The end of it entering the front half.

I build shit, With love...

Well it's the end of the year and I not write as much as I intended. Actually, I didn't intend on writing all that much. Well. Really I did but hadn't made time, or planned it, or made it a goal... Blar de blar de blar....

Anyhooty. I have been begged by my boss and co-workers to write the service blog for Sports Garage and the new site that will be launched soon-ish. I hear Feb., January, maybe even March? Who even knows. I just write the shit and if they are daring enough, they will post it.

So what of this and my personal site? Fukc it. JK. I am actually going to continue my other blogg, Jameson TerrySmith, Adventures in Life and Travel. For the love of gawd do not read the past posts. It may horrify you and you may never want to associate yourself, with myself....? Here's a link to such a site if you have the time to get into it.

What will it be about you ask? Hopefully it will be about my life outside of the bicycle industry, and the odd things I get myself into and try. Like a few weeks ago, I got my aura cleansed for the first time. What it's like to go on a date with a 46 year old woman. Or how I got 4 OK Cupid ladies to show up at one of my shows.

I know I know! I've turned into a dick the past few months, and I do believe I am over it, and myself.  But there our still a lot of gnarly shit to do with the rest of my life and there is now reason to not document such thangs.

Sorry for the shorty, but I gotta start cooking.

Have a great New Year and I'll talk at y'all lators!

Jamers

Shmervise Viter!

I was out running the other day and I got to thinking about service writers and the whole logistics of the idea. I know, I know, running? Aren't you a "cyclist"? Well, I need all the help I can get to keep this shit box of a body up and I believe the ladies deserve something "nice" to look at while I work on their bikes. Which funny enough is how I got to this train of thought.

I have always loved the idea of a service writer and for those of you who don't know, A service writer works at a garage or dealership (bicycle shop). He is responsible for writing repair orders, communicating them to the mechanic and estimating the final cost to the consumer. Service writer. At least that's what it says when I look it up.

I'm used to talking with the customer and getting to know them and being able to put some character to the bike. And they get to me, the mechanic, and can have trust in knowing that I am going to do the best job that I can. We form a relationship and bond. Kinda helps me cause I can put a face and personality to the bicycle that I am working on.

Lately it's been a bit hard for me cause they come in, and they are just bikes. I don't know how much they are ridden, how they are ridden, or how they are cared for. Why? Cause when I personally talk to the customers, I get this info from them. I figure out their objectives while talking to them. I get to know them as a cyclist, and their bike as part of that experience.

So. With that being said, in the eyes of a business owner, I can see where having a dedicated service writer comes into play. He talks to the customer, relays all that jibber jabber into notes, writes up the work order, and sends it off to me. Awesome! Cause now I can concentrate on what I do best, and do the best job that I can, with out distractions and interruptions. I love that as well. There's no excuse for a mistake. And I can get more done in a day, Boom...

So where am I going with all this? No where really. Cause I am sitting in a hot bath tub, sweating my ass off in the December, with a stupid haircut and no facial hair.......

If you find some panties, this time they are mine.

There was a harmony in the way the spoke wrench moved. It never clattered into the rim or the hub or or any of the still slack spokes. It weaved through the air as if it was an appendage to his hand.

I've seen skillful bike mechanics work their magic and I had anticipated the visual pleasure. I hadn't expected the wheel building process to be an aural feast too. (?) The metallic brush of the spokes being gathered in hand, the ting of a spoke as the elbow dropped into the flange, the scuffle of the nipples moving on the work bench, the whir of the wrench fastening the nipples, the swish of the loosely suspended hub flopping about. Ping, ding,tinkle, chink, clink, jangle.

What a nice passage writing thing from Robert Penn. I pretty much just plagiarized the shit out that passage too. It was such a great piece of writing, as is the whole book, I just wanted to share with everyone. That and I like typing the word "nipple". I did however feel a bit racist when I typed the word "chink", but since he, I assume, meant it as a "sound", then I didn't "feel" that "bad".

Okay. So it is very rare that I write to entries back to back but I just wanted to share last nights funns with you alls.

It was brought to my attention by one of my readers that what I wrote in my last entry, something about "with holding the fact that I was giving her high gravity beer" and "lets see what happens", sounds like pre meditated rape.

Well the joke is on me cause apparently, though she claims innocence, my new found lady friend was planning the same date rape style night on me by trying to sneak in some tasty, but high in alcohol content, black lager.

9.9%?!

 And this isn't the first time she has pulled this (maybe where I got the idea?) on me. One of the first nights we hung out she brought over some Porter or something and I drank 6 of those and when I  woke up, I had a hang over and I couldn't remember much of the night before.

At first I was under the impression that she Ruffied my ass, did horrible things to me, took my cash and credit cards and sped away in my mint condition DeLorian that I rescued from an old lady and painstakingly refurbished with the money I accrued from selling all the bags of coke I found under the dash..... but upon cleaning the bottles up I noticed that it was 8% beer and that I never had a DeLorian or any money for her to take in the first place... And that possibly I am a light weight.

She claims to know nothing about it though. ;)

Apparently I can't pour

What's this have to do with bicycle or mechanics? Or wheels? Nothing. But the beer and the company was great. The Deconstruction tasted amazing, like wine, and fruit, and beer and the after taste was mind blowing. I popped when I opened it and fizzed in the glass. And in my mouth.... I would go into more detail but all the info got mixed up with all the other beer that was brought.

Baba it the 9.9...

Okay. So I got off track a bit buuuutttttt.... Till Next Time!

Busting nuts and stripping screws.

So today I got my hair cut by my salonist. We have a trade kinda thing. I work on her bicycles and she gives me haircuts. I think it's fun letting other people have control of some aspects of your life. Like my general appearance pertaining to my hair. I was gonna refrain from putting a pix up so as not to embarrass myself but I tend to do that on a daily basis anyhow so here it is.

Kinda not what she has described to me and at times I feel like a carrot. Or strawberry.

As she was cutting my hair I was thinking about the tools that she uses and the tools that she prefers. She's got all kinds of scissors and electric trimmers and razor blade contraptions that she attacks my hair with. She knows which device to go for when trying to perform a certain wacky task on my cranium rug. It's fun to watch her cause she takes pride in what she does and the tools just flow in and out of her hands with the grace and precision of a well trained samurai. (?)

This is the time of year I start thinking about my tools. And apparently other peoples tools. I'll go through them and make sure they are all in perfect working order. Are the tips wounded and worn out? Are blades dull or chipped? Are my torque wrenches calibrated? Is this one "out dated" and can I replace it with a fancier or more high tech one? If so I get rid of it and replace it.

"Oh why not donate them?" some good hearted enviro type person asks. Well if I don't want it for fear of stripping screws or bolts, I surely wouldn't want to put that evil on someone else to experience the same fate. Not good karma. Plus I am a hoarder and should be on that show that I am addicted to. Hoarders. I thought by watching said show that I would learn my lesson and see what could possible happen to my home, but it only fueled my passion for hoarding and now I have a garage full of useless bicycle crap.

Lastly, my new lady friend suggested that since I have taken up the hobby of drinking, I should start a beer blog. Well I barely have time to do this one and couldn't see myself starting yet another project just to let it fall by the way side so I have decided to slip it in here.

Currently I am sipping on Pyramids Snow Cap. It's marketed as a Winter Warmer Ale but it just keeps leaving me with a hot dog after taste. They have a Chai one that also leaves a weird taste in my mouth. Next on the list is the Deconstruction from Odells Brewing based in Fort Collins. I have invited my lady friend to try this out tonight and I will intentionally be leaving out the fact that it is 10.5% alcohol... That review of the beer, the night and the next day will be covered the next time I get inspired to write.

Till next time! Happy biking and safe drinking! Oh and stay warm...

It's short. So I've been told

I was gonna write a post on tools and the quality and value of actually investing in a great tool.... Until I broke some $60 Snap-On super flush diagonal cutters. (Please note I didn't use the word Dyke as to not offend my sexually curious lesbian readers) out there.

Oh yeah, I am now baking pies....

I'm just gonna act like I've been writing this whole time and that there were no gaps between posts..... It was a busy season after all. Reeeeeaaaaalllll busy. If you know what I mean..... ;)!

So I was gonna do a post on these lights from France called Wonder. After some hard searching on the ol internet, and 10 minutes really, there seems to be nothing. Except that maybe, or maybe not, that a company in Korea bought them up and renamed/bagged them as WonderBike. Lights. Maybe with out the lights part. It was kinda hazy and very confusing. The whole ordeal....






The whole thing came up when I spent the week end going through my tools and endless array of bicycle parts and paraphernalia and stumbled upon then lights encased in  cheesy plastic. I remember getting these lights in a grab bag of parts a customer gave to us at the Perf as a "tip". I thought they were the cooler of random objects in the box so snatched them up and put them in a place for safe keeping. A shoe box.

From France!

So in my semi-drunken stupor I had decided to text my roommate  who happened to be out, and demanded that he pick up some C batteries. Yep. C. Batteries. As I was waiting I did some brief snooping and found out that they were from France and that they were from the 60s. Exciting!

With a very minimalist "circuitry" I had high hopes that they would work but at the same time I was worried that the filament style bulbs were blown.

Holy Shit they still work!

So the time came. I put the batteries in and BAM! They both worked! Holy shit they still work! I was so excited. My friend.... not so much. I'm still excited. So excited in fact I am going to use them tomorrow on my commute to and from work. Sooooo sick.

Other things happening? I'm currently reading It's All About the Bike by Robert Penn. I don't review books so I won't get into too much detail. But it has inspired and sparked new interest in my love for building and working on bikes.

So I hope all is going well and everyone is staying warm this winter! More to come on the new shop I am at aaaaaaannnnd my new Service Program!

And here is a picture of my Apple Pie. My first attempt at baking.

Pa Pa Pa Pie! (A Tank Girl reference)

Too Little Time

Jo Lawn receiving her 2013 P5 I just finished building

These past two weeks have been crazy for me. Not only has the head mechanic been out due to his wife having a baby, I have had to do customer builds and repairs, plus pro builds and repairs and preparing for Vegas Worlds. And on top of that I am trying to move. Oh and I have been working on a new site with fellow co-worker Alex Kerh called The Radsport. You can check out some cool new gear that the pros are riding and the stuff I actually get to work on there.

On top of all that, I just got finished building, up and coming elite/pro athlete Angela Naeth 2012 BH, which you can read about at my new site soon, and she asked me to be her personal mechanic. Pretty exciting and sick! Hopefully she get the 2013 BH Aerolight.

Stay tuned for some more posts, when I get time, on getting ready for Vegas and the tools and parts I'll need to maintain 7 pro athletes bikes!

I did this!

Alex and I with our winnings!

Great party Friday night! We rocked World Bicycle Relief and killed it in donations! Also I would like to thank all my co-workers in a job well done this Sunday while supporting IronMan Boulder and the whole Boulder series! It was lot's of fun and a wicked long hard day for all of us!

Now......

I get shoved in my face a lot about how I have never worked on a pros or world champs bicycle before or that I don't know how it is to work out in the field and not have what you need all the time. Like we do here in the shops. 

First off, maybe you don't know me or what I have done in my life. I have done some really cool things with very little to work with out in "the field". Or at home. Or on the side of the trail. Or in bed for that matter. Don't judge me nucka.

And second, what this post is mainly about, why do we give so much emphasis on "Pros" bicycles and making them happy? In my eyes a bike is a bike and everyone should be treated the same in regards to the quality of work we put into it. 

These amateurs or rec riders have needs just like the pro's, only they have to pay for the work that they get done. They have to use their hard earned money to have all these things to race or get to work or what have you. Pro's get it handed to them and get cut in line a lot to have them finished so they can get back on the to train.

I'm not knocking on professional riders at all. They are great people just like the rest of us, but don't rub it in my face and talk down to me just cause you've worked on Cadels bike. Just a bicycle. I've put together a TM01 with Di2 before. No different. 

No matter who you are or what you do, I think you should have the same type of service and treatment, in regards to quality of work, we do to your bike. If you pay for it, you should get. Right?

Black and Yellow

So yesterday morning I got to go out to the Mavic Service Coarse, located somewhere in Colorado, to see the place and talk about possible volunteering opportunities. It was everything I thought it would be and a little less obvious than I would expect.

I met with Mark N. in front of the shop before work at like 8.30 in the morning and proceeded to bombard him with questions about his job and Mavic and how I can become apart of something so big, or small.....

How did I get this opportunity and invite to this place you ask? Right place at the right time. The shop I am working at was throwing a Mavic demo party show casing the companies new aero wheel, or first aero wheel, the CRX 80 and I happened to be there. Drunk.

With a beer in each hand, both mine, I stumbled towards a tall man wearing black and yellow and started my begging to see the big yellow van parked outside. This man was Mark and even after just getting off the road, literally drove straight here in the Sprinter,  he was eager to show me the inside.

Wheels! And Tools! I was blown away! I instantly started imagining myself working out of this thing, helping cyclists and next thing you know words are coming out of my mouth about how would one go about being apart of all of this and helping out. For some crazy reason he invited me out to the shop to talk about volunteering and supporting.

Bamm!!

We chatted and he loaded my backpack up with swag and showed me his shop and told me his story with Mavic. He even let me go through his tool boxes, open cabinets, look in boxes and touch and hold every wheel hanging. Wow!

I'll get into more detail about Mark and the shop later but will leave you with a few photos.

Pedros

Crashed at last years Tour of Colorado

The tallest stand given to him by Calvin Jones

The New New

It's a new season and a new year and there are a lot of changes. For one, I have left The Perf and moved on to another bicycle shop. Two, I am taking up track racing or riding. Three.... No that's it. Just those two things.

I have decided to leave Performance Bicycles and all that behind. My job and what was expected of me was getting out of hand and I felt I was getting off track of what I wanted to do in this industry. I don't want to sit here and bad mouth Performance (actually I do) but I feel the company doesn't have the heart and love of the sport like myself or other IBD shops do.

My new shop I am at, I'm actually at two at the moment, loves bikes and the sport. They ride and race and talk all kinds of who ha about cycling. I never got that feeling from Perf. I never felt the drive. The push to get better and be better at what I do. I'm not a numbers guy really or a sales person but that's what Perf was pushing me to do. Nor did I believe in what Performance was selling.

So I decided to leave. A bit abruptly I might add. It was March and in the middle of the remodel. I felt bad about leaving but I was under a bit of stress and have not been happy for a while. So went around to all the shops one day on my day off and dropped my resume off and got several offers. 5.

So I did some interviews, built some bikes, did a bit of research on the shops and made my decision. I am now home at Colorado MultiSport as a mechanic. Just a mechanic. Well I build too but I don't have to sell service plans or memberships anymore and I am told what to do. No more confusion in my job description. So nice to have things cleared up.

And the people I work with are great and amazing and really fun. I hope I spend a long time at this shop. It really feels like home.