Yeah so Georgia Gould took the win, but the cool thing is Goose Creek Cycle Rider Caitlyn Swinford got her picture taken with her...
Monday, October 27, 2008
Thursday, October 9, 2008
The Tubeless revolution continues
Those of you who know me or have visited our shop know that every time I sell a tube, it is with a heavy heart. I discovered Stan's tubeless system a few years back after a 24 hour race in which I had 6 flats. Even in 24 hours, fixing that many flats costs a significant amount of time. So within a week of that race I had my first Stan's tubeless system mounted on my bike. Since then I have had only one flat in a race, and that includes numerous 24 hours solo bids, and local cross country races. So whats new?
Stan has been busy over the last few years. With the way paved by Hutchinson and Shimano with the developement of road tubeless systems, Stan jumped in with rim strips that will allow you to convert any road rim to tubless (sorry you have to use the Hutchinson tubless tire). Also in stores now is the cyclocross version and a cyclocross version of Stans "Raven" tire which is specifically designed for lower pressure riding.
So it looks like, from now on there is really no need to buy tubes ever. So whatever your reason for hating tubes (don't like flats, sick of paying for them, don't like to buy stuff from China, not hip enough, boring, the term pinch flat, etc) It looks like you can leave that in the past.
Below is some other suggested reading:
Original stans review - Includes tips
Pricing
Both of these products are now in store for us, but are not up on our website due to the impending website conversion. Feel free to call in your order.
Stan has been busy over the last few years. With the way paved by Hutchinson and Shimano with the developement of road tubeless systems, Stan jumped in with rim strips that will allow you to convert any road rim to tubless (sorry you have to use the Hutchinson tubless tire). Also in stores now is the cyclocross version and a cyclocross version of Stans "Raven" tire which is specifically designed for lower pressure riding.
So it looks like, from now on there is really no need to buy tubes ever. So whatever your reason for hating tubes (don't like flats, sick of paying for them, don't like to buy stuff from China, not hip enough, boring, the term pinch flat, etc) It looks like you can leave that in the past.
Below is some other suggested reading:
Original stans review - Includes tips
Pricing
Both of these products are now in store for us, but are not up on our website due to the impending website conversion. Feel free to call in your order.
Sunday, October 5, 2008
Offroad Catagories Changed for 2009
According to VeloNews, there will be a change in the ranking system for mountain bikers in the 2009 season. The move makes the off road catagorise look a lot more like the Road catagories and is designed to enlarge the pro field. How will this affect you?
If you are a Beginner you are now a Cat3
Sport-------> Cat 2
Expert -----> Cat 1
Semi-Pro-----> Your choice Cat 1 or Pro
Pro ------------>Pro
Why they felt the need to rename the catagories is beyond me, but basically they just eliminated the Semi-Pro Field. Leaving Semi-pros the option to go big or go home.
Their gamble is that more of the Semi-Pros will suck it up ang go pro rather than take the perceived drop in catagorization. At first this will probably be true, but I predict that people are a lot more cautious about jumping out of the Cat 1 class that they were in the old system. I hope I am wrong here, but what it will take to really get the move upward started is to ensure strong (numberwise) Pro fields at local races. Riders will want to have some feel that they can ride at a pro level at all of their races and not be strictly limited to traveling to big national events to get enought pros together to have the race be worth while on a pro level.
As it is now I have seen local races where only one pro shows up and only needs to turn the laps to win. There is not fun in that and it is not worth anyones time. With the semi-pro ranking at least there was the feeling that you could race the pros if they showed up and race in with the experts without feeling too much like a schmuck if that was the only competition you had. We will see what happens. Maybe I will actually get a NORBA liscence this year so I can get stomped by a bunch of Cat 1's who used to be semi-pro. (and also probably the Cat 1's who used to be Expert, either way I'm getting stomped)
If you are a Beginner you are now a Cat3
Sport-------> Cat 2
Expert -----> Cat 1
Semi-Pro-----> Your choice Cat 1 or Pro
Pro ------------>Pro
Why they felt the need to rename the catagories is beyond me, but basically they just eliminated the Semi-Pro Field. Leaving Semi-pros the option to go big or go home.
Their gamble is that more of the Semi-Pros will suck it up ang go pro rather than take the perceived drop in catagorization. At first this will probably be true, but I predict that people are a lot more cautious about jumping out of the Cat 1 class that they were in the old system. I hope I am wrong here, but what it will take to really get the move upward started is to ensure strong (numberwise) Pro fields at local races. Riders will want to have some feel that they can ride at a pro level at all of their races and not be strictly limited to traveling to big national events to get enought pros together to have the race be worth while on a pro level.
As it is now I have seen local races where only one pro shows up and only needs to turn the laps to win. There is not fun in that and it is not worth anyones time. With the semi-pro ranking at least there was the feeling that you could race the pros if they showed up and race in with the experts without feeling too much like a schmuck if that was the only competition you had. We will see what happens. Maybe I will actually get a NORBA liscence this year so I can get stomped by a bunch of Cat 1's who used to be semi-pro. (and also probably the Cat 1's who used to be Expert, either way I'm getting stomped)
Friday, September 26, 2008
It has been a while
Ok, it has been a while since I have posted to the blog, so I may as well let you all know what has been going on at the creek. So here is the brief run down.
Product: Since the last time I posted, be have become a Salsa dealer, and have a couple of frames on the floor. Look for a more complete line to show up for 2009. We have also taken another big skate shipment so expect to start seeing some more skate related cloting. Preseason orders are filling in from any number of other product lines, so expect to see a lot of new product in the next month. Also we have some 2007 bikes left on the floor which have now been marked way down, we should start to see 2009 bikes shortly, so we don't want to be sitting on and 2007's
Racing Team: We have added a few new riders to the lineup. Rich Buchannan has been pulling down some good results in an Ironman and some Local Tri's. Luke McLaughlin has joined the team and pulled a 4th place at the Otter Creek Sport Class race. He should be flying for Cross season which is now upon us. (First local race in Sunday)
The Shop guys: There is a little flux in the shop guys and folks head back to school. Ryan joined the Army and is off at basic, so Will has picked up a bunch of hours. Schoen is at the shop quite a bit and is holding down the bike side for the time being. I am a little in and out of the shop, and am working on some big things on the online side. Expect our new online site and shop to by up and functioning by end of year.
The deals: Because of the transfer in the sites, we are going to start having some screaming deals on the old version. This saves us from having to upload products to the new site, so check the site out frequently you sould see some deals on there that are beyond the normal good pricing. Check out our selection of bike parts
Product: Since the last time I posted, be have become a Salsa dealer, and have a couple of frames on the floor. Look for a more complete line to show up for 2009. We have also taken another big skate shipment so expect to start seeing some more skate related cloting. Preseason orders are filling in from any number of other product lines, so expect to see a lot of new product in the next month. Also we have some 2007 bikes left on the floor which have now been marked way down, we should start to see 2009 bikes shortly, so we don't want to be sitting on and 2007's
Racing Team: We have added a few new riders to the lineup. Rich Buchannan has been pulling down some good results in an Ironman and some Local Tri's. Luke McLaughlin has joined the team and pulled a 4th place at the Otter Creek Sport Class race. He should be flying for Cross season which is now upon us. (First local race in Sunday)
The Shop guys: There is a little flux in the shop guys and folks head back to school. Ryan joined the Army and is off at basic, so Will has picked up a bunch of hours. Schoen is at the shop quite a bit and is holding down the bike side for the time being. I am a little in and out of the shop, and am working on some big things on the online side. Expect our new online site and shop to by up and functioning by end of year.
The deals: Because of the transfer in the sites, we are going to start having some screaming deals on the old version. This saves us from having to upload products to the new site, so check the site out frequently you sould see some deals on there that are beyond the normal good pricing. Check out our selection of bike parts
Sunday, April 20, 2008
New logo???
Ok we got some new graphics programs here so we can enhance the site etc. So I got messing around with is and designing a new logo. What do you think? Add it in? or just stick with the old Curls logo? I figured it is pretty basic and a little more recognisable. It probably needs a little refining, but I thought I would just put it out there. -Jon
Wednesday, April 16, 2008
Drink More Coffee
Ok so I got an earfull the other day. It wasn't anything I had done wrong, but every now and then my wife works an overnight shift at the local children's hospital. One would think that working with kids even sick kids would be an uplifting experiance, but when you have a floor where half a dozen of your patients that night are labled "non-accidental Trauma" it is hard to remain upbeat, and when she comes home I serve as the outlet. "Non-accidental Trauma" is a steril way of saying that mom or dad beat their toddler or infant nearly to death. How someone can throw an infant against a wall, or hit their own child in the back of the head so hard that his eyeballs explode, or otherwise bludgon a child to the point that the bleeding in their head causes the brain to swell leading to brain damage and a life on the ventilator, is completely beyond me. But apparently it is not that uncommon.
Many of these children, simply die. And in many cases this is a blessing. Still many of them live as vegitables or in constant pain at least long enough for their parent to be charged with the lesser crime of child abuse rather than murder.
Some of them survive and regain some degree of functionality, and yes some do recover completely from their wounds, and if they are luckey find a loving home that will take them.
So I hear these stories a lot, and I usually become mad enough that sit around and contemplate ways to get even with people who do these things, and invision myself as some crazed vigilanti. Unfortunately, I have no way of tracking these people down, and even if I did there would be legal issues to contend with. All this is topped off by the fact that I am probably not strong enough to pull off what I would want to do. The way I see it, any worthless, sissy-faced pansy can throw a 13 month old at a wall, but I would have a little more difficulty throwing an adult hard enough to cause his brain to hemorage on impact. So as all these fantasy of being some sort of masked avenger fade into a pile of logistical problems, I have to focus on what I can do.
And what I can do, is drink more Coffee.
Not long after we started this business we started our Koffee for Kids program. The idea was origionally that we would give $1 for every bag of coffee we sold to the Home of the Innocents. When we got around to sending that first payment (aproximately $3) it was just impossible to send a $3 check so we sent one for about $20 instead. Sales have picked up slightly since then, and we finally gave in and just said we would give 100% of the profits, but every time I go to write the check, it doesn't seem like it is enough, so despite our advertised 100% of profits, we usually come in well above that. I just sent in our payment for our march sales, and realized we still have yet to have a month were we send over $100 from coffee sales. In my book this falls roughly between pathetic and shamefull, especially considering that most of the kids I talked about in the first part of this eventually end up at Home of the Innocents. So I am going to drink more coffee. It would be awesome if everyone else bought a buch of coffee too, but it would be even cooler if they just sent a bunch of money to the home. (www.homeoftheinnocents.org)
If all this just sounds like one big guilt trip, please know that I am not intending to guilt everyone, I am just letting you in on the guilt I have been having every time I hear one of these stories. Any letting you know why I am sitting here at 10:30 at night drinking decaf.
Many of these children, simply die. And in many cases this is a blessing. Still many of them live as vegitables or in constant pain at least long enough for their parent to be charged with the lesser crime of child abuse rather than murder.
Some of them survive and regain some degree of functionality, and yes some do recover completely from their wounds, and if they are luckey find a loving home that will take them.
So I hear these stories a lot, and I usually become mad enough that sit around and contemplate ways to get even with people who do these things, and invision myself as some crazed vigilanti. Unfortunately, I have no way of tracking these people down, and even if I did there would be legal issues to contend with. All this is topped off by the fact that I am probably not strong enough to pull off what I would want to do. The way I see it, any worthless, sissy-faced pansy can throw a 13 month old at a wall, but I would have a little more difficulty throwing an adult hard enough to cause his brain to hemorage on impact. So as all these fantasy of being some sort of masked avenger fade into a pile of logistical problems, I have to focus on what I can do.
And what I can do, is drink more Coffee.
Not long after we started this business we started our Koffee for Kids program. The idea was origionally that we would give $1 for every bag of coffee we sold to the Home of the Innocents. When we got around to sending that first payment (aproximately $3) it was just impossible to send a $3 check so we sent one for about $20 instead. Sales have picked up slightly since then, and we finally gave in and just said we would give 100% of the profits, but every time I go to write the check, it doesn't seem like it is enough, so despite our advertised 100% of profits, we usually come in well above that. I just sent in our payment for our march sales, and realized we still have yet to have a month were we send over $100 from coffee sales. In my book this falls roughly between pathetic and shamefull, especially considering that most of the kids I talked about in the first part of this eventually end up at Home of the Innocents. So I am going to drink more coffee. It would be awesome if everyone else bought a buch of coffee too, but it would be even cooler if they just sent a bunch of money to the home. (www.homeoftheinnocents.org)
If all this just sounds like one big guilt trip, please know that I am not intending to guilt everyone, I am just letting you in on the guilt I have been having every time I hear one of these stories. Any letting you know why I am sitting here at 10:30 at night drinking decaf.
Saturday, April 12, 2008
The obligatory April Blog
So I figgured I ought to blog at least something this month. Things have been busy, and it is safe to say they will remain that way. There are a lot of things that are on the verge of happening that should be really good for us, so lets run through some of them.
Getting an employee. No names yet released, but suffice to say the holdup is on my end getting all the legal junk out of the way to start hiring employees legally. This is really exciting for me as the website has been a little neglected other than taking and shipping orders of current product. I have a "Clearance Section" in the works that desperately needs to be finished, as we are now getting bombarded with 2008 product so it is time to roll out some discounts on 2007 product and bikes. Some of these have already hit the site, but are not organized into a section of their own. (If you run tubeless, you should check out the deals on the Racing Ralphs with last years tread design) I am also hoping to be able to get out and ride more with the new addition. Everyone was racing or at Thunder over Louisville this weekend and I was sitting in the shop.
We have a fridge!!! Ok so we have an old dorm room fridge with Gatoraid in it, but at least it is now possible to get a cold drink if you are out on a ride and stop and see us. A real display fridge is in the works.
Ok, so how about putting up a sign?? - We are working on it. Yes we will eventually hang a sign in front of the shop, but the way we see it. EVERYBODY has a sign, and why should we be like everyone else. Being hard to find sets us apart. Look soon for our ads... "Bike Shop now open, but we ain't tellin' where it is!!"
More Spiuk: A shipment of Spiuk womens clothing is now on the way so we will no longer have to pitch "unisex" as the best option for womens clothing. And as a footnote, the 2008 Blue and White Spiuk shoes are on the shelves.
BMX: We took our first shipment of Free Agent BMX bikes early this month, and we now have most of them built up. If you are into BMX you should come have a look, they look better in person than in the catalogue.
Anyway, that about wraps it up for now. See you all soon.
Getting an employee. No names yet released, but suffice to say the holdup is on my end getting all the legal junk out of the way to start hiring employees legally. This is really exciting for me as the website has been a little neglected other than taking and shipping orders of current product. I have a "Clearance Section" in the works that desperately needs to be finished, as we are now getting bombarded with 2008 product so it is time to roll out some discounts on 2007 product and bikes. Some of these have already hit the site, but are not organized into a section of their own. (If you run tubeless, you should check out the deals on the Racing Ralphs with last years tread design) I am also hoping to be able to get out and ride more with the new addition. Everyone was racing or at Thunder over Louisville this weekend and I was sitting in the shop.
We have a fridge!!! Ok so we have an old dorm room fridge with Gatoraid in it, but at least it is now possible to get a cold drink if you are out on a ride and stop and see us. A real display fridge is in the works.
Ok, so how about putting up a sign?? - We are working on it. Yes we will eventually hang a sign in front of the shop, but the way we see it. EVERYBODY has a sign, and why should we be like everyone else. Being hard to find sets us apart. Look soon for our ads... "Bike Shop now open, but we ain't tellin' where it is!!"
More Spiuk: A shipment of Spiuk womens clothing is now on the way so we will no longer have to pitch "unisex" as the best option for womens clothing. And as a footnote, the 2008 Blue and White Spiuk shoes are on the shelves.
BMX: We took our first shipment of Free Agent BMX bikes early this month, and we now have most of them built up. If you are into BMX you should come have a look, they look better in person than in the catalogue.
Anyway, that about wraps it up for now. See you all soon.
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