Liquid Gold....Welcome to March!

Sierra /Cascade lakes and springs are getting a serious infusion of nourishment here on Leap-Day 2024. Snow, rain and wind are replenishing the hills with a healthy dose of hope. Determined to be true to my late life maxim...Play more/ Work less. My thirty years of orchestrating a successful bicycle store has evolved into a satisfying hobby, featuring less work hours and more joy. My offspring, whose life is full of work and play, is tying the knot with his adventure buddy this summer and both have encouraged us to head for the hills in mid-June and play with them in fields of Utah wildflowers. I am predicting matrimonial bliss and a fully satisfying partnership for Colby and Emily. Attitude is nearly everything in the recipe for living a great life and these two have an abundance of excellent attitude. 'Attitude at Altitude' is a good description of the life they are living. Mountain biking, backcountry skiing and immersing in wild rivers has produced some of the glue that is holding these two together. They are both genuinely caring and sincere humans whom we are exceedingly proud of. It'll be exciting and satisfying to watch their unfolding story for the rest our our lives. We couldn't ask for anything better.

You've Got to Show Up

If you don't show, you'll never know what could've been. This is my rationale for maintaining a "work week"...only three days in a row this time of year, but it's something. Yes, for twenty-nine years I've opened my bicycle store all Winter inspite of the fact that Winter months have never been profitable. I always thought that consistancy and reliability were worth a lot...right up there with honesty and integrity. I suppose this is why we survived as a bicycle shop for nearly thirty years. I am not sure what it all means...it has given me a "sense of purpose" and has kept me from getting into other types of trouble. I see that it won't be a business that I'll be passing on to my offspring. He has carved a much better niche for himself in the working world...a very independant soul with his own misssion in life. So, I have this property that I must sell. I had hopes of a continuation of my mission (to promote and encourage self-propulsion on two wheels) however, selling real estate tied to a mission is not as easy as I thought. "If someone wants to buy your property and turn it into a beauty salon you've got to accept that." That's where we're at here in the middle of January at 4,600ft. Snow on the ground, temperatures in the teens each morning and no one needing an innertube, or a helmet, or a new bicycle. Yes, it will get better in March and we'll barely be able to keep up with their needs in May. I guess I just needed a mid- Winter pep-talk.

Far-Infrared Sauna To The Rescue

I post my appreciation for the TheraSauna, that we purchased over fifteen years ago, quite often. It helps me launch into the day with warm bones and a toasty spine throughout these winter days that we signed-up for when we moved to Chester, Ca. some 38 years ago. I've been toasted and enriched by having numerous naked conversations with various friends and relatives over these last dozen+ years that I'm sure would have never happened had we not installed the three person corner cabinet hot box. Ten years before we installed the TheraSauna we purchased a Snorkel wood-fired hot tub. It was also a place to heat-up and consult with friends and family but it wasn't the same. Sitting there in a stocking cap and knowing that you'd soon be launching onto an icy deck was not condusive to revealing discussions about how we might improve our attitudes and inner-personal relationships. In the far-infrared sauna however, watching each other evacuate toxins from every pore is definitely more therapeutic and personal than bathing in a tub of hot water together. Trust is a huge part of the experience. The subjects discussed are many and deeply detailed while sharing a thirty minute sweat-session in the TheraSauna. We get out and take a shower... sending all of the poisons down the drain. No need to go through any further therapy, at least for that day. The daily sauna can also offer quiet time, even when shared. I often hear my body sweat, breaths are deeper and slower and the main pump sends blood down to usually cool toes.

Bicycle Trips and Skinny Dips

I am simultaneously reading Ernest Hemingway's Garden of Eden (published in 1986) and Around The World On A Bicycle by Thomas Stevens (published in 1889). A total of thirteen hundred pages about a handful of my favorite subjects. The glorious challenges of being a self-propelled adventurer, writer, lover and the irresistable total immersions in lakes, streams, rivers and oceans that happen along the way. These are the activities that constitute 'The Good Life". I should add eating and drinking, sex and breathing here. What more is there? Both of these stories are able to pull me right into the locales. I can easily relate to hanging out in the south of France (Hemingway) and riding bicycles around the world. We love riding and camping in France and have invested several months in doing so. Twenty years ago we completed an around the world bicycle adventure with our twelve year old boy. Due to his and my combined navagational skills, we were able to complete the journey in six months. I've been skinny-dipping since I was born and find it a great way to stay clean and add a little danger to my days. Keeping the riding shorts dry is an added benefit of the clothesfree swim. Making the time to reflect and get it all down on paper is what I hope to accomplish here in my later years.

Angry Merchants

We like supporting small merchants, especially when they carry items that we are most interested in. Instead of falling back on the internet or big box stores. We seek out small merchants. We want to encourage real downhome people to continue their pursuit and we milk them for their expertise. Face to face, human to human. honesty and sincerity can be seen in their eyes...felt in our handshake. This is how we conduct our business. Lately we have felt their stress and disappointment..."Even our friends don't shop with us first. They buy something through their computer and then come in to show us how clever they were. And we often stock the same item." We often visit bicycle shops when we travel. We started writing, publishing, promoting and selling bicycle guides over forty years ago and therefore sold them door to door at bicycle shops throughout the Western U.S. Shop owners have evolved from excited purveyors of outdoor tools and exploration into sad or even disgusted prisoners of their quiet stores. Most bicycle shops in America do not own the building out of which they conduct their business. Their leases were agreed to back when times were good...five, ten even twenty years ago. Ebikes have accentuated the difficulties between merchants and potential customers. At least 90% of electric assist bicycles are sold online. The buyers are often surprised with the realities of their purchase..."The damn thing arrived in a box." Most of these are produced in China, Malaysia or Vietnam...which results in cheap components and disappointing performance, possibly even dangerous electronics. So, bicycle shop owners are hearing all of the retorts and anger (even though the customer didn't ask for advice or try to support their local business). I walked into the GoGreen Bicycle shop in Burbank, California last month only to hear an angry merchant hollering, "Retail Sucks!"

From Scratch

A friend recently commented, "Chuck, you should be real proud. You built a business from scratch that lasted thirty years." This person did not know that I also built a house 'from scratch' that has been home for well over thirty years. In fact, my whole life could fit under the 'from scratch' theme. As a five year old my mother told me that my father had "flown away" and "flew the coup." No further explanation. On the playground at Woodrow Wilson Elementary school, my kindergarten teacher...Mrs. Dixon, asked me why I waved at airplanes that flew over our school ocassionally. I'm waving to my father, I answered. "Is he a pilot?" she asked. I didn't know and... probably didn't answer. When it came to fathers I had to start from scratch. I had four uncles that helped fill the void. Obtaining a College degree was a goal when I graduated from high school. Neither of my parents had finished high school. We built a community college from scratch...I and eleven other students from Kalamazoo area high schools comprised the academic affairs commitee responsible for formulating a curriculum and design for KVCC. I cut the ribbon that launched Kalamazoo Valley Community College. We started it from scratch and now 55 years later, KVCC is a pillar of the community. Starting and nurturing a business in small town America has become ridiculously more difficult...loyalty, customer loyalty is a thing of the past. Big Box enticements, Internet enticements and online shopping has eliminated the 'little guy' and crushed Village Shopping in America. However, I do appreciate your patronage.