H-ween Ride

Oh man. So much fun. I love, love, love seeing people and bikes of all shapes and sizes go for a little ride together. And the costumes. Oh the costumes. So many animals, ninjas, 1%ers, mythical beasts, a couple of Elliots (of E.T. fame, natch), plumbers, cartoon characters, I could go on...  I definitely could have put more effort into my costume- I was a crab. All it took was a red hoodie, a couple of oven mitts, and a backpack. Next year I'll see what I can do about stepping it up.I collected a handful of high-fives from folks spectating on the side walks, and I overheard one woman say "They're making me so happy!" Fun for everyone. I wish I had gotten some better pictures to entice you to come on the ride next year (as if costumes and high-fives aren't enough), but here's a couple:

Lots of lights, bike blinky and otherwise

 That's the hwangsta on the left, dressed as a nevernude, complete with shower.

New and Improved!

We did it! We're open for business at our new location- 1064 Cambridge St. (it's on the corner of Cambridge St. and Elm St.).

I can't really celebrate the new space without thanking and acknowledging all the folks who helped make it happen. Like Robert, Peter, Sal, Lisa, Charlie and the whole Youth Build/Just A Start crew for constructing this beautiful spot. And the moving crew- Ben, Casey, Mirabel, Laura, Janet, Jeff, Charlie, John, Erin, Cathy, Kim, Amanda, Kristen, Nancy, Cami, K Rice, and Jen. Oh, and Abby for showing up just as we finished all the work.

We're still breaking it in a little, but we're back to 93% operational. The other 7% will be back tomorrow.

CLOSED Saturday 10/22

We're going to shut down operations while we move Hub Bicycle HQ (to 1064 Cambridge St... in case you hadn't heard) this weekend.

Organization isn't my strong suit (you can't be good at everything...), so I'm bringing in reinforcements. We'll be back in action and better than ever on Monday. Just wait until you see the new shop... You're in for a pleasant surprise.

Getting Colder

It's been a pretty nice fall so far, in my humble opinion. It hasn't really started getting cold yet, but it's definitely on it's way. My very least favorite thing about cold weather is having cold hands. I would sit outside in a bathing suit in December as long as I'm wearing gloves (that's not entirely true).

In the spirit of the coming cold weather we got some new gloves in the shop yesterday. The one I'm most excited about is the Evo Drone. For two reasons in particular.

It looks just like a regular old glove. Black, synthetic material, white loge/highlights:

Here's where it gets interesting. The index finger and thumb have a little flap, so you can expose just enough finger to use your smart phone:

Aaaaand. There's a windproof mitten-y cover that tucks into the back of the glove for when it gets really cold (or for when you ride really fast):

To be fair, I haven't actually used these gloves yet, so I have no idea how warm they really are. I do have high hopes for them. And according to their handy glove-mometer (5-10 degrees?!) they should be nice and toasty.

Moving Begins

Before I launch into this post about moving, you should know we haven't moved yet. You can still find us in the tiny shop at 918 Cambridge, until at least October 23. Probably. You know what? I'll let you know when we've moved for real. Anyway... I started the long process of moving today.

I used the Yuba Mundo Cargo bike to start to move some of the stuff we've had in storage. It can carry a real serious load of shelving/bike tools/bike display racks. Once you get the rig rolling it handles pretty well. The farther back the load of crap sticks out the wonkier it handles at slower speeds, but I think more thoughtful crap placement would help to fix that. I'll write more about the bike (I believe the term is "a review") after the move is complete.

Lost and found

My favorite benefit to bicycle transpo (besides the health, environmental, economic benefits... oh, and that it kind of is my career/business) is that you find stuff. Stuff that you'd miss if you were riding in an enclosed vehicle. Like this little guy I found in the bike lane yesterday:

This baseball finds its place among the other amazing treasures I've found over the years- keys, a copy of "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo", $20, bike lights (lots of bike lights), a "Have a good first day of school. Love, Mom" note. All awesome, day-lifting finds.

So what am I going to do with this baseball? Nothing. That's not really the point. The point is... I don't know... that it's fun to find stuff that other people miss because they're trapped in a soul-sucking bubble... riding in a car. That's it.

Big News!

I promised some big news over on our Facebook page the other day. And here it is...

Much like all of my clothing after that first year of college, things have gotten a little snug around here. At one point this summer I counted 42 bikes (oh... not counting the new bikes we're selling! So 46 bikes...) in this shop of 517 square feet. Busy summer evenings have found folks having to wait to get in the door (thanks for your patience!). I couldn't be more grateful for the growth, but there comes a time to admit you don't fit in your pants any more.

So it's time for bigger pants... WE'RE MOVING! Nobody panic. We're not going far. Starting some time in October 2011 (I'm going to shoot for the 3rd week, but I'll keep you posted) Hub Bicycle will be found at 1064 Cambridge St. I'm very excited about the move, and, as I said, I'm very grateful for the opportunity to grow this little bike shop.

In conclusion, I'd like to tell you three great things about the new shop space:

1) We get to stay in the neighborhood! Definitely priority #1.
2) More than double the work and retail space. Like going from skinny jeans to sweatpants.
3) The wood floors, counter, and chalkboards are reclaimed from a church in the neighborhood. Neat.