11/19/07 - Know your rights (especially when turning left...)

"O.K., Matt. So, now that you've slapped some wrists and spoken out about our responsibilities as users of the road and being a part of the solution, not the problem...are you going to follow your own advice or just let us wallow in the uncertainty of not knowing how the law expects cyclists to behave?"

I'd love to be cool enough for that to be an actual question from an adoring fan and follower of my blog, but I've not yet attained that level in cyberspace...so I have to make up my own challenging, pointed, and introspective questions. Sad, huh?

It's quite clear though that in the light of recent events, it is more important than ever for those of us who use bicycles on the road - whether for transportation or recreation - to know the laws. Probably more important than for us to know all the intricacies of how they relate to us when we're driving our cars. If we know the laws, we can operate safely within them so as to not be at fault in the terrible instance that one of us be involved in a traffic incident. So, it is time for me to cross the line from amateur public opinion journalist to public service announcer and reference librarian.

10/15/07 - Ceramic Bearings on test!

Shortly before making the big move back to Portland, OR from Nashville I ordered up a ceramic bearing kit for my beloved Bontrager Race X Lite Aero wheels from some of my favorite people on earth; parts distributor The Hawley Company in South Carolina. I opted for the budget offering from Enduro - a well respected cartridge bearing manufacturer - instead of the current gold-standard FSA cartridge bearings. After all; I am a 1) father of a 19-month-old 2) measly sales-person in the bike industry and 3) making an expensive cross-continental move. The Enduro bearings offer nearly the same performance at a slight reduction of the cost of the FSA bearings.

So; first - what makes these things so special? Why have ceramic bearings been getting all this buzz lately?

10/07/07 - Andwebike.com

Portland is lauded as a cycling utopia by many: bloggers, respected publications, and cyclists' word-of-mouth. But, unfortunately; utopia in it's truest form never really exists, and this cycling haven in the Great Northwest is not without it's own issues.

Andwebike.com; an awareness website and organization sponsored by the Washington County Bicycle Transportation Coalition (www.washcobtc.org), Portland's Bicycle Transportation Alliance (www.bta4bikes.org) and Bike Gallery (www.bikegallery.com) among others; was created to memorialize Oregonian Tim O'Donnell who was struck by a car and killed while riding with friends. From the website:

"This tragedy brought increased attention to the safety of cyclists using Washington County roads. Tim's wife, Mary, established a memorial fund to address this problem. The Bicycle Transportation Alliance (BTA), working with the Washington County Bicycle Transportation Coalition (WashCo BTC), is spearheading an effort to increase awareness of these serious safety issues.

The campaign will include life-sized cutouts of people with their bikes that will remind motorists that bicyclists are their relatives, friends, coworkers and neighbors, "and we bike". The cutouts will be placed around in front of businesses and community gathering spots around the county. The message is, "Be careful; the cyclist could be someone you know." Printed material will include a list of ways motorists can more safely interact with bicyclists. Presentations will be made to community groups throughout the month, and various other activities will also help promote the campaign."
This campaign is exactly the kind of thinking that I wish I had thought of while living and riding in and around Nashville. Nashville, while lacking the bike-friendly infrastructure of Portland, is a popular place for cycling - and like Portland, is soured by frequent - and sometimes violent and fatal - interactions between cyclists and cars. I think these random acts of road-rage sometimes occur without the thought that the object of the rage might be someone they know.

But the point goes beyond that. That person on the bike that the motorist is frustrated with (in spite of their inherent, law-given right to the road) is someones son, daughter, mother, father, friend or neighbor. The crime against humanity occurs regardless of the rider's relation(or lack-thereof) to the motorist.

What a great, thought-provoking campaign. Spread the word.

Thanks for reading

9/30/07 - A New Beginning!

It's been a while since my last update and I apologize for being out of touch - I've been pretty busy.

Since my last post, I've wrapped up my career with Allanti Bicycle Company in Brentwood, Tennessee; driven 2500 miles cross-country to Portland, Oregon while stopping to watch the Tour of Missouri and to ride in Boulder, CO and Boise, ID (more on the trip later once I have the pictures ready...); spent time with my wife and son whom I hadn't seen in 7 weeks and travelled to Las Vegas for the Interbike trade show. One busy month!

Well, this coming Tuesday hopefully marks the beginning of a new page in m life with new opportunities to forge relationships and help people to love this sport that is so important and meaningful to me. Tuesday morning I'll start working for the venerable Bike Gallery in their awesome Beaverton, Oregon store (pictured above). Bike Gallery is Oregon's largest bicycle retailer and may be the largest Trek dealer in the United States. They have a long reputation for emphasizing the relationship and integrity over the "sale" and I can't wait to begin working with another company that shares my values. Bike Gallery also sells Lemond, Gary Fisher, Orbea, Co-Motion and a wide array of other fantastic products. I'll say again; I'm really excited for this opportunity.

You can learn more about BG by visiting their website: http://bikegallery.com. For those of you who are friends and former clients (or both...), I'll invite you to stop by and visit. The address, phone number, and a map to the location can be found here on the website.

Finally, if there is anything that I can do to help you better enjoy your cycling experience - I now have a new medium to help you - so don't hesitate to ask. Stop by the store and I'll see what I can do. I'll look forward to seeing you!

Thanks for reading.

8/14/07 - New Shoes - Shimano R-300!

It's been said many times over that the best piece of equipment is one you don't notice. Well, after taking my new Shimano R-300 heat-moldable shoes out for a ride this morning, I never realized how much I was "noticing" my old shoes!

That is not to say that I didn't notice the new shoes, it's just that the things I was noticing were so good, so positive, and so much better than anything I had experienced before, I was shocked at what I had been missing. It is easy to say that the stiffness, stability, and comfort (and you know how much I love comfort) are best-in-class from this shoe. I don't know why we aren't hearing more about these from the big cycling websites like cyclingnews.com or pezcyclingnews.com - who are famous for their product reviews. So, I'll review them for you here instead.

8/1/07 - A Message from Matt

Nashville has meant a great deal to me. It is the only place that my wife and I; both originally from the Northwest, have lived together. My firstborn son, Jacob, was born here. And it has been the place where I have met and made some of my best friends and achieved my greatest professional accomplishments. And so it is with some difficulty that I must announce that, nearly seven years to the day after moving here; the time has come for my family and I to return home to the Pacific Northwest and Portland, Oregon.

6/1/07 - Suspicions Confirmed

A few months ago, you'll remember me writing about the rumors I'd heard about a new bike from Trek. Well, it's true - and according to Trek, "everything else is history". The new Madone series was unveiled today, and you can read all about it at: http://www2.trekbikes.com/madone/. Reading through the Madone Tech Book that I received from Trek today, I must admit; I've never had a worse case of bike lust in my life! And I haven't even ridden the bike yet!

My store will be getting one or two of them soon (one if them is supposed to be my size - it's nice to be the Sales Manager), and I'll hope to get out on it soon to let you know what I think. Until then, this photo will have to do:

These bikes have serious promise - with many different models, from about $2800 to $7500; and three different geometries: Pro fit, Sport fit, and Women's Specific. There's a bike for anyone.
The other big news is the redesign of the Bontrager wheel line. I love wheels and I'm a big fan of Bontrager's wheels (I personally own four sets - and may own a fifth set soon). The new wheels are very well thought out and I can't wait to see and ride them.
While I haven't posted in a while (things are crazy-busy at the store), I promise I'll post as soon as I've tested the bike.
Thanks for reading...

5/6/07 - What makes that bike cost so much?

Its not the question we get asked most frequently, but it is probably the one that people wonder the most about.

I saw an article in the 2003 Buyer's Guide from Bicycling magazine which attempted to answer the question by comparing a $2,000 bike to a $10,000 bike - and it did a horrible job, if I do say so my self; comparing only the ride characteristics of the bikes and saying nothing about the quality of the materials used or the resulting durability and ease or lack of maintenance. In my continuing pursuit of being your resource for all things cycling - I'll attempt to improve on their comparison.

I'm going to tear apart three bikes (figuratively, not literally) of three distinctly different price levels and tell you just what makes them cost what they do. Hopefully, from there you can choose whether that makes a difference to you - or whether it will require more personal investigation on your part. Which, we will be happy to help you with, of course.

A Guide:

First, to lay the ground work - here's how I'll conduct this comparison.

4/26/07 - The simple cure for our complex woes

This morning I spent 24 minutes watching the President of Trek Bicycle Corporation, John Burke's presentation at the recently completed Taipei Bicycle Trade Show in Taiwan. ( To see it yourself, go to youtube.com and search for John Burke - then select the video that is titled John Burke - the Al Gore of the Bicycle Industry). Now, those of you who have heard John speak before know that it wasn't easy - but as usual, while John isn't the greatest public speaker, he had a lot of good things to say. Most of which inspired what I have to say here.

Think what you will about Global Warming; I won't go into all of my thoughts here. But if Al Gore were correct, the bicycle is a great solution to our problems. I don't think it stops there though. Obesity is possibly the greatest sociological and physiological problem of our time. There are many great epidemics - but obesity is by far the most transcendent and is the root cause of many other health problems facing many of our friends and neighbors. While thyroid disorders can account for a small percentage of obesity in our time, a far greater number of the cases are due simply to the lifestyle of "westernized" society in which we live in a manner that is fully dependent upon the automobile and almost necessitates a poor diet based on processed, "fast" foods

4/25/07 - What I learned at Ladies' Night

Sorry, this entry doesn't involve me dressed in drag and infiltrating Ladies Night at a local watering hole to find out what women really think about...it might be more interesting if it did.

Last night, we hosted Trek's Women's Specific Design group's Ross Rushin for an event at our Brentwood store all about cycling and women (More info: http://www.fitforwomentour.com/). It was truly a success, with 35 women in attendance learning all sorts of great things about what makes women's bikes special, how to fix a flat tire, and how to prepare for their next big ride. I think everyone walked away with something they learned, yes, including me.

1. I learned how to fix a flat tire without touching the chain! After fixing literally tens of thousands of flat tires, I'd always done the road-side repair while grabbing the chain to get the wheel out of the frame and while putting it back in. Ross showed me that it didn't have to be so - something I'll add to every flat-changing clinic from now forward.