Staples Bike to Work Day

Today was the Staples, Framingham Bike to Work Day. Employees of Staples were given various incentives to ride to work on this gorgeous 80° morning. One of these incentives was free bike check-ups courtesy of IBC.

These events are great, you've got everyone from serious triathlete-types on their TT bikes to folks that have pulled their dusty, fifteen-year-old klunkers out of the basement. For some, riding to work is business as usual; for others it's a major feat.

It is truly amazing how far people will ride with a little motivation. We had riders coming in from as far away as Walpole, a 24 mile trip. Word on the street was that Staples has one employee who rides in from Plymouth once in a while, a 75 mile journey. He may have still been riding by the time we had to pack up to leave.

It was a bittersweet event though, Jake Green, Director of Metrowest Transportation and all around super-nice guy, is leaving the Bike to Work Day crew to go work for the F.B.I. . For real. Good luck Jake, we will try to carry on without you, but it just won't be the same (sob!).

NEMBA/DCR Cutler Park Trail Day

On Saturday May 15th members of NEMBA, Hup United, and the International Bike Elite Mountain Bike Team joined forces for a trail day at Cutler Park in Needham, MA. The project involved the rehabilitation of a severely washed out section of trail. Countless wheel barrows full of gravel were dumped on the problem area and distributed evenly to form a nicely graded path.

Wow, that is one nicely graded path.

Kevin Sweeney swings his shovel like he's on the chain gang.

Steve Cobble from NEMBA was the project manager. He was an amazing PM,

he brought donuts.

Chip Baker makes the most of his cyclist's physique, smiling all the while

Some solid teamwork made the task fly by. What might have taken one lonely DCR employee an entire day was accomplished in a matter of a couple hours by this elite crew. Thanks to Bob Khederian, the DCR, and NEMBA for setting this up.

Easy as Pi - A Pi Day Alleycat 3.14.10

DATE - Sunday, 3.14 (March, 14th)
TIME - Registration will begin at 1:59PM, RACE WILL BEGIN AT 3:14 SHARP!
LOCATION - Cambridge Common, off of Harvard Square.
COST - $5 with a helmet, $7 without.
BRING - A bag, lock, and your biggest Pi eating grin!
AFTER PARTY - Otherside Cafe 5-7PM!

For the latest event news you can follow Easy as Pi on Twitter.

This event is being organized by Eric Stratton who is a salesman at our Brighton Ave location.

Bringing a Gun and a Knife to a Pillow Fight

We've sold our first Superfly 100. And we've sold it to an athlete so terrifyingly talented we shall only refer to him hereafter as "He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named." Seriously, selling a bike like this, to a guy like that...it's like if Mike Tyson, in his prime, had been allowed by the boxing commission to wield a 2 X 4 with a nail in it against his opponents. Some say he has sthe VO2 max of a Himalayan yak on EPO. Some say he subsists exclusively on the blood of live grizzly bears -- drunk straight from their necks (while he has them in a sleeper hold). Some say they once got him a cake for his bachelor party, and he ate the whole thing...before they told him Chuck Norris was inside.

He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named upgraded to a Superfly hard-tail last season, and that put him at a distinct advantage over the competition. Now that he's on "The 100, " it's going to be simply ridiculous. When asked if he was looking at any other bikes HWMNBN replied: "No. This is the only bike I'm looking at, this is the one." As he stared at us with the black, soul-sucking abysses that reside in the area of his face where most people have eyeballs.

Watch out, something wicked fast this way comes.
--
Thom P.
http://wellonabigbikeya.blogspot.com/

Product Review: Gore Bike Wear Race Power Over Shoe

The booty I'm using this season is the Race Power Over Shoe. In a word...in two words: they freakin' work. What else can I say? They keep my feet warm and dry. I guess I could trash talk the Pearl Izumi Amphib booties I've been using for years — er — I mean, compare and contrast. What it comes down to with the Amphibs is basically that the zippers suck. They are hard to zip when your hands are warm. In fact, you're lucky if you don't blow out the zipper putting them on. Then there's the issue of taking them off with cold hands. Operose is a word I would use...if I knew the meaning of it. When I'm in the dressing room at the shop, trying to take them off after a cold ride I let out such streams of profanity that my co-workers have to tell appalled mothers, as they cover their child's ears: "sorry mam, that's Tommy, he has Tourettes Syndrome, we get a big tax break for employing him...please don't sue us."

Conversely, the Gore booties utilize a velcro system. I can put them and on and take them off standing on one foot like a damn flamingo. The version I have are uninsulated, for colder weather riding (sub-20°) I'd probably recommend the insulated version. Or you could just do what I do and cut a hole in the bottom of an old wool sock and pull it over your shoe before donning your booties.

Best. Repair. Ever.

With fall upon us IBC often needs creative ways to keep its employees busy. Today provided us with what has to be the finest non-bike repair we have ever done. The extremely discerning 4 year-old customer was elated and will probably hype us up on Yelp or the toddler equivalent of facebook. Please enjoy the thrilling adventure of Saving Mr. T-Rex, starring our favorite dino protagonist.

Doctors Stratton and Jochem examine the patient. The prognosis is grim. He's losing air fast.


Doctor Jochem intubates the patient, sorta.


Dr. Stratton checks the vitals, it's still a little hairy at this point.


Dr. Leas steps in to assist. He is a handsome expert in T-Rex surgery.


Facing horrifying flashbacks to his tenure at Raptor Haven and Bronto Water World, Doctor Jochem cracks under the pressure.


The dashing Dr. Leas tries a previously untested surgical maneuver whilst Dr. Jochem looks on in horror.


Having regained his composure, Dr. Jochem checks T-Rex's reflexes and declares the operation a resounding success. Our young client has his best buddy back and Doctors Leas, Jochem and Stratton saunter off to the hip, local doctors bar for some celebratory adult beverages and tapas.

The End...?

NEMBA Explorers Kids Rides

Saturday mornings at 9:30 at Cutler Park Needham, IBC puts on a NEMBA Explorers ride for kids ages 8-12. It's about an hour and a half ride down fire roads, carriage paths, and a small amount of singletrack. We take time to stop and work on skills like log hopping, riding up and off a curb, and getting started on uphills in the right gear. Post-ride we discuss the best parts of the day over chocolate milk and Kids Clif bars.

Above: On a rather eventful ride we came upon a large snapping turtle who had just nipped a German Shepherd puppy's nose (thankfully not too badly). Explorer rider Cole looks on as a brave gentleman transports the prehistoric beast back to the water. Don't worry, no children were eaten.

Above: The Gods of cycling shine a light on Sonya, giving her the power to hop over huge logs in a single bound. Log hopping is a key element of mountain biking, the less time you spend getting off your bike for obstacles and the more time you spend rolling, the more of a real mountain biker you become.

Above: Colin and Linnea (or "Colinnea" as the Papparazi calls them) come out to support a sunny ride on Saturday morning. Miriam, Alexandra, Brendan and the crew portage their bikes over an enormous log. Explorer rides are always an adventure. Riding down the flower lined boardwalks of Cutler is always a highlight.

Check our ride calendar for future Explorers ride dates.