can also see many fearful videos on Youtube, such as "Death Rides on My Left."

Similarly, bike shops sometimes neglect the basics of marketing, such as a sign outside their premises, or hours of operation being posted. Such is the bike shop in Hoquiam, Washington.

The Shop is "Open," Up Close You Can See the Sign

From the Proper Angle, You Can See it is the "LaVogue Bike Shop"

Fortunately, this bike shop in Hoquiam is not only the nearest one to Ocean Shores, but it is a pretty good one as well. It certainly beats out the local Wally World by a few orders of magnitude, but maybe they'll put up a sign someday that is as glaring as the Tully's Coffee a couple of doors down the street.

Something OLD, Something New...

Richard Nixon was still President of the USA. On his way to whooping my own preferred candidate; George McGovern. That was the year that I last bought a bike with my own money. Earned with my own hands. I was working at the "A&P" (as in "Breaking Away") in north Seattle. Now, that A&P is an "Apple Store." Specifically, it was 1972.

But I digress.

The bike was bought at the store shown below. At THAT time, it was known as "Gregg's Greenlake Cycle." As it turned out, that purchase formed a defining moment in my life as a cyclist. You see, that was the LAST time I ever bought a bike for myself from a cycling store. The bastards screwed me, though it took me many years to fully realize it. Still, I have no doubt that, over the years, these guys have improved mightily since they ARE still in business.

Gregg's Cycle in Seattle. Not a Lot of Bike Parking. Some Things Don't Change Over the Years

The bike was a "Champion Du Monde." It was a smidge more than I could really afford at the time. $100. For that price, I got something equivalent to the FAR more popular (and more expensive) Peugeot UO8. Yup, the same bike you now see on eBay regularly for - about $100. Unless the owner thinks it is collectible somehow. As in the case of the Peugeot, the CDM came with a steel, cottered crank, crappy Simplex shifting gear, and steel rims. The steel rims had dimples in them to create the illusion you could stop when the rims got wet.

Champion Du Monde - It Served Me Well, Even if Far Too Big...
I Named it "Betty Boop."

To make a loooong story less so, that bike is now on its third crank, uncounted wheels, its SECOND derailleur (viva Suntour!), and lots of other bits that got changed out over the years. The reason it is missing a saddle is I donated it to a guy with a bike a couple of years ago. It HAD fenders and a rear rack - both now reside on Frankenbike.

After Enough Miles, Chainstay Paint Starts to Get a Bit Thin...

Remants of the Seat Tube Decal

You may sense a faint touch of bitterness against Gregg's. That's because they sold me a bike that was AT LEAST two sizes too big. I was in High School at the time and the salesman made no attempt at all to do anything more than suck the money out of the dumb kid with as little effort as possible. Still, they did me one favor - they PERMANENTLY cured me of having too much reverence for any bike shop. For that, I will forever be grateful. It's also why you won't see me joining the "buy your bike from a proper bike store" crowd. I KNOW better.

Trust - but Verify

Despite the Gregg's salesman, I DID get my money's worth out of the bike, as you can see from what is left of the paint. Even a frame that is FAR too big for the rider can give many miles of riding pleasure. That bike rode miles in Seattle, Los Angeles, many towns around LA, Everett, and, finally in North Texas. Nowadays, I keep it mainly to remind me that bike shops should not be trusted any more than any other business. In the words of Ronald Reagan - "Trust, but verify." As significantly, that bike was within sight the minute I met my future wife. Better yet, I changed out those steel rims before they killed me. They were gone before the last "close call" I had with a car - around 1974, bombing down Admiral Way in West Seattle at nearly 40MPH when a motorist decided to pull out from a driveway without proper caution. Such an event would not be worthy of even a mention in this blog nowadays. Experience truly is valuable.

Having told y'all about my LAST new bike, I have weakened and bought a second. This one was bought nearly 40 years to the day after the first. Yes, I have to admit that even "Buddy" was a used bike. All I can say is what my wife calls me - "cheap." Well, and it arrived today...

What's in the Box? On the Porch, this Afternoon.

Colleyville has ARRIVED!

Knobbies & Slicks Has Been Open in Colleyville for Three Weeks

I can't believe I didn't know about this before, but there is a new bike shop in Colleyville. Now I might be able to do a little bragging instead just having to read about those cool Fort Worth shops. The name? Knobbies & Slicks Bike Shop & Cycling Studio. I mean, this place has been open for three weeks now, I've ridden right past it almost every day since then, and the only reason I know about it is my wife showed me a photo of their ribbon cutting in the local Chamber of Commerce magazine. Wow - maybe I'm a little too focused on dealing with my motorists!

The Shop is About 75 Feet From My Normal Commute Route!

Anyway, on Friday, I went in, having found that the "gone riding" sign didn't necessarily mean the shop wasn't open. Inside, I saw a DIFFERENT kind of shop. First off, the bikes on display were a mixture of high end road bikes and cruisers. Then, I met one of the owners, Bud Zarsk. It was getting close to closing time, but he graciously showed me a few of the high points. See photos below. The shop included a very nice and well stocked cycling spin area, and a number of alcoves that reminded me of those rooms at stereo stores where you get to listen to the really GOOD equipment. These were reserved for some of the special stock.

It will be interesting to see how this shop fares in an area such as Colleyville. It is definitely not targeted at the "bike commuter," nor the gearhead, nor even the casual buyer that so many are. You'd just have to go there to see what I'm talking about.

Some of the Road Bike Stock

Bud Zarsk, Showing the Spin Studio

Bike Shop Espresso Machine. The OTHER Coffee was Stuff I Brought