Welcome 2010!

New Year's Bike-Rack

Howdy All,

Sam here. I suppose keeping a Blog is similar to cooking a good meal: keep it fresh. Sorry for a couple of months of leftovers.

We have been cranking away here in 'The Sandbox.' I'll post some fun pictures in a couple of weeks when we shoot for the North American Handbuilt Bike Show book of pretty pictures and words. Until then, these will have to suffice.

All of a sudden it is the end of the year; the end of the decade and, arguably, the end of our start-up period. Generally I will indulge myself in retrospective critique and doggy paddle around in memories of glories past. This year I'm thinking only of the promise, fun and the truly rewarding work I have to look forward to when I get back form visiting family for a few days. And the people! The wonderful, creative, dedicated, fun people who have graced our shop and who we have met along the way this past year I get to know better this year and meet, in all likelihood, even more.

I feel so blessed to be in a business where I get up every morning and want to go in to work and make beautiful things for and with wonderful people and, hopefully, make the world a better place for it. Thank you to everyone who has made this possible in the past year and who will continue to in 2010.

John, myself and our families wish you a fun, creative, prosperous and healthy new year.

Now its off to ring in the New Year family style!

Peace,

Sam

Interbike '09 Let it Ride!

Howdy Folks. Sam here. I'm finally taking the time to reflect a little on Interbike '09. Since I got back I've been focusing on the stream on emails, in and out, to and from many of the people I met in Vegas. I knew people would dig our bikes but I wasn't sure how many people would really get it without a lot of the back story from our website of from John or me personally. One of the first people who stopped me as I walked on the floor picked up the frame by the chain stay and pinged the down tube up near the head tube, felt the way the vibration moved through the frame, put on the yummy-face and said something like: 'This is wood?! This must ride reeeealy nice!' From then on I kept meeting people who either got it without explanation or with just a little primmer.

I really enjoyed meeting so many enthusiastic people from the shop floor to the boardroom, designers, press, pros, activists and enthusiasts who found a way in through their buddy's shop.
I had the opportunity to meet some of the most respected and talented folks in the industry who imparted their wisdom, encouragement and good energy to a very receptive recipient.

Here is Bruce Gordon (right) http://www.brucegordoncycles.blogspot.com/ with one of his award winning and utterly gorgeous bicycles sporting wooden rims from Ric Hjertberg at Wheel Fanatyk http://wheelfanatyk.blogspot.com/ .

Joe Breeze was fun to talk to about our micro lamination process in tube lay-up. He really seemed to like the ability we have to tweak performance characteristics in a frame based on the species, thickness and treatment of the woods we use. He also was very generous with his encouragement and his experiences as a designer and builder. Thank you, Joe!

I'm very grateful to the the NBDA and Interbike for putting on the show and to Rich Olken, past president of NBDA, industry pillar and, as we would say back in Eastern Mass, wicked nice guy.

It is still possible in Vegas to get steak dinners and beer for four people for 60 bucks. Of course it is in a small, 'family casino' where a friendly little wooden bike frame can be put in protective custody for fear it could be brandished as a deadly weapon. This very nice security guard has obviously never crashed a carbon frame...

That dinner was with with three very cool and colorful pro mechanics including Merlyn Townley http://www.whereismerlyn.com/ . Stay tuned for more info on Merlyn's custom wheel building venture.

I was great to see see so much of what makes our little part of the globe (New England)so damn fun represented out there. Pedro's has done so much for so long for the sport. One of these days I'll rant at length on the subject of blind spots in risk assessment in small businesses like bike shops and teams letting their mechanics poison themselves on the clock while low and non-toxic alternatives exist and perform really well. Like I said, one of these days...

Jeremy Powers http://www.jeremypowers.missingsaddle.com/ from just around the corner in Easthampton, Mass rocked Cross Vegas by pulling a fourth. I have no pictures because my cow-bell blistered and beer-soaked fingers weren't quick enough. I may get a chance to work with Jeremy a little on my motorbike between stints in North American and European mud. If I do, I'll thank Carl Ditkoff http://www.nebikeconsulting.com/about.html for it. We only had time for an escalator conversation in Las Vegas but he lives about twelve revolutions on da little ring from here in Amherst.

I got to pass around some cards for our first and currently our only Eastern Sylvan Cycles dealer, Norm Flye of Flye Cycles http://www.flyecycles.com/ in Sunderland, Mass. Soon there will be a post on Norm, his support, patience, encouragement and his great shop.

I also got to spend time (never enough) with my dear friends Jannine and Scott Fitzgerald of Fitzgerald's Bicycles http://www.fitzgeraldsbicycles.com/ in Jackson, Wyoming. We are very excited to welcome them as our second and currently our only Western Sylvan Cycles dealer. Fitzy worked it in the Wheelers and Dealers race at Cross Vegas after taking a sightseeing trip through the less photogenic neighborhoods of Las Vegas in his Lycra on the way to the race...on sew-ups. This picture is from after the Wheeler Dealer race but before Katie Compton showed us why she will soon rule the world. Next year I'm told the race will be a family affair. Jannine, I'll hold your cow bell. Norm, eleven months and counting to train for the East-West showdown...

I met a whole bunch of other dealers from shops from Cordoba, Argentina to Fredericton, New Brunswick. It was affirming to see so much interest in a new, innovative product, especially a product made of natural materials. As we add to our dealer base of fun, community oriented shops that offer superior service to performance cyclists of all flavors, I'm sure there will be some faces that will be familiar from Interbike.

There were so many cool, innovative products I don't even know where to begin but the upshot for me was that John and my natural wiring for collaboration continues to find fertile ground in the bike world. This is so much fun!

On the 'what cool stuff did ya get out there' front, high performance wool still rules my world; four seasons. There were lots of great products out there. On my way through the Earth Wind and Rider http://ewnr.com/ booth discussing our forthcoming kit I had the great pleasure of meeting Nan Eastep of B. Spoke Tailor http://bspoketailor.blogspot.com/ . Nan makes some the coolest, most skillfully made and best designed tailored cycling clothing I have ever seen. She is making me some blue plaid western style (smiley pockets with piping and everything!) wool knickers and I am sooooo excited! Telemark and nordic skiing bring me as much joy as anything on Earth and the fact that I will be able to wear these from September to May from biking through skiing and back to biking makes me very happy. Maybe a little classic route climbing and a few cool days on my brother's old sailboat in the Gulf of Maine just for kicks. It may even replace my kilt... Here is Nan with or Cross frame festooned in one of her Lumitweed top tube covers.

Well I suppose that is about it for now. The shop awaits. Time to get dusty.

Or maybe go for a ride...

A visit from Carl Kurz, Bikes Not Bombs Founder

One of the most satisfying aspects of being a part of Sylvan Cycles is the seemingly constant stream of interesting people who come through our door, often unannounced. Our tag-line is "Using bikes to go places" because of the bicycles ability to positively bring people together, and in doing so enhances the potential to "go places".

Organizations like "Bikes Not Bombs", epitomize this. So we were delighted when BnB's founder Carl Kurz dropped by yesterday afternoon. Over the past 25 years, BnB has become an example of how the bicycle can serve as a vehicle for positive cultural change on an international scale. Check out www.bikesnotbombs.org
Carl and his son Ziggy are heading south to spend a year travelling through the Americas -- we wish them great travels!

Interbike Carnival, Sylvan makes YouTube

Sam is just back from the Carnival that is Interbike Vegas, and what a Carnival it was. My favorite Interbike e-mail from Sam went something like "Good God! The line for the free beer couldn't have been more than 4 people longer than the line to see the Sylvan." Tremendous response, including from a number of notable industry insiders.

Here's a youtube clip from Vegas featuring Sam:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z7TNe5_rWB4

(Thanks to marketing guru Michele Flamer for putting this up -- www.micheleflamer.com)

And of course, the irrepressible Sam Kelley, off to Vegas!

Welcome

Welcome to Sylvan Cycles new Blog!

Sam here. On the heels of a fun and very successful trip out to Interbike we moved our Blog up the 'to do' list to allow us the opportunity to meet the enthusiasm I experienced on the show floor.

Over the next couple of days, John and I will have a good time posting some of the thoughts, pictures and links that have been accumulating around here as we have been focusing on building bikes.

From here on out we look forward to keeping the conversation positive, informative and fun within and beyond the Sylvan Cycles family and community. I wake up every morning excited, happy and grateful to be going to work. Thank you for being a part of all this. -Sam