Ahearne Cycles | Thoughts and Words

Yesterday these fine gentlemen stopped in at the shop (I'm the pale one in the middle). They're here from Japan, and I gather that they came over mainly to go to the North American Handmade Bicycle Show. If you weren't aware, the show happened this past weekend in Richmond, Virginia. There are a lot of photos online, and it looks like there was a good turnout. The Japanese fellows had been to the show and saw that I didn't have a booth. They rolled up yesterday on rented bikes and wanted to see what I was working on, and to talk a little about what was what at the shop. My Japanese is a little rusty, as was their English, so the conversation didn't wax overly philosophical, which was just as well since it was late in the afternoon. I'm assuming that Portland was a stopover before returning to Japan, but I'm not sure.

One question they asked was why I didn't go to the hand made bicycle show this year. The short answer is, I needed a break from shows. The longer answer is: There are some big projects on the plate that are requiring a lot of time, and adding to my already crazy schedule the time and stress of a bike show was not something I wanted to do. The shows are great, and they have some very fun elements, but they are also a lot of stress, and are becoming more and more expensive to attend every year. It's not just the booth space, which is costly enough, but all the other expenses that really push it over the top -- plane ticket, hotel, shipping bikes to and from (a terrifying experience in itself), food, and so on. There comes a point where the stress and the expense outweighs the fun and usefulness of it. So, as much as I might have wanted to be there, it was deemed better to forego it this year around. I hope all those who did attend had a great show.

As for the big happenings in the shop, I'll be giving some updates soon. It's exciting stuff. Or, at least, I think it's exciting. You probably will, too. Any hints? Well, let's just say it's the commuter bike to beat all commuters. It's bad ass, and it's coming together now. More words to come.