Owning bikes=N+1?

The garage is in need of some hooks...springtime must be here!

New dealer in Baltimore for the brand.

Started the day off w/coffee and #bianchibicycles at my new dealer #baltimorebicycleworks. Great crew, genuine interest for their cycling community and lovers of all things steel.

It takes a village to raise an idiot, it takes a tribe to develop a culture.

From the Carolinas to the Mid-Atlantic region, it appears that springtime has arrived. In fact, summer has poked its head out this week for us in central Pennsylvania as I made my rounds at the shops, wishing I had a pair of knickers to wear instead of jeans. Yeah, not quite ready to expose the fish-belly white legs just yet...

During my rounds with accounts, repairs seem to be flowing well, bike sales are starting to rise, and people are definitely out in packs enjoying some saddle time. As I mention to my dealers every year about this time and typically do a small post on this blog regarding the topic of the 3Cs of a bike shop, I've decided to keep it short and sweet.

I found this TED video, from a couple of years ago, inspiring, and motivational as I reflect upon my top level dealers and how successful they've become through building their 'tribe' through the 3Cs of a bike shop.

Shake down ride.

Just finished up a rad shake down ride on the new Oltre build. I'm feeling inspired to do a blog entry soon, share some thoughts on this frame.

And no, I will not talk about vertical compliance and lateral stiffness...


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Bianchi Sempre hit the 2012 Strade Bianche on Saturday.

I'm so thrilled to glue myself in front of the screen this spring. No, not to endure the latest chapter of the Sufferfest DVD series, rather to marvel at, what seems like, any given time this season, there's online race coverage of a team on celeste bike between Androni, Vaconsoleil and Coldeportes.

This Saturday is the 2012 Strade Bianche. Based in the Tuscany region of Italy, a beautiful yet difficult stage in the Spring Classics. 8:30am EST for the start of S-B. The Columbia based Pro Continental team, Coldeportes will be lining up as well as Fleche-Wallonne and the Tour of California to name a few.

Here's a link to the feed for Saturday....click!

Personally, I'm very excited to see this squad on the Sempre frames. Mainly because the construction and performance of the frame is able to meet the standards for a Pro Continental team and Bianchi sells the same frame in a Shimano 105 build for $2299.99. I'm not sure there's any other bike company with a frame made with High Mod carbon, Nano-tech, construction, and 105 bits for that cost AND quality enough for a Pro team to race. [The 105 bike has an aluminum steer. Coldeportes is using a full carbon fork like the Sempre Ultegra, Red, and individual frame set offers.]

Click here for a previous drill-down on the Sempre 105 at Just Riding Along Bike Shop.

Best of legs to all!