The Official Photo

Our replica Western Flyer in front of the Minneapolis Institute of Arts.  Garnette Kuznia, daughter-in-law extraordinaire who works in MIA marketing, tells us this has now become the official image for promotion of all upcoming MIA Bike Nights.

Special Olympics 2010 Race Day

7 am Thursday -- Race Day!  The truck is on-site and unloaded.  Schuyler is unloading the truck while three of us hustle the bikes to the corral.

The mechanics' tent had to be weighted to keep it from blowing away -- thank goodness those six jugs of kitty litter are heavy enough!!
 
It didn't take long for the athletes to arrive and the wrenching to begin.  Five of the best bike mechanics in Iowa -- read that the best anywhere -- worked nonstop for hours to check over and make every athlete's bike race-ready.  Special Olympics is either a bike mechanic's dream OR a nightmare -- absolutely every imaginable sort of equipment is used.  This year we worked on old garage bikes, new chain-store models,some very nice name-brand rides,  two-and three-wheeled stocks and modifieds, and unique custom-built recumbent singles and tandems from some of the best framebuilders in the business. 

Sometimes the line for bike checks was long, but everybody was patient and all the  bikes got checked over.

Leanne Lauber of Bike World pumped tires ... and pumped and pumped and PUMPED them.  Leanne is a wonder.  She made sure tire pressures were correct, made sure the bikes go to the proper mechanics and babysat Tom's little boy.

Tom  (left) and James (below), mechanics from Bike World, put in a whole days' work by noon.  They inspected all of the bikes, making adjustments and repairs as necessary.  The bikes cannot be on the course until these guys certify them as safe. They were later joined by Steve Lauber (not pictured) who hurried over from an earlier appointment.

Sometimes it takes TWO heads to fix ONE bike.  Ronn Ritz (Skunk River Cycles) and  Craig  go to work on a problem.  Craig holds the bike while Ronn untangles a stuck chain.  We each work according to our talents.

At the starting line, volunteers check each rider for helmet and gloves, and wish each a good race.  The volunteers are vital to helping the athletes get fitted up and to the starting point.

The best thing about Special Olympics is that everybody is a winner.  A year of anticipation  and planning makes just being there a special event, and showing off a shiny new medal makes the day even more special.  Parents, coaches, friends and volunteers all work together to ensure that each athlete has a fun, positive experience and that at the Games he or she really is a star performer. The smiles on the faces of proud medal winners makes it clear to everybody involved:  the Olympic spirit is alive and well at these games, too.

Ride of Silence

The 2010 Ride of Silence was held around the world on Wednesday, May 19th.  This is a group ride to commemorate those cyclists who have been killed or injured while riding their bikes legally on the streets and highways.  It is a visible reminder to motorists that we are also sharing the roadways.

In Ames, we met behind Skunk River Cycles and pedaled from downtown to Duff Avenue, then to 24th Street to Stange Rd onto Pammel/6th St and back downtown.  Cyclists travel no faster than 10 mph with lights on.  There is no talking.  Ames police provided front and rear protection.

Special Olympics 2010

Special Olympics Iowa will hold bicycle races Thursday, May 20th.  Diane and I have been working the past three days getting the 42 "pool" bikes ready.  These bikes are owned by Special Olympics Iowa and are used by Olympians who don't have bikes of their own, or those whose bikes couldn't pass the safety inspection.

Ronn Ritz of Skunk River Cycles and Leanne & Steve Lauber from Bike World Ames will be helping Diane and me with bike inspections and adjustments for equipment brought in by participants.   We will be busy from 8:00 am until about 2:00 pm.

In addition to "regular" bikes, there will be recumbents, tandems, tandem recumbents and three wheelers, both stock and modified.

 First load is on the truck ready to go over.

Movie Star

One of our 1953 Western Flyer reproduction bicycles was used in a promotion for the Minneapolis Institute of Arts.  It was on display at the MIA and its picture was used on posters and brochures.

Brainchild of daughter-in-law Garnette Kuznia, the 2009 Bike Night encouraged people to ride bikes to the Museum for an evening open house.  It was a tremendous success,  creating increased exposure for the MIA, and resulting in several new younger members joining.

This bike was originally purchased to advertise for our bike shop and was a window display personality.

Pedal Pub

Diane and I took a walk with Andy and Garnette through their Minneapolis neighborhood, Saturday evening. We heard a lot of laughter and shouting down the street and watched this Pedal Pub coming toward us. 

It has a small bar in front of the the "patrons" and was moving slowly down the street with ten people (of the fourteen) pedaling.  It has headlights and taillights and a slow moving vehicle sign and was traveling about 5 miles per hour.  The designated driver is sitting inside right behind the keg.

No sitting around in a dark bar for these folks.  They can enjoy a brew,  see the scenery and get exercise too.
Per Andy: "The pub actually goes from bar to bar. People bring their drinks on the pedal pub with them, ride to the next bar, and so forth. I want to ride along and interview some of the drivers of these things."

Schuyler found the link to the Pedal Pub website:
http://www.pedalpub.com/

BRM's Bike Garage Sale a big success!

     At least twenty (we aren't sure exactly how many we sold) bikes have been saved from unhappy futures in the Boone County Landfill after Saturday's highly successful Bike Garage Sale.  With everything from little kids two-wheelers and bigger-size BMX-ers to adult road, mountain ,and  "comfotr" bikes and several we could only describe as "collectable" or "fixer-uppers", shoppers had plenty to choose from.
      The 70s-vintage Gitane road bike found a new owner who was looking for a summer project, and he seemed excited at the prospect of bringing it back to riding condition.  A great old Kabuki Submariner Mixte -- with virtually every part original -- is going to Montana with an ISU grad student.  I was pleased to find a buyer for my old Trek 830 -- the very first of the made-in-Wisconsin Trek mountain bikes. Sure wish we could have sold Diane's matching one, but it's hard to find somebody who needs a bike that small.

  Browsers looked over the goods -- and took 'em home.  Our favorite customer had to be the guy who showed up on his well-used Schwinn towing a homemade trailer and left with a bunch of tires, tubes, a rack, the old Blackburn repair stand and a heap o' parts from the "Free" box.  How he got it all on that trailer I still don't know, but he used a bunch of bungee cords and pedaled off with the repair stand splayed on top of the pile and everything holding tight -- at least as far as the corner.

     One bike I had hoped would sell quickly didn't get even a nibble: the mint-condition Panasonic 3-speed (circa 1985).  This beauty has it all -- including a unique 3-speed/coaster brake internal hub, a  Pletcher rack to carry stuff on, and there isn't a scratch on it.  As a matter of fact, NONE of the 3-speeds (also 2 vintage English Robin Hoods and a 70s-era Raleigh with a tall men's frame) got much attention, and we still have them all.  (3-speed fans, are you listening???)
     We did sell the "frankenbike" -- our next-door neighbor's full-suspension, Rolling Rock Green Light promo bike.  It went to some grandparents looking for a bike their grandkids could ride when they came for visits, and this one sure fills the bill.  Grandpa will earn a lot of "cool" points with that one.  Diane managed to sell both the Trek 620 roadie and the near-perfect Batavus Mixte Tourist, and we cleared out a bunch of car carriers, rear racks, lights, computers and rubber...not to mention that TriCo Sports hardshell bike travel case that's been hogging storage space for way too long.  Our local cycling coach bought it and has a promising Junior who will be racing in Europe this summer lined up to use it.
     We still have some bikes left.  Besides the 3-speeds there are a couple of girls 20-inchers, two small mountain bikes (the Trek 830 and a 15" Giant Iguana that's in great shape), as well as a nice 18" Ross mountain bike. Contact us if you're interested in any of these.