It's a very busy time at the shop. I'm going on vacation on the 26th of March, and will be out of the shop for most of the month of April. It's been a long time coming. I'm headed to the warmth, sunshine and blue seas of Bali in Indonesia. I don't really know what to expect, except that when I get off the plane, the nearly translucent white skin that I've been cultivating over the past few months of Portland's cloud covered winter season will make me the whitest white-boy on the island. I'm sure I'll quickly turn pink, and then a deep lobster red, and I will love every moment of it.
For anyone trying to get ahold of me, Mike (my mechanic and helper) will be checking e-mails and filling orders for flask holders and flasks. I will be checking e-mails intermittently, but most things will have to wait until I return. I'll do what I can, but I want to thank everyone in advance for being patient. But now, moving on...
This years' North American Hand Made Bicycle Show came to a close a couple of weeks ago. All in all it was a success. There were a lot of people in attendance, and quite a local buzz about the bikes. It looks like the show really helped rally the bike community of Indianapolis, and the midwest in general. I talked with many people who had travelled anywhere from 2 to 12 hours to come to the show. There were people from Ann Arbor, Cincinnati, Chicago, Kansas City and St. Louis, and quite a few other cities. It was great that people were willing to come from so far to see what was going on.
Also, a huge congratulations goes out to Mitch of MAP Bicycles for his receiving this years award for Best City Bike. It was definitely deserved.
I've fished around on the internet some, and there are hundreds, if not thousands, of pictures from the show. There wasn't a lot of time for me to look everything over, but I did see some great things. I particularly liked the cargo bike by ZR Cycles; the crazy snow bike/commuter monster by Retrotec, and just about everything in the Bilenky booth. Some of the best photos I've seen of the show were taken by Brad Quartuccio of Urban Velo, and can be seen at: http://urbanvelo.org/nahbs-2009-friday-part-1/
There are several galleries of photos that you can find through this link.
I'll try and post something while on my trip about how things are going. I won't have a computer with me, so I'll be depending on internet cafes. And know that, for all of you who are enjoying the tail end of the winter months, I'll have you in my thoughts. Please reserve your sympathy for all those sun-burns I'll have to suffer through. Suckers!
Buon viage!