Thanks for reading the newsletter. I hope this helps you have a productive week.

Experience

I was reading one my email last week and I found a genuine nugget of knowledge from Tim Stodz. He wrote, ”I have no advice to give, only experience to share.” This got my gears moving quickly. It really hits home when I’m working on an older bike, say something from the 1970’s, and the younger guys in the shop or even the bike owner weren’t even alive when the bike was first built. Knowing how to work on the components used back then puts me in a position to point out the nuances of the technology and design these bikes were made with compared to similarly shaped objects made today. I always share this knowledge with my colleagues in the hope that they can add to their mental notebook for future repairs.

Critical Thinking

Many days at the shop I will stop what I am doing and just listen to customers and my colleagues talking and working out problems. There is a give and take that goes down until a solution is found or the problem just can’t be solved. There is a level of thought that relates to experience that goes into these interactions. We, the shop, have the experience, the customer on the other hand needs a solution and oftentimes has no experience. Their ignorance is not a fault, they simply don’t know how to fix their issue. Critical thinking comes into play at the shop on both sides of the counter. Customers may be new to cycling and be intimidated upon walking in the door and smelling the new tire rubber and seeing expensive bikes. Customers that have done some research beforehand seem to have the edge on what they are seeking. I like this forethought since it really helps convey in words what they like and what they want out of the cycling experience. Sometimes if customers listened to our advice even a tiny bit more they would be much happier with the outcome of their repairs and offers of advice (experience). We get a lot of “I used to race” comments which are fairly comical on a base level, I’ve done it too, and it’s a great primer to start a conversation for sure. Is it critical thinking? Perhaps for some people it is, then again, some people love rigid hardtails.

Weather

Old people talk about the weather. It effects us all and determines what we do and when we do it. For cyclists the weather is a constant bane. It may be windy one day, or rainy the next. We gear up appropriately and carry on. For those of us that live in moderate climes it’s wonderful to wake up, put on a single layer, and head out the door for a pleasant ride. Not all of us live in such places but we make it happen. A windbreaker or rain coat is in my future since the weather people are predicting a wet winter. I will be putting fenders back on my bike soon. How is the weather in your neck of the woods?

Thanks for reading. Have a great week and think about bikes.

Peace,
Paul