Summer 2010

Here it is almost June...as soon as school gets out my wife and I are going to have Tuesdays off together...and be OPEN Sundays.

We just got back from a trip to Spain to see our daughter Brianna. Brianna; some of you may remember was helping out at the shop last Summer. She work's in Spain as a English Conversationalist...if your curious about what that is...stop by the shop and I'll tell you...it is a dream job!

That was my first trip to Europe and was quite an eye opener...I feel very privileged to have made the trip. The history and antiquities were just so awesome. Valencia, and Madrid were the cities we visited along with a side trip on a rental motorcycle to Xativa. Brianna lived in Gandia which is on Spains East Coast...Valencia being the one and the same as the orange breed is where they grow Oranges...Lots of Oranges. So imagine the two places in the USA that grow oranges...Southern California, and Florida...needless to say the weather there was very nice. Madrid however was not so nice...Madrid is elevated over 4000 ft. You could feel your lungs climbing stairs etc...but in a few days were were acclimated.

Valencia's Cathedral and River-walk with the City of Arts and Sciences were so cool. We saw bull fighting rings, all sorts of fountains, sculptures, etc...Art is EVERYWHERE in Spain.

And then the Prado Museum in Madrid. We got to see the Temple De Bod...check it out on Wikipedia. We took a stroll in Madrid's "Central Park".

There is just so much to see and so little time to list....
But anyway were back an looking forward to a great 2010 summer season.

Kahuna Longboards

Jetting into 2010

It's been a while again since my last post, I guess I'm a lousy blogger. Well I guess the biggest thing since last time here is my Winter Store Hours have changed.

Winter Hours:
M-F 10AM-6PM
Sat 10AM-5PM
Sunday Closed

Other than that I'm still a one man band...still doing all my own repairs etc...

I just started selling Kahuna Creations Longboards for the Trail here. I love the beach, I love the sand, I love Hawaii...Kahuna Longboards have some of that flavor and I dig anything that reminds me of places I've been like. So in September I became a full fledged Kahuna Longboard Dealer and sell also their trademark "Kahuna Big Stick"

The board's are all $150.00...the big sticks are $80 for Standard, and more for the fancy ones. If you wanna check Kahuna Creation's out here is a link to their Website:

http://kahunacreations.com/

I excited abot Fuji Bicycles as they have aquired Kestral, and Breezer Bike brands...I really like the Breezer Commuter bikes...Kestral has bee cutting edge tech for decades now. So having both of these brands to sell along with SE Racing and Fuji bikes this really helps me to compete with Some of the bigger stores with so much selection.

Raleigh News...2010 Raleigh Bikes are a peek back at its Roots. With bikes like the Raleigh Competition, Record Ace, Clubman, and Sojourn, with Brooks leather Saddles and Handelbar Tape, Raleigh is just as Classy as they always have been.

See Raleigh Bikes @raleighusa.com

I don't get too many mountain bikers here in Orting but when I do and they're looking for a really high performance offroad machine, Marin is the bike to look at. The California Bear company will deliver on all out Mountain Hard Core Adventure can imply, Marin is an awesome brand....

http://www.marinbikes.com/2010/

I bought a Harley Touring bike this summer and am soon taking it on a road trip to California and Arizona...maybe down into Mexico...we'll see. I have all my books balanced, all my bills paid, my taxes can wait till April, and Janurary and February are the slow season so...Head out on the Highway...Born To Be Wild here I come. I hope Jacki can join me In San Deigo for a nice weekend...

During my trip I'll be attending the Park Bicycle Tool Company's Lecture and Seminar for Campagnolo, Shimano, SRAM, Hayes, Mavic, Rock Shox, and Fox will all be there for me to get updated on Service on their products.

Also in San Diego I'll be going to the ASR Access Tradeshow which is a Surf, Skate, Swimwear sort of show...Like I said, I like the flavor of the beach.

Open Approaching Three years

It's hard to believe it's been almost three years since we first opened. Time surely passes fast when having fun. Here's pix of the front of the shop. Nothing fancy, just a one man band type shop. ButI get complements all the time and that is always nice to hear. So what happened this year that was different than the year before? Well, first of all, this year was completely unassisted financially by another job. I quit working at Boeing in July of 2006. Very scarey. I broke out in hives I was so stressed out. But something had to give. I worked both jobs for about a year and a half and really, it just became too much. I was forced into making a decision. Either close the shop, or quit Boeing. The whole purpose of opening the shop was to quit Boeing. But looking back, it's funny that it was so hard to do. I fully understand why they say it takes two years to start a business. It's suicide to just up and quit your job that pays the bills. You have to have a whole lot of money in the bank up front to do it that way. For me, I'd say I'd have needed $60,000.00 in the bank to live off of for the two years it took to build my inventory to where it'd support a family. And think about it...my wife is a school teacher. She is now the one with benifits. Now we pay over $650/month for health care. Yes it's true. My daughter Kaitee was diagnosed with Chrones Disease this year and so my wife Jacki made sure our health care was upgraded to help out there. But I am so blessed to have that. What would I do without my family? This whole indeavor would have been impossilbe without everyone who helped me get started.

Opening Trailside Cyclery

It was over two years ago since my cousin Pat asked me to run his bicycle shop while he underwent radiation treatment, and chemotherapy for a cancerous brain tumor. I hadn't worked in a bike shop for sixteen years. There were a lot of mixed emotions about working there. I felt bad that I was having so much fun while Pat was living a nightmare. It wasn't long before he couldn't walk.

I was in a heaven here on Earth. During the sixteen years I'd worked at Boeing, I forgot how much I really enjoyed working with customers, and all the bikes that would come through the door each day. But it didn't seem right that I should enjoy myself so much while Pat suffered so terribly. It was his shop and at times I felt like I was tresspassing.

I think every man at times would like to work for himself. I never fully realised the heart; and soul it takes to start your own business. It's one thing to think about it, and to plan for it but to actually put your money and your back into it and stop bluffing and go for it is entirely another school of thought.

Around the same time Pat was calling and end to Sumner Bicycle, a building here in Orting became available for lease. By then I'd written countless business plans for a bicycle shop here in Orting; but something always proved to be a stumbling block. Number one was fear. Then there was lack of start up capital. Then the lease was always going to be too much. There are all sorts of good reasons not to go into business for yourself. There are also a lot of reasons to go ahead and do it too. All the business plans in the world will not tell you for certain if a venture such as this will succeed. Actually, all factual indicators will tell you that a bicycle shop has one of the worst case failure rates of all retail endevors.

Of course I ignored them all. In the end, I figured I could just as easily loose as much in a bad investment somewhere else or by buying a hot tub and a new car. In a few years, the value of a new car would depreciate as would a hot tub. I figured too that maybe I'd at least break even; and at the outside chance that I'd make a profit, maybe I could still buy that hot tub.

First lets get one thing straight. I hated working at Boeing. The only thing I liked about working at Boeing was the paycheck and benifits. I'm strickly speaking for myself but I believe most people who work there feel the same way. I'm sure there are people at Boeing who like their jobs and for them I'm happy. They are truely blessed. But for me, I felt like a drone. Lets face it, it's a factory; and I did the same job day in day out for the better part of 18 years. Sure there are different jobs there, but after you learn a job there on the Wingline to where you can do it with your eyes closed, it's all the same. Like the Dire Straights song, "Industrial Disease", I had it bad.

So this building became available; and I jumped in head first. The Monday after Christmas in 2004, I signed the lease and unlocked the double doors in front. I'll never walking in the front door carring a ladder and thinking to myself, "What the hell am I doing?" My longtime best friend Phill and I started tearing out old wall board at this building at 207 Van Scoyoc Ave SW, here in Orting, Washington and so, I was committed. It took every waking available spare minute for 7 weeks to get it ready for opening day on February 16th 2005. Keep in mind, I was still working full time at Boeing...Forty Hours a Week!

Pat died on February 25th a little over a week after I opened. He was more than a cousin to me. Pat was my mentor and friend. He was like the big brother I never had. I still miss him a lot, and wish I could ask him for advise on this and on that; but he's gone. One thing I know for certain is that I'll see him in Paradise on some bright morning. More on that some other day. So this Blog, and my business is dedicated to Patrick Pryne.