HubBub Custom Bicycles

Bike Summit - Day 2

March 11th

Today's photos

WOW - what a day.  Very intense.  My new friend Tara, who owns a shop in Burlington, NC, feels the same way.  We're "roomies" at the Harrington Hotel and have been "studying" what we are supposed to say to our legislators when we go "up to the Hill" tomorrow.

Today's breakout sessions included how the stimulus money works and how we might be able to piggyback on certain aspects to get funding for cycling related projects.  These include everything from community block grants to the complete streets bill.

We heard from Secretary of Transportation, Ray LaHood; Congresspeople Oberstar, Matsui, and Lipinski, and EVERYONE OF THEM was well informed, pro-cycling and, pro-cycling related projects.  I heard others at the Summit say that this year had the most support from Congress ever. 

The keynote speaker at lunch, Lawrence Selzer from The Conservation Fund, blew us away!  His speech, which centered around the concept of children not having access to nature and what it is doing to this generation of kids, was breathtaking.  No one said a word until the end when he received a standing ovation.  He was eloquent, smart, witty, and intelligent. 

What I am beginning to see is this holistic coming together of a great many pieces of a pie that includes a vast variety of cycling related possibilities.  The time is right; the people are right; the energy is right. 

I will complete my Summit entries after I return home tomorrow and have more time to process the whole experience from a little bit of distance.

OH - I almost forgot; HubBub was again voted the #1 Bike Shop in the Great Lakes Region by the members of the League of American Bicyclists.  We were also tied with Century Cycles and a shop in Michigan.  We're proud to have been chosen twice in the last three years!  It's quite an honor.

Night all.

 

 

Bike Summit - Day 1

10 March 2009 - early morning

See photos of the Summit

 Waiting at the airport to get on my way to D.C.  Hard to believe that the “summit” starts this afternoon. 

First order of business is to find the Harrington Hotel and then the restaurant where I am meeting one of my best friends for lunch.  We haven’t had a chance to have a sit-down for many years and we are both anticipating the all-too-short time we will have to catch up.

“Orientation” for new Summit attendees begins at 4:15 and then there is a welcoming dinner, etc. etc.   I’m “bunking in” with a couple of other bicycle dealers including Linda Black from College Park Cycles in Maryland. 

The real work begins tomorrow morning.  I haven’t yet chosen the three breakout sessions I want to attend – I’m leaning toward Climate Change Prospects for 2009-Transforming Ideas; The Role of Bicycle Dealers in National and Local Advocacy; and, Bicycle Friendly America – Smart Investments in Businesses, Communities, and States.  Dunno, there are a couple of others that sound very interesting although I’m not sure what direction they are going to take.  Don’t have to choose now and will be meeting up with other Ohio “delegates” to hear what they want for the State.

Will keep you posted as the day progresses.  Have a good morning.

9:46pm ... whew

Just got back from the welcoming dinner and three hours of "speeches".  Actually, it was all interesting.  Dinner was VERY formal in service, but we all were pretty casual in attitude and dress.  I'd estimate 600 in attendance.

Started with an "orientation" meeting.  This was supposed to be for those who have never attended the Summit before, but of course there were some ringers.  The point of this session was to give us an idea of how things work in Washington.  We heard from several factions from BikesPAC (the money/lobbying arm) to Stephanie Vance, an advocacy expert who was about as dynamic as they get.  I learned a lot about what we need to do, and say to "get it done" in the few minutes we will have with each legislator and/or staff member.

We received a package of information in a nylon League of American Bicyclists shoulder bag including a Polar Bottle, a Congressional directory (very cool), a folder filled with information, and the Summit program.  Included in the folder is a booklet - The 2009 Bicycle Friendly America compilation from Bikes Belong.  It immediately gave me pause to wonder "what would it take for NE Ohio to be included in this list for 2010?"  I'm hoping to find out some of that while I'm here.

Friis Arne Petersen, Denmark's Ambassador to the U.S. gave a GREAT presentation about cycling and bicycles in Copenhagen.

So, suffice it to say, my head is full of stuff to ponder and sort out.  Tomorrow's session start bright and early.  I'll be back!

DL

NAHBS - wrap-up

Well, how about THAT?  Local frame builder Dan Polito won Best in Show at NAHBS!  Our hats off to him.  Here is an excerpt from a press release by Paul SKilbeck, PR dude for NAHBS:

Indianapolis -- A crowd of 1728 on the final day of the North
American Handmade Bicycle Show resulted in an total of 6,428
attendees over three days of what many exhibitors described as the
best NAHBS yet.

As in past years, the show culminated with the awards for the best
bicycles at the show. This time for the first time, an awards jury
made all selections but two: President's and People's choices. The
jurors were Dale Brown, Steve Hampsten, Doug Brooks, Mike Barrie, and
James Huang.

...Best of Show

Dan Polito of Cicli Polito credits former frame builder Norm Taylor
with the inspiration for the Jack Taylor tribute bicycle he brought
to the 2009 NAHBS. Polito, who sees making one s own bicycle as the
mark of a true cyclist, honored Taylor, who passed away recently, by
including elements in this particular bicycle of original grass-track
racing bicycles. Laura Long, an associate of Polito s since the shop
opened, pointed out cyclists used to compete on horse fields, which
explains the wider tires.

Here is the full list of winners:

NAHBS - Day 2

After a cold walk over to and back from a cool restaurant (Barcelona tapas) about 6 blocks from the Hyatt Regency last night, we took a ride up the elevator to the 20th floor to The Eagle's Nest, the hotel's rotating restaurant high above downtown Indianapolis for a late night dessert and drink. 

We got up, had a quick breakfast and, after attending the first seminar on our list for today, Drew Guldalian (Engin Cycles') Full Service Bicycle Shops, met up with our new clients from Carmel, Indiana to take measurements and flesh out the last details for their new Calfee tandem.  The seminar was very interesting; Drew explained how he came to the somewhat unique model of combining a full service bike shop with an in-house custom builder.  Gives us pause...

The crowds were HUGE today ensuring that Don Walker, the show's producer and founder will be heartened and willing to once again produce this important show in 2010. 

Included in those crowds were quite a few of our clients from Ohio.  It's so cool that so many drove the 5+ hours to see this show.

We stayed to hear Ben Serotta talk about his journey through the bike business over the past 36 years.  He's one of the lions of our industry and has a lot of creative credits to his time and work in the industry, including many winning frames! 

Then we decided to get on the road and get home.  It was a good choice getting us in by 10pm and giving us a chance for a good night's sleep before diving back into Hubbub tomorrow.

I tried all day to get on line with any of the "free" WiFi connections at the convention center ... haha, no such luck; so, I finally got my photos uploaded today.  I made no comments, but suffice it to say, each has its own story.  The last one, of the venerable Richard Sachs is especially for our friend Joni! Enjoy!

NAHBS - Day One

Whew - LONG day... beginning with a 2-hour drive from Springfield in the rain.  We crossed into Indiana about 9:00 this morning and arrived at the Indianapolis Convention Center about 9:45am. 

It was pretty quiet and registration was, for the first time, a snap!  I was worried that the lack of chaos would bode for a poorly attended show, but the Show Daily stated that over 24,000 tickets had been sold, so I expect we'll see the big crowds tomorrow.

Brian and I spent the first hour walking the show waiting for Richard Schwinn's Fit Seminar for Framebuilders.  Richard and I have known each other for decades and i must say, he did a quite respectable job with his "schtick".  It had a little more "salesmanship" for my taste, but all-in-all he was able to convey the basic elements for a new framebuilder who is tentative about fitting.

Brian and I took a break to grab some lunch and get our stuff out of the car, including the camera.  We're sort of still rooting around for the SD card though, so I won't upload our photos until tomorrow.  There are PLENTY of photos already on line though at the NAHBS gallery.

We attended another technical session with Keith Noronha from Reynolds in England about strength vs. stiffness of materials.  I didn't learn a lot of new stuff, and there was a lot of technical information that was really "engineering quality", but I did have much reinforced as I did with Richard's Fit Seminar.  Then, I stayed put for a seminar on decals and learned way more than I thought I'd ever want to know about them! (Or at least about their application!)

Brian wanted to go to Don Walker's track frame seminar and I decided to spend the hour walking the show and catching up with old friends, looking at bikes, and checking out any interesting ideas.

The first people I sought out were our friends, the Bilenky's, from Philadelphia.  We had travelled with them from Chicago to Portland last year and it was great to catch up with them again today. 

I stopped into the Brooks booth and saw the the (1911?) "Imperial" style saddles with the cutout in the middle.  Seems that Brooks had done this almost 100 years ago and when they introduced it again, a flurry of letters threatening them with "patent infringement" were quickly quashed when the original designs were hauled out of the vault and presented to the "offended parties".  So much for modern day ideas!  (Nothing new under the sun?)  The B-17, one of the 3 models with the Imperial cut-out, will come with several color laces for personal "styling". 

I'll get a continutation of this done tomorrow.  It's off for a nightcap and some sleep.

 

NAHBS - on the road

We left the shop on time - well almost on time - only to find that I'd forgotten the camera on my desk.  So, we got home, packed, and headed back to HubBub to pick up the camera and THEN got on the road.  It's a bit warmer in southern Ohio, but the weather is expected to take a turn for the worse over the next couple of days.  It rained off and on all the way down here.

We're at a Hampton Inn in Springfield, Ohio with a little under two hours to go to get to Indianapolis for the opening of the trade day for NAHBS tomorrow morning.  Brian has a list of the seminars he wants to attend - I'm attending 3 over the next couple of days; he has at least double that on his list.

I'm excited to see some of our friends from last year; especially the crew from Bilenky Cycles!

We know that at least a handful of our customers will be attending on Saturday, the first "consumer day" of the show.  We're pleased that the show is in close enough proximity to Hubbub to be able to drive.  We really liked the train ride last year out to Portland, but the shop is getting pretty busy and taking only 3 days is going to be a much better choice this year.

Time to get some rest and we'll check in with you tomorrow.  Bibi

Yoga Angels Video

Here is the video that WKYC-Channel 3 filmed when producer Susan Moses came out to our studio to talk about our Yoga Angel program.

Enjoy!

Recession?

Don't know why I decided to check out what Bicycling Magazine was touting on line, but I did.  At the bottom right hand corner of the home page was a small survey asking how the recession was affecting cycling habits - riding more or less, buying more or less - etc.

46% of the respondents (which amounted to 556 in number) said that the recession wasn't changing their cycling habits at all. 

Now I know that people are losing jobs, that many have lost a considerable amount of their savings and/or investments, and may even be in full blown panic mode.  However, I also think that a lot of the issues may be self-fulfilling prophecies; many of which have been not only overblown but perhaps instigated by the media.

I have a quote on the home page of our web site by Sir David Tang.  He is an entrepreneur who believes, as I do, that optimism may be our best way out of pessimism (too simple?)  You can read his entire article from the BBC - "pessimism is the most serious cause for the global economic tsunami."

Thoughts are energy - good thoughts produce good energy.  And, if you believe that everything is connected, the more good thoughts that are generated, the more good energy is produced.  It's pretty simple really.  It's a shift in attitude - hold good thoughts, think good thoughts, and believe that everything is going to be okay.

I'm not talking pie-in-the-sky here.  Nothing happens overnight; however, when a major shift occurs, as the economic markets showed, stuff happens and quickly.  So, why not stop the pendulum in it's path and swing it back the other way?

It's worth a try.

The Pre-Summit Pre-paration

February 13th - FRIDAY the 13th!

  About 4am this morning, I decided that I would begin the "countdown" to the Bike Summit next month with a preliminary rambling.

The past few days have seen a flurry of activity on the NBDA on line list (National Bicycle Dealer's Association)about everything from where we're all staying (many of us at The Harrington Hotel in DC) and where the "big" dealer dinner will be held (Finemondo) to that special someone who graciously is putting together the cell phone roster for those of us who regularly contribute to the list and will be in DC for the Summit.

I don't know squat about what is going to happen; but, there is a "webinar" that will take place on the 26th to get the "newbies" like me up to speed.  I just have to remember to log on!

I represent the industry, the district, and of course my clientele and I'm wondering how all of them will be best served by my presence - both what I will get out of the Summit and what I can contribute to it.

This may come as a surprise to some, but I am also looking at what opportunities might arise as I begin to consider pulling back from the retail sector.  Retirement is out there on the horizon, although admittedly a few years away; still, time seems to slip by pretty quickly and after 35 years in the business, it's time to consider what's next.

Dipping my toes into the advocacy and legislative side of cycling sounds interesting and might be rewarding for me now.  I like to think that I have enough experience and perspective to offer some insight and ideas.  We'll see.  I have ancient and not so nice memories of working very hard on past local campaigns only to see the seedier side and feel the sharp sting of "dirty play"politics ... it is only now, many, many years later that I was willing to get involved, if only peripherally, in this past Presidential campaign.

My hope is to convey to you all the essence of the Summit, the direction that the Capitol Hill folks are looking, and the feelings and thoughts of the industry people who will be contributing to this event.

Cycling in the National Parks

Take Action to Increase Opportunities for Bicycling in National Parks

How many years have cyclists been trying to get the Park Systems to give us access to trails for mountain biking?  And, while most of you know that I'm a diehard roadie, I still believe that equal access is important and fair.

Here is an opportunity for you to comment - make your voice heard!

IMBA is making letters that you can customize and giving you addresses to which you can add your comments.  Go to this page on IMBA's site to get the information.

Also remember that the Bike Summit is coming up in a few weeks.  You can follow the progress here as well as on the League of American Bicyclist's site.