HubBub Custom Bicycles

Mea Culpa ... or, the media blows it again

So, I hereby apologize to Mr. Latourette for being SO upset at his remarks in the Appropriations Subcommittee on Transportation, Housing and Urban Development back on March 17th.  Seems that the Courthouse News Service mis-reported SOME of what the Congressman said - but not all! 

I have had no less than 5 different people send me the transcript of the session and, while Mr. LaTourette does in fact agree that cycling is a viable form of transportation, he still says some pretty nasty things about Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood.  The Congressman also did not seem to understand that the cycling "lobby" - using the term very loosely as I define a lobby as being big bucks, which we certainly do not have - wasn't asking for 1/2 of the transportation dollars at all. 

As a result of this brouhaha though, I think we have brought cycling to the fore on many fronts and I have at least two separate conversations scheduled - one with Kate Ostrandoer, with whom I met in D.C., and the other with Dino DiSanto, Mr. LaTourette's new chief-of-staff here in the Painseville office.

I didn't think advocacy would be so frought with controversy or the huge stumbling blocks; I guess I was somewhere on another planet.  Ohio will pass a Complete Streets Bill soon and THAT is what we are trying to encourage Congressman LaTourette to support in Washington as well. 

I will keep you posted. 

Bike Summit - LaTourette - Lance ... what do they have in common?

I told you I was going to write a great blog about my experience at the National Bike Summit,and really I was.  Then a couple of things happened today that made me look at why I got involved and, more importantly, should I stay involved?  I don’t know.

Okay, I spent four days, some really heartfelt time, and a rather sizeable sum of money to travel to Washington, DC and talk with our legislators (or their aides) about bicycling and pedestrian initiatives that I think are important, inexpensive (in comparison to a helluva lot of other transportation, environment, and health programs,) and relevant.  These are issues that can improve the health of the American people, get kids outside and away from their video games (and perhaps help prevent obesity and childhood onset of diabetes as well as a host of other nasty diseases), and give our environment a break.

Here is what happened:

I had a great meeting with Rep. Kucinich’s chief of staff, Vic Edgerton, who began our conversation with “are you preaching to the choir?”  He was interested, interesting, and doesn’t own a car.  He gets it.

I had an okay meeting with a representative of Senator Voinovich’s office, but we all know he is about to retire.  Okay, I get it.

My meeting with Representative Marcia Fudge’s staff people was actually pretty good. Her office was very busy but she is especially interested in issues relating to childhood obesity and diabetes and was very open to our programs as they relate to health and the environment. She gets it.

And then there was Representative Steven LaTourette's office.  Since our shop is in his district, (Ohio’s 14^th Congressional district) I was especially interested in opening the dialog and getting him on board with some of our most pressing issues.  His aide, Kate Ostrander, sat with me and the others who joined from the Ohio Delegation, and point-by-point we went through our agenda.  At NO TIME did she say that he couldn’t or wouldn’t support any of it; at NO TIME did she give any indication that he couldn’t wrap his mind around what we were saying.  In fact, we left his office with check marks in the column that said, “Most likely will support” on almost every issue.  I was feeling pretty good!  I thought she got it.

I was feeling so good about our meeting that just yesterday, I wrote a follow up letter to the Congressman’s Painseville District offices letting him know that I’m available to offer my years of expertise in cycling related issues and reminding him that we are a local business with employees and sell expensive bicycles - in his district!

Today - the proverbial shit hit the fan.  Seems that Mr. LaTourette stood up Wednesday at a meeting of the Appropriations Subcommittee on Transportation, Housing and Urban Development and ridiculed Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood - even accusing him of “being on drugs” - for supporting bicycling and walking initiatives.  Here is a link to the Courthouse News article that explains exactly what he said.

He actually dismissed the very idea of bike lanes and derided any change from a car-dependent society. He suggested that environmental sustainability projects have "stolen" $300 million from other programs and attacked LaHood's encouragement of bicycling.  He was supported by Iowa congressman Tom Latham, who said that one biker is one less person paying into the transportation trust fund and said real transportation needs are being "swept aside."

At the same time that all this was happening in Washington, sportscaster Tony Kornheiser begins a rant against cyclists on his ESPN radio talk show.  He suggests that you just “tap” a cyclist to get one out of your way.  WHAT??

Kornheiser said "I don't take my car and ride on the sidewalk because I understand that's not for my car. Why do these people think that these roads were built for bicycles? They don't share the road. They dominate the road.”

 Mr. Kornheiser’s anti-cycling remarks quickly came to the attention of the 2.5 million people who follow Lance Armstrong’s Twitter feed and that resulted in an “apology” from Kornheiser and a 16-minute interview with Lance - who is currently training in France, by the way. (Listen to the podcast- scroll down to March 19^th) 

Will any of this make a difference?  Is it still "polotics as usual"?  I don't know... so, here's my bottom line: GET INVOLVED!   If you live in the 14^th Congressional District - call the offices and let them know in no uncertain terms that you are a taxpayer, a cyclist, an environmentalist, and don’t appreciate your elected officials making statements that insult and denigrate other officials who don’t agree with them. 

You can find your representative’s phone numbers, web site, email addresses, etc. at the League of American Bicyclists’ web site advocacy center.  All you have to do is typ ein your zip code.  YOu can learn a lot about what your representatives "say" they want to do and then, you can find out on their voting records, what it is they really do...

Some of us from the Ohio Delegation are thinking of organizing a bike ride to LaTourette’s District office to have a “chat” about cycling initiatives while he is home on break.  Let me knowif you are interested in becoming involved in this.

So, that’s my story - I’m sticking to it.  I hope the bad taste in my mouth will go away with a bit of wine tonight!  Thanks for reading.  Comments welcome.

Maybe this gets us closer to the explanation...

Over the past 13 years - HubBub will officially turn 13 in exactly 11 days - we have tried innumerable ways to explain what we do in simple, easy-to-comprehend terms.  Yet, every time someone comes in and we go through the explanation of our process - from fitting and lengthy comprehensive conversations to watching that elated look that spreads across the face when foot engages pedal for the first time - we once again realize that it can't really be described - it needs to be experienced... and that takes a pretty big leap of faith.

The "essence" of what we do is to create a machine that matches the personality and desires of the rider.  Unfortunately, what often happens seems to be the uncontrollable need to pigeon-hole or categorize the experience by describing what the machine was designed to do instead. 

For example, in today's Plain Dealer, Cleveland's only remaining daily newspaper, there is a terrific piece on one of our customers, Stewart Kohl.  Stewart has been an avid cyclist for many years and rides a lovely bike we designed for him 3 seasons ago.  But, it is Stewart's to-the-point comments about his bikes in the article that gave both Brian and me pause as we realized that very few people would use the word "touring bike" as Stewart did:

"My primary bikes are my Seven Cycles brand touring bike and a tandem made by Co-Motion Cycles for when I can cajole my wife, Donna, into joining me. I bought each from HubBub Custom Bicycles in Chesterland, where the proprietors, Diane Lees and Brian Jenks, provide extraordinary care in fitting and service."

When most people think about our Seven Cycles brand of frames, rarely do they add the word "touring" to the description.  Unfortunately, "touring" today most often has a connotation very different from what we and, obviously Stewart, think about when describing his bike.  But, what Stewart meant was "touring" in the classic sense.

If you were to ask 90% of those who ride what they might think of when you say the words "touring bicycle" the explanation might go something like this: a bicycle fitted with racks and bags that is meant to go long distances, often self supported.* 

Yet, Stewart's Seven ID-8 (today, that model is called an Elium SL) has neither a rack or panniers! In fact, his bike is built for speed, comfort, performance, and distance. He rides his bike 50-100 miles at a time specifically for the pleasure of getting out there to ride and without a particular destination in mind.  To us, THAT is touring also. 

So, once again we happily leave the explanation to those who have experienced what it means to have a custom bicycle built for them by us.  And we are thankful for their enthusiasm and support. 

LOST needs to get LOST

I don't do political commentary, but this was just too much for my pea-brain today.  I wonder sometimes why I bother reading headlines, or for that matter any news at all...  Today, however the following headline caught my attention:

From the Silicon Valley Mercury-Sun:

   "A shaken nation is soothed; 'Lost' won't be pre-empted"

Are you kidding me????  Millions of people are more concerned with the first episode of the final season of a show that, IMAO,"lost" its charm and interest somewhere in the 2nd season than with the state-of-the-union; which might, by the way, actually affect their lives???

It's such a so-what in the first place and will run in endless, boring reruns for ever!  

I keep noticing how televsion shows either predict what's going to happen, mirror what is happening, or even more frightening, are catalysts to making things happen.  What have our lives become, really?

I like a good suspense show as much as the  next person (maybe) but to think that my life might somehow be "less fulfilled" because a season premiere might have to be postponed is just beyond my comprehension.

<SIGH>  I think I'll go back to my own little micro-world.
 

Now THIS is Obnoxious!

Every couple of years, there is some major campaign to knock cyclists off their bikes.  This year it is a FaceBook page.  I am asking that EVERYONE go to the "report this link" at the bottom of the page and report it to FB as both inappropriate and an invitation to incite violence, which is, by the way, illegal.

What is even more unbelievable to me is the sheer number of people who have agreed with the premise that it is okay to knock a cyclist off the road.

Enough said!

What Kind of a Sport IS Bicycling Anyway?

The news is that the Tour de Georgia has been postponed until 2011.  Among the on line group of bicycle dealers, there is some disappointment as well as discussion as to how these events impact our businesses.

Bicycling is a uniquely strange sport - or, more correctly, assemblage of sports.  From road, stage, criterium, track, and multi-sport racing to self-supported, guided, cross-state, multi-day, or one-day events, you can't exactly put your finger on what bicycling is really.

Then there is the transportation aspect, the messenger, the fixie craze, and of course, the place it starts for just about everyone - childhood and the first 2-wheeler. 

Given the state of the economy, it is not a surprise that this year's Tour de Georgia is being "postponed".  However, in my experience, these things rarely come back once pushed to a subsequent time.  Georgia will feel an economic impact from the race's demise, I'm sure; but, it won't in all probability mean much to the sport of bicycling in the U.S. in general.

As a bike shop owner who has run the gamut - offering at one time or another everything from a tricycle to what we do now - fully, only, and always custom - it is still baffling to figure out where bicycling fits in the American psyche.

Some classify the bicycle as a toy; others say it’s a sporting good, and still others include it in the transportation category.  No one is wrong really.  But, stand in our shoes for a minute and try to figure out marketing, merchandising, advertising, and even selling strategies that keep pace with ever shifting reasons people might buy a bicycle.

Admittedly, our business model looks a bit easier from a marketing standpoint; yet, we too are plagued with the vagaries of a consumer who has a lot of information and yet often little real knowledge. 

Bottom line though, cycling runs in - (sorry for this) cycles - and as far as the economic impact goes, seems it follows a similar path to the economy in general.

 

Touring Machines Extraordinaire!

Every bike we fit, design, and build is a magnificent masterpiece (in our not-so-humble opinions); but, every once in a while, a project comes along that allows us to take everything we know and create something extraordinarily special.

Tuesday, we completed a pair of such bikes.  The couple, Wayne and Dianne, are from Virginia (though they live in Florida in the winter) and ride 4-6,000 miles per year.  Wayne found us through the article I wrote in Adventure Cyclist in 2008 and decided to order a pair of wheels.  He also promised that they would come up and get a pair of custom touring bikes.

True to his word, he and Dianne came up in July for their fittings.  They rode the Cumberland Trail from Maryland up to Pittsburgh, picked up a new truck, and came on over to HubBub for a day of fittings and discussion.

Wayne and Dianne then took off for their 200+ mile walk in the British Isles.  They complete one of these walks every other year.

I know Brian will be writing a technical version of the fit, design, and build of these bikes; but, I wanted to let you know about what's going to happen with these bikes.

Wayne and Dianne rode the Adventure Cycling Transamerica Tour from east to west in 2008.  Finishing in Astoria, Or., they picked up a new truck and during the drive home had a horiffic accident.  The truck and the bikes were totalled.  Dianne was severly injured; Wayne not so much.  A week later, Dianne walked out of the hospital to a plane and they flew home to rehab. 

Tuesday, they let us in on their 2010 plans: Ride the new machines in Florida for the next few months - expecting to put between 2-4,000 miles on them.  Shake out the bikes with panniers fully loaded perhaps riding back to their home in Virginia from wintering in Florida in preparation for their two-month, self-supported ride in Europe next summer.

What is SO gratifying is that these bikes will be RIDDEN - thousands of miles every year. 

Happy Holidays from HubBub & Daily Yoga

There are only 12 days til Christmas, 13 days 'til Kwanza, and we are in the midst of Hannukah.  Whatever you celebrate (or not) we hope you have a happy and safe holiday season.

It's time to wrap up 2009 and look forward to 2010. 

While we would not characterize 2009 as our most "robust" year, we are grateful to still be here and still building beautiful bikes.  In fact, Brian has a pair of touring masterpieces on the workstands destined for a couple from Virginia this week.  Watch for a pictorial of them on our web site soon. (www.hubbub.com - as if you didn't know!)

2009 saw our sales to women approach 50% for the first time ever,(and the year isn't over yet!). That number has been a personal goal of mine for a LONG time.

We had some wonderful in-house presentations with Paul Bacho and his Paris to Bejing trip as well as Dick & Betsy Jones once again commentating on a magnificent tandem adventure.  Our 4th annual PVG Ride was lovely.  This year we offered custom jerseys and our two sponsoring vineyards gave a 6-bottle tote bag to the riders.  Our 2nd annual Food Bank Fundraiser, while not breaking our 2008 record, did well, approaching $2,000 in dollars and several hundred pounds of food (to be weighed this coming week as more is coming in daily.)

The Seven Tech Weekend in February was both interesting and different from our Demo Days.  Joe Wignall, our inside guy at Seven made an interesting observation about HubBub and our customers saying that it was obvious OUR customers actually ride their bikes!  (Which begs the question, what do other Seven dealer's customers do...?)

Brian and I rode fewer tandem miles this year, although we did manage to ride 66.1 miles at the Hancock Hundred, our longest single ride together since we rode RAGBRAI in 1999!  Brian, on the other hand, rode TWO 125 mile "brevets" - one by himself and one with his friend Chris.  Is PBP in his future?  I hope so - Paris in 2011?  I'm there! 

One of the most exciting and rewarding things to happen for us is our dog, Cassie.  She is just a joy!  A current photo of her is on our home page www.hubbub.com and we will update our HubBub animals page periodically as we take more photos of her.

We seem to have a lot of HubBub fans we don't even know - which is so COOL!  If you haven't "become a fan of HubBub" on our Facebook page, how about doing that today? http://www.facebook.com/home.php#/pages/Chesterland-OH/HubBub-Custom-Bicycles/73580755869?ref=ts

On a different and sort of sadder note, we closed High Peaks Coffee, which was emotionally difficult for me; yet, we've sold more pounds of coffee per week since we closed than we did while were open!  (Yes, our coffee beans ARE still available ... and there's till time to order for the Holidays.)  We've turned the coffee shop into a "lounge area" for the bike shop and yoga studio and are enjoying the peace and quiet.  It's still in the restoration phase, but we hope it will be welcoming to you when you visit.

Our yoga studio is doing well and I am thoroughly enjoying the amazing changes and breakthroughs I see every class.  I am very honored to be able to teach so many magnificent people.

So, what's in the offing for 2010?  First and foremost - new signs for the treelawn, including a yoga studio sign for the first time.  The sign above the shop door will be more readable and much more simple. All the signs should be in place before the end of this year.

We hope to be building more beautiful custom bicycles of course. We are in the process of lining up our in-house presentations over the next few weeks.  PVG is scheduled for October 1-3, 2010. 

We want to expand our web site and hope to have a new and somewhat innovative gallery and testimonials section by early 1st quarter of 2010. 

Most importantly, we are grateful for your friendship, loyalty, patronage, and interest in us and our work.  HubBub is not just a business as many of you know; it is an expression of who we are.  We take our work seriously, even if we are often joking with you.  It means a lot ot us that people respect us and appreciate our efforts.  Nothing is more gratifying to us than to see the look of excitement and joy when someone touches his or her new bike for the first time. The mileage we see people accumulating on their bikes is testament that the job we do is a success and, frankly it doesn't get better than that!

From my yoga perspective, I'd like to ask that all of you take a moment to pause and send your good will to those in need this holiday season. Have a happy, peaceful holiday.  Stay safe. 

Best wishes to everyone!  Happy New Year!

Brian and Diane (and Cassie, of course!)
HubBub Custom Bicycles

Everybody's Doing It

or teaching it or writing about it... Yoga, that is.  And there is something both good and bad about that. 

I think that the practice of yoga is the practice of living - not just an exercise class one goes to once a week.  It is about breathing and eating, sleeping and bathing, exercise and introspection.  It is about LIVING fully. 

THE GOOD

The good is that yoga is becoming more mainstream.  It isn't considered as weird and off-the-wall as it once was.  Much of its acceptance among those who would never have practiced it a decade ago is the "star quality" that it now seems to garner.  When Ali McGraw and Erich Schiffmann made their video "Yoga - Mind & Body" in 1994, it played to a very small audience indeed. 

Today, there is a plethora of stars - men and women - who start or end their days with their asana practice and meditation and no one makes fun of them; rather, these yogis and yoginis are emulated - sometimes right down to their expensive yoga pants and tops.  People are no longer afraid to try a yoga class or sit and meditate; especially when they see their favorite movie or television star doing it.

There are magazines devoted to yoga and its practices and there are yoga teachers who themselves are "headliners", appearing on the covers of fashion magazines and in television ads.

It is also somewhat likely today that health care professionals will recommend yoga, citing its calming effects and encouraging the gentle stretching that can help the body heal itself after illness or surgery.

There are even the "approved" medical programs such as the Cleveland Clinic Sunrise Yoga program - free to any Cleveland Clinic employee - bringing yoga and its benefits to those who work in a medical setting; which, in turn might rub off onto patient interaction and care.

Most of the local yoga studios have well trained teachers and many have teachers who have been teaching for decades.  Almost all of us are committed to the rigors of ongoing education and practice, giving students the benefit of a variety of teachers, styles, and experiences.

This is all good - truly.  And it feels good to be in the right place at the right time doing something I really love to do.

And then there is the "but"....

THE BAD

I see all kinds of books and videos that say things like "yoga for cyclists" and "yoga for triathletes" and "yoga for swimmers" and "yoga for runners" and "yogilates" (allegedly a combination of yoga AND Pilates) and I wonder what the hell they are talking about! 

Now I am NOT saying there are not a variety of forms of yoga that have a great deal of merit.  But for some reason, Americans are so bent on being individuals and expressing that individuality in a wide range of ways, that the marketing geniuses figured we needed dozens of "yogas" to suit all these different individualities. And so, we have conjured up all kinds of variations on a theme when in fact, yoga at its essence is simple and thorough without being difficult or painful.

Yoga teachers are being turned out at an amazing rate; yoga training programs are popping up all over the place.  Since I was certified to teach in December, 2002, at least 6 more programs have cropped up in NE Ohio.  And, the number of studios that have opened is mind boggling. 

This explosion of yoga "styles" and new teachers has also spawned a lot of negative issues such as mis-behaving yoga teachers and injured students.  I can't tell you the number of people who have said to me that they won't go back to a yoga class because they were injured!  And, while it is true that a certain type of competitive student - the one who wants to "do it right" or "do it better than the next person" rather than working from a safe and mindful place - is often the one who ends up injured, yoga should heal - not hurt!  

SO WHAT'S THE ANSWER?

I think that teaching yoga is a privilege and carries with it a resonsibility to a core yogic principle - do no harm (ahimsa).  

I am always saddened when a student gives up on yoga because of a teacher or style; and, I am not hurt when a student leaves my practice upon finding a more compatible one with another teacher. I hope that I have conveyed the essence of yoga so that the student still wants to practice. 

It is my opinion that yoga is good for everyone - man, woman, big, small, heavy, light, old, young, athlete, or couch potato. It isn't just the physical postures, but the mental, emotional, and spiritual practice that, conveyed with sincerity and understanding, will keep a student engaged.  Yoga well taught makes you feel calm and peaceful, quiet and whole. It doesn't need to be pigeon-holed into yoga for this or yoga for that.

So, the answer is - yes for yoga.  After all, everybody is doing it!

Never Seem to Get It All DONE

I was really going to put up more about Interbike - honest!  Then the PVG Tour weekend came along and I just had to tie up all the loose ends before the ride - which was great, BTW.

We had cool temps, threatening (but never materializing) rain, a full moon, a fabulous sunrise, and even a rainbow during the weekend.  Neither Brian nor I felt "ready" on Friday, but somehow it all seemed to fall into place and everything worked out well.  Well, the person who plowed into a telephone pole on Sunday morning sometime around 2am and knocked out the power to the hotel, didn't do us any favors.  We got up late, had no hot water for showers, and the breakfast was limited.  BUT, no one seemed all that upset.  There are lots of photos and even a rider's blog if you want to see and know more about the event.

So, while we were in Ashtabula County over the weekend, the coffee shop went dark!  And, I don't mean a dark blend either.  The Saturday barista slept through the entire morning and on into the afternoon, never opening the store at all.  It was the final straw in a series of obnoxious events and on Sunday, we turned out the lights for the last time under our management. 

The coffee shop may open under new management in the near future, but I don't know that for certain at this time. We are still going to be offering our High Peaks Coffee blends including: medium, dark, decaf, espresso, and HubBub Anniversary.  We will be happy to special order any of the other beans that we sold.  I will be updating our on line store to include them in the next day or so.  At least now I will have more time to focus on HubBub and Daily Yoga. 

Oooops - gotta' run for now.  (NEVER seem to get it done.)

Bibi