2009 S-Works Epic

I recently returned from my latest trip for work. I am very fortunate to have the opportunity to take a yearly trip with my fellow service managers at Eriks. The past two years we went out to Colorado Springs for Sram’s STU(Sram Technical University). Last year plus STU we got to partake in the Bill Woodul Race mechanics clinic. For someone that wants to be a race mechanic this is the first step. This year we got to go out to Specialized Bikes for their SBCU program. This past October they added a technical clinic to their list of classes. Specialized Technical Masters Course. I have never been to California before so I was pretty stoked to spend part of my winter in a warm climate for the first time in my life. Specialized has a beautiful facility. Very well kept. Top notch. The tech clinic was roughly 4 days. The first day was a lot of Theory. Explanations on carbon fiber, integrated suspension and its advantages, spring rates, and rider experience. The second and third days were in the lab. We briefly looked at Roval wheels. The new Command Post. Then we dove into suspension. The rest of the second day was pulling apart the rear AFR shocks. The third day was all forks. We pulled apart the E150 fork, and the E100 Future Shock fork. All in all, the course was very good. However I could tell it is still in its early stages, and it can only get better. Brennan Marquez did a great job. We got to meet the engineers behind the front and rear shocks. Even the well known Mike “Mic” McAndrews. A pioneer in the suspension world who helped invent the BRAIN shock on Specialized bikes. The last day was spent out on the trail testing out the suspension and seeing how it performs in different conditions.

   The weather out there was perfect. I think we were in the 60’s all week. I guess it had been raining a ton there the past week and some of us were worried we weren’t going to get to ride. I rained overnight most nights, but was dry during the day. Luckily we were able to ride that last day. And it was an epic ride. THE best mt. bike ride of my life. I rode the 2009 S-Works Epic. It was outfitted with the Fast Trak LK(low knob) tires. I was a bit concerned with this because of the muddy conditions we were hearing about, plus “AT” the rear shock engineer looked at my tires and gave me a funny look. Uh Oh, I thought. The bike was flawless. Climbs like a banshee. As fast if not faster then my S-Works Carbon hardtail. The tires were the most surprising. No issues at all. And it was MUDDY. Ya see, we Minnesotans don’t get the opportunity to ride in the mud because our trails close if there is the slightest hint of mud. We took full advantage. It was some of the gnarliest shit I’ve ever ridden on. I followed a guys line who was riding an S-Works Enduro down a really aggressive, steep rocky section. I’m sure I had that “OH SHIT” look on my face. But the bike came through with flying colors. A great 3+ hours of riding had us all spent. Some frosty Sierra Nevada Pale Ales, then pizza was a great way to end our week out there. 

   As much as I love these trips and am grateful for them, every year I debate on going. I don’t like flying. No, there are parts of flying I don’t like. You always hear that you’re more likely to die in a car accident then a plane crash. Thats just by the numbers. Take a car crash vs. a plane crash. Thats how I look at it. Secondly I hate turbulence. Can’t stand it. On our way back we hit some wicked shit over the Rocky Mountains. Worst I’ve ever experienced. I prefer window seats, but looking at that wing flop all over the place, while the plane is swaying back and forth and changing altitudes makes me feel like the pilot has no control. Taking off and landing are pretty cool. Gimme just that, and put me out for the rest of it. The whole time this is going on this guy sitting behind me is snoring his ass off. How? Not sure, maybe he’s got some good drugs. We’ll see what happens next year. Maybe I won’t go?  I tell this myself every year, and end up going. It was pretty cool to be laying in green grass one moment, then just 4 hours later walking in 8 degree weather and fresh POW. Oh yes, and In-N-Out Burger is worth all the hype. 

Well suck me sideways. Its damn cold out eh? Nothing like coming back from Colorado to a frigid weekend. For those of you who aren’t aware, but this past weekend had a whopping high of -2 degrees. Overnight low’s around -15 and windchills doubled that.  Only fitting that the U.S. Pond Hockey Championships fall on the coldest weekend of the year. There’s nothing like going outside on frigid nights like these, look up into the clear black star studded sky and take in a deep, long breath. Can’t get much closer to pure oxygen then that. Welcome to winter in Minnesooota!!!

     The service managers at Erik’s were treated to their first ever service managers trip. We spent a week out in Colorado Springs for some training. We spent the first 3 days at a program called STU. Sram Technical University. 3 days of theory, discussion, and overhauling SRAM products. Their full line of Rock Shox forks, hydraulic brakes, the new road shifters, and rear suspension. The only program of its kind in the industry. Hats of to Hercules and Dave for another killer STU session. Oh, and I can’t forget, we got to see the new Rock Shox SID up front and in person. Goody gumdrops. I want one of those things so bad. The second half of our trip was spent at the OTC(Olympic Training Center). We along with 50 or so other mechanic’s from around the country got the honor to spend 4 days with some of the best wrenching minds in the industry to get trained in and become certified race mechanics. Racers need mechanics. To do so one must have the proper certification.   These were very long and grueling days. Class from 8am to around 9-9:30pm with breaks for lunch and dinner. Lots of information, but well worth it. I must say, I have never talked to people that have such a passion for the bicycle then what I observed at the OTC. It truly was inspiring. That will be the thing I will remember most about my experience there. The passion these people have for our industry and the bicycle. Race mechanics are a different breed. You could be the best mechanic at your shop, but at the races you could be the worst. We were told, “There are two types of bike mechanics. Shop mechanics, and race mechanics.” Very much true. We met the man that started Wheelsmith and now works for FSA. We met the president of Independent Fabrications. We met the man who has pretty much been the go to guy for mountain bike race support for U.S riders worldwide. We met the man who is the leader of Mavic neutral race support. If you watch road racing, you see Mavic support everywhere. A very cool experience, and I hope to apply some of that knowledge this summer.

   Purple Palace Brewing is in full force. The draught tap was a hit for New Year’s. 5 gallons of Witbier were gone in a couple of hours. Next up we have and EPA(English Pale Ale). This should be on tap sometime around Valentines Day. We just brewed up an Octane IPA yesterday. That should be ready in late Feb. early March. Just in time for Umphrey’s McGee. Wednesday we are brewing a Belgian Trippel and that will be done sometime in October of 2008. We are also in the works for a logo to be stamped onto a tap handle. My good friend Matt is going to help us out with the design. He’s a computer whiz and can’t wait to see what transpires. His only request? Purple Palace at no charge for life. No prob.

    Thats all for now. Just a quick update on some things. The next couple of months while our store is getting revamped I will be floating around at some shops, so maybe I’ll see ya there. Otherwise, we’ll be back open sometime early March. Next time I find a computer long enough to write I hope its on my new MacBook with Leopord. Cheers, and go Wild.

    I wrote a couple posts ago that I’ve got ideas. Well, I was watching 60 minutes this past Sunday and their final segment was on LaDainian Tomlinson. “LT” as he’s called around the sports world turns out to be a big contributor to society. I love watching professional sports. The thing I don’t like about it, is the unhealthy sums of money these guys get for playing sports. The majority of these guys take advantage of this amazing opportunity that they get. Some players getting arrested, big ego’s, just self indulgent jocks. LT is the exact opposite. He spends more time off the field making a real difference then any other player in the NFL. I was amazed at how much time he spends daily making a difference in his community. He invites 21 kids to each home game that can’t afford tickets. 21 for the number he wears. After the game, he meets with each one of those kids. I was touched at how much time he spends off the field using his status to help out other people. It made me think. I would like to do more of this in my profession. Granted, it would be on a much smaller scale. But still, its nice to know that I am making a difference in someones life. I’ve done some things here and there. Helping out a group of Boy Scouts out with fixing their bikes. I got a thank you card for that. Helping out members of TCBC on what to look for on possible bicycle repairs. I was thanked in their newsletter. Helping out that kid coming home from school. He didn’t have any cash, but it was his only means of transportation. No problem. Most of the recognition bicycle mechanics do are for fixing a problem. Repairing something that does not work right.

However, the thing I am most proud of is not from fixing or repairing a bike. Its something else. One of my favorite customers at the shop is named Woody. He’s a different kind of customer. Not the kind that buys thousands of dollars worth of gear. He usually buys all of his things online because its cheaper. Not someone who brings in his bike all the time to get serviced. Yet, we still consider him a great customer because we are helping him out in a different way. He is the bike mechanic for everyone in his neighborhood. He probably owns more bike tools then I do. He frequents our store at least 2-3 times a week in the winter months. Walks in with a big smile. “Hey Mr. Andy”. Any time that I have been in a really stressed out, bad mood at work and Woody walks in, those feelings disappear. Its always a new question. “Which tool do I need for this?” “What part(s) do I need to fix this?” “I can’t figure out this damn bottom bracket”. That last one is a common question, usually followed with some laughs. He’s probably brought in over 30 bikes over the past 3 years or so. Each one with a new problem.  Earlier this summer Woody stopped by to give me something. It was a thank you card, and a gift certificate. I was moved. All I was doing was answering his questions for him. Or on occasin remove a stubborn bottom bracket. But to him I was making a real difference. The card and certificate show that. I couldn’t thank him enough. That thank you card will always be on my bench. Sometimes its the smallest of gestures to one person makes a huge difference to another.

Pretty tight quarters eh? Yes indeed. How can I describe the shop in the middle of a busy summer day? Controlled Chaos. We’ve steadily been getting busier and busier each season at the shop. We’ve been putting up numbers that compete with some of our other stores that are 3 times our size. We call ourselves “The little engine that could” of Erik’s Bike Shop. We’ve tried to make accommodations for all the repair bikes by shifting benches around, adding a wall, adding more hooks. But the bottom line is, we need more space. Maple Grove is a boomtown of retail, restaurants, and people. It seemed only fitting we too would get and upgrade at some point. Things were finally put into motion about 3 weeks ago. Its an exciting time. We’re pushing the entire front wall out about 20 feet or so. Remodeling the inside, and getting a new shop setup. Rumor has it that we’ll be getting all new tools. Ah, new tools. The bicycle mechanics “drug” of choice. We get giddy at the possibility of new tools. I was helping setting up the new Erik’s Mega store in Woodbury last Friday night. New tools galore. We literally are like kids in candy stores. Only replace kids with obsessive, meticulous shop mechanics, and candy with tools. I was jealous of those guys getting to setup a new shop. I was just there to help out and was out on the sales floor most of the time. But in just a few months I’ll be doing the same thing at our shop. Can’t wait. Park Tool could start a slogan for shop mechanics to get them hooked. It could be something along the lines of “Park Tool, just one taste, and you’re hooked for life.”

Gone are the days of hitting my head numerous times a day on a handlebar, tool, hook, or a bench. Gone are the days of getting what I can only think are “shin splints” in my forearms from having to hang bikes and take them down standing in awkward positions. Good grief that started to hurt on a daily basis. Gone are the days of having so many bikes, that we would have to start leaning them up against other bikes hanging on the wall. Gone are the days of passageways that bikes can barely fit through. Yup, its gonna be a good year next year. But you folks are going to have to wait for awhile. We’ll be closed for about 2 months. Jan-Feb. Then hopefully open back up sometime in March. All this bike talk makes me wanna go out an pedal. Alas, my bum knee won’t allow it, and I don’t ride in the snow. So, time to get those cross country skis out. Cheers.

Before I start, I would like to point out that this is my first entry on the new host site. I would like to thank Ms. Kocha for introducing me to this wonderful website(you can find her blog on my blogroll). I’ve been wanting to switch my blog page for a long time now, and this one caught my eye. So far I have no complaints.

Do any of you ride a snowboard? If so, you should be aware, that we at Erik’s Bike Shop DO snowboard service. I think a lot of shredders out there don’t realize that we do snowboard service. I’ve got to be honest. I come from a nordic ski background and when I first started at Erik’s the snowboard service was mediocre at best. Granted, nordic skiers are more anal about wax, and care of their product then snowboarders will ever be, but I’ve tried to raise the bar. We as a company have as well. When I first started all that we offered was a hot wax, edge sharpen, and some p-tex service, and Grindrite.  We since gone through some changes within the company and have a much better department to service snowboards. Two seasons ago all the service managers were professionally trained out at Afton Alps for a ski/snowboard service clinic. We’ve added more wax options. Before it was just an all purpose, all temp wax. I pushed this that we need options for wax. Different temperature’s and different types of snow require different types of wax. More edge tuning tools are now available. We can do any type of bevel adjustment the customer wants. We now offer Diamond Stone Edge polishing. A final smooth, and professional finish to and edge sharpen. All shops have capabilities of doing base patches, de-lam fixes, and now base welds for those deep gashes down to the core. Two Tune-Up options for you’re board as well.  The bottom line is, we’re going to take care of you’re board just as well, if not better then the more well known snowboard service shops in the Twin Cities.

I learned a lot from my 4 years on a nordic ski team in high school. I also helped coach for 3 years after that. Nordic skiers take care of their ski’s in an almost cult like fashion. Did you know that some waxes need to be applied wearing a mask? Just breathing in the dust can be toxic. I try to take some of that knowledge, and commitment from one aspect and use it on another. I’ve tried to tell the kids that buy these boards the importance of keeping it in good shape. The idea in snowboarding is to shred the gnar with no regard, and replace the board in a couple years. And lets face facts. We here in Minnesnowta usually ride on shitty snow. Its man-made, usually icy, and very corny. By corny I mean is not very solid. Its broken up and rough on equipment. Thats why I try to emphasize servicing boards even more. Why not ride that board for a few years more? As long as the board still suits you’re size, and riding style, keep it maintained, whats the point? You just might enjoy it a bit more. Start to develop that connection with you’re equipment. Speaking of finding that connection with equipment, I think its time to pull the ski’s from the basement. Ciao.
P.S. Don’t believe the sticker on the board that says “pre-waxed”. FALSE. That shit is more designed for shipping purposes. You must get you’re board professionally waxed before riding.

The salvation has come and gone. Eric is still out at the shop and Steve announced early last week he was quitting. Cripes. My two top go-to guys are now gone. Its just myself, Sam who is in his second year, and Brandon who has been there for about 3 weeks. Don’t get me wrong, Sam’s a solid wrench and Brandon has tons of potential, but you can’t replace two guys like that with a flip of the switch. The two of them combined probably have 50 years of experience with bicycles. My weekend trip to visit Nate in Iowa is now ruined, and I will be working 65 some odd hours next week. However, somehow, with all of that, I have managed to get out and do some pedaling. Soooo, I guess things could be worse. Maybe. All I care about at this point is that I get my days off to race, go up to Canada, and 24 Hours.
The latest Mountain Bike magazine had an article with some mechanic’s favorite tools. I was thinking “sweet”, some unique ways of guys getting things done. However, I was kinda dissapointed. Don’t get me wrong. I’m not knocking on the mechanic’s and their capabilities, but some of the tools were a lame choice. Take the Tri-allen from Park Tool. No offense dude, but there isn’t a bike shop in the world that doesn’t use one of these. Or the tire lever was another choice. Once again, used in every shop. I did like the Scratch Awl. A fancy shmancy version of a sharpened spoke, just adds a little flare to the workbench. I liked that one. Thats what I was looking for. Maybe I’m being to critical of the article, maybe I was thinking right away when I saw the add “oh, cool man, guys finding unique ways to get the job done”, and I was doomed once I started reading it. I just would have done it another way. Instead of “Your mechanics favorite tool” how about “Your mechanics most unique tool”. I’m all about originality, and I love coming up with new ways to turn a wrench, and fix a bicycle.
As sad as it is, I still have high hopes for the weekend. Apologies to all of you down at Simpson college, but I will not be down this weekend to party hardy. I plan on doing a long road ride after I write this then off to work. Matt and I and some other friends hope to hit up the CC Club tonight. Tomorrow night I’m having dinner at the parents house. It will be nice to go over there for awhile, chit chat with my mom, dad, and pat. I am in need of advice. Buying a new car, insurance crap, yack, yack, yack. Speaking of cars, I am going to be buying the new Civic or Civic SI sedan this fall. I stopped by Hopkins Honda the other day while riding down the Greenway, and got a good look at em’. Ohhh-eee, they look DECE. Oh my look at the time, I gotta get outside and start pedaling. Ta Ta.

daily quote – “Oil prices have fallen lately. We include this news for the benefit of the gas stations, which otherwise wouldn’t learn of it for six months.” – Bill Tammeus, Toronto National Newspaper 1991

Its been brewing for about a month now and I gotta let it out somehow. So I chose here. Apologies to those of you who hate complaining in writing. Until a recent string of events, my life lately has pretty much been total chaos this past couple of weeks, and prolly will be bad again by Saturday. I got a call last week at work. It was Eric telling me he might miss the next month of work. Let me tell you a little about what has been going on. Eric has been sick for a solid 3 months now. It first was pneumonia that lingered and he had trouble breathing. Then he got a bad cold, and was having these panic like attacks, and had to call in from time to time. It has now been determined that he has some sort of case of The Asthma, and he cannot go back to work until it passes. Doctors orders….. Every year Eric is in the top 3 at Erik’s for top mechanic’s(labor dollars). So as soon as I heard this, I knew I was going to be working a lot and my emotions were going to be tested. And they have been already. This past Sunday we were very busy, a line of bikes waiting to be checked in. I was doing the best I could. This guy had this kids bike that needed a new tire. He sat there and waited his turn, then his wife came in asking whats taking him so long. He made a comment along the lines of “well I didn’t realize it takes 20 minutes to check in a flat tire.” I heard it and he knew I heard it. Ya know, I’m doing the best I can to get these people in and out as quickly as possible. But he had to be “at a party”. Another guy came in to get some service done, and parts installed. When I told him it will be $7.99 to install the saddle, he started laughing at me and asked me if I was serious. With a straight face, and fumes rising inside I said “yup”. I don’t have time for this shit when the shop is already bonkers. People are so rude sometimes. I honestly was so stressed at that point, I could have gone out back and had a cry.

Then came yesterday morning. Salvation. A ray of hope. Theodore Wirth Park was now open for mt. biking. Thank God. Kyle and I found path to ride to and from the park. We did a solid 2 1/2 hours of riding. Ahhhhh, the Salsa was flawless. I love that bicycle. Perfect riding conditions for sure. We both have trouble with that rock garden at Theo for some reason, and decided the first person to bail on it buys the first round of beers at Old Chicago when we get back. We both made it, so next was if we both make it again, SHOTS!!!. An hour later, we were sitting on the patio at Old Chicago on Hennepin, drinking shots, beers, nachos, in spandex. After that was dinner at the rents. What a day. Sanity returns, and all is good for now.
As I was driving home last night down Johnson(I took the long way). I was sitting at a stoplight and this women with two kids starts to cross the street. One is an infant in a stroller, and the other on a little trike with a handle on it so she can direct him. It was quite a sight. Then she looked at me, gave me this “this is what you get to look foward to buddy” look. It was a smile, but a stressed out smile. Like she had been with the kids all day. Where was dad I wondered? I smiled back. I kinda quivered. Am I ready for that? I dunno. Today is another beautiful day and I’m off to to some intervals on the trainer then off to work. The allergies are in full swing and the biker tan has returned so summer is here………………..

daily quote – “It shows that a guy like Brad May has no respect, so he deserves no respect from anybody” -Derek Boogard after Brad May’s cheap shot on Kim Johnsson after the Wild beat the Ducks in game 4. Watch out Aneheim, the “Boogeyman” is angry.

“Find yourself a girl and settle down, Live a simple life in a quiet town” I dunno if any of you know what that is from, but its from the band The Raconteurs. Its a great album and I suggest everyone go pick it up. Good stuff, and that line pretty much sums up what I’ve been searching for. Well, finding the girl part anyways. I went to Chipotle today to get some grub, and this women behind me in line was yakking on her cell phone while ordering. Now usually this doesn’t bother me when this happens, but this was an exception. She preceded to talk to her friend or whatever, AND tell this lady to make the burrito how she wanted it done. Down to having the small pieces of chicken, and not the large ones. I could see the frustration on the employee’s face. It was annoying, I wanted to tell that moron to get off her fucking phone!! It held up the whole line behind her too. People should have the common decency to get off your phone while having some sort of a transaction. I get it at work a lot, and it just pisses the hell outta me. Ok, down to business. Some of you may or may not know that I’ve been given an opportunity to transfer to Madison WI, for work. The opportunity was given to me about 2 weeks ago. Maybe 3. I went to Madtown last week for a couple days to check out the lay of the land, see the two stores service area’s I would be managing, and met the guys out there. It was a good yet short trip, but ultimately helped my with my final decision. I went back and forth on this for quite some time. On one side, why leave? I like where I’m working now. My current place of residency is quite nice and really has that “I’m home” feeling. My family and friends are all here in the cities. I’m thinking about going to school for journalism. On the other side however, it is a promotion. It would be more responsibility and let myself prove I can take on the challenge. It would be a pay raise. I would get to work with my old manager Dan. I’d get to live right by campus and State street downtown Madtown. You can see my dilemma. So, after a lot of going back and forth on this, I have decided that I will be staying in the Twin Cities. Some people might say “Andy, you pussy, its only a 4 hour drive and its a PROMOTION”. Yes, I understand that. It comes down to adding my reasons to stay are quite more then my reasons to go. There was a lot at stake then just re-locating for a job. I love my job, but I love a lot of other things in my life that are here in the cities. So thats that. Bad Andy’s staying in town. Now I can get back to focusing on training for the 24 Hours of Afton once again. Speaking of which, I spent a good hour and a half in the saddle today. It felt good. Later on this week, I’ll be doing a ton of skiing thanks to the recent dumping of snow we got. Thats all for now, time to get to those wretched taxes. Cheers!!!!

Quote of the Week – “Pain is a big fat creature riding on your back. The farther you pedal, the heavier he feels. The harder you push, the tighter he squeezes
your chest. The steeper the climb, the deeper he digs his jagged, sharp claws into your muscles.”
- Cyclist Scott Martin

Warning: The first portion of this post may bore you if you are not of the bicycle ilk. This past week I got to go out west to Colorado Springs for some training through work. We went to SRAM. Producers of RockShox,Avid,Truvativ, and of course SRAM bicycle products. It was a weeklong techncal seminar they call STU(Sram Technical University). It was pretty damn cool. We took apart their new road shifters(which are by FAR the easiest road shifter/lever to overhaul). Briefly on hydraulic brakes, and 3 full days of suspension. Basically overhauled every kind of damper/spring/fork assembly they offer. All in all it was a good trip. The new RockShox product is pretty badass and is definatley going to put them back on the map. Impressive. It was a class of about 16 “wrench’s” from all over the country. One guy hadn’t been on a mt. bike in over 8 years yet he was there to work on forks!! Needless to say, I learned real quick he dosen’t like mt. biking. WTF? When we weren’t in class there were some cool things to check out. However, thanks to good old Karma I missed out on some of that. My body decided it wanted to shut down for about 36 hours and make me feel like crap. I was in bed Tuesday night by 4pm and didn’t get up until the next morning at 7:30. I missed some things. Cripes. The Garden of the Gods park was pretty badass. Some wicked rock formations, and Brad circling around one a few times too made it pretty sweet. We only went out and really tore one on Thursday night. We went to this microbrew that had 11 of their own beers. We tried the sampler pack which gives us 3 oz. of each kind. Not bad barleywine. The Irish pub afterwards was much better. A roudier crowd with lots of emotion inside. This one crazy lady was singing to “drunken sailor” drinking a beer in one hand, and holding onto her infant baby who was bawling. I couldn’t believe it. Flew back last night. A really turbulant ride, but the view of the Twin Cities at night was worth it. Spectacular. Good to be home though. Here’s some of the trips highlights.
-getting to airport to leave too early, decide to drink beers
-plane has something wrong with the “strut” wait another two hours. did not drink beers
-first sight of Pikes Peak the next morning
-toy with all sorts of cool bicycle goodies. greasy hands, forks, and coffee. yea buddy
-mark buys little elephant at some weird store
-buy New Belgium Sunshine Ale
-drink that tasty Ale
-Brian’s Bicycle Repair
-mark giving brad shit the whole trip. absolutely hilarious
-thursday nights drunken shenanigans
-seeing a bar that had “Hot Mom Contest” on Wednesday nights
-Garden of the Gods park
-trying to drink our beer late thursday night before we leave and bbqing brats at midnight ouside the hotel.
-car ride back to Denver to fly home. Last of beer is downed.
-crazy old guy back up to Denver in old “hooptee” driving with a Fosters Oil Can in his right hand.
-drunk guy at bar thursday night telling me “I can’t get too drunk, I have to be able to talk to the taxi driver to bring me home”.
-saw that crazy guy yesterday at the Denver Airport.

Good Times

weekly quote – “Actually
it only takes me one drink to get drunk. The trouble is I can’t remember if it’s
the thirteenth or fourteenth.”
George Burns