August 12th Chain Links

We have a new feature here at the GBP Blog. We call it "chain links." In this section we'll be posting links to fun or interesting bike stories around the world. All the links will be SFW (unless noted) so make sure to click through to get all the tidbits the bike world has to offer.

First, what do you do when you're a nature lover, bike lover, and unemployed? How about ride 4000 miles to raise money for the Nature Conservancy? Nathan Winters is doing just that, and of course blogging, twittering and uploading to youtube along the way. (Via Cool Green Science)

Second, while Nathan's motives may be true, cockeyed.com took a slightly less altruistic approach to Google's "Chad Bikes America" trip back in 2001. The outcome is amusing (to say the least) and NSFW if your boss frowns on sporadic laughing fits.

Finally, Clean Technica has a gadget designed for those of us who can't live without our Iphone or crackberry. (My Iphone is currently sitting forlornly looking out the window hoping for even the merest signal. I'm not a fan of my Faraday Cage of an office.) The only drawback is it takes 2 hours to fully charge (if you call 2 hours on a bike a "drawback"). (Via Clean Technica)

...and the sign said closed!

I've gotten several emails from people wondering why the shop was closed on a Wednesday at 2pm or a Friday in the early evening. I kind of don't have the heart to tell them the world doesn't revolve around you so all I say is "Our hours are Saturday 12-5." We're working on pushing those hours to earlier in the day or adding another day, but for the moment it's not in the cards.

In fact, we've been forced to keep the doors shut this weekend due to a surprisingly heavy demand last Saturday. We're down to 4 bikes (from 12 at the start of the day) and just don't have the inventory to open up. Actually, it's quite a nice problem to have. We're ordering parts for some of the long term projects and taking some time to get all the work we've been putting off done. Here's a preview of some of the things you'll see in the shop when we reopen on the 15th.

-A police surplus TREK hardtial bike! It's a 19.5" monster with a brand new wheelset! No price yet but it's a beauty to behold.
-A 54cm lugged frame Panasonic road bike (previously referenced)! We're pricing it at $150.
-A high end dual-shock mongoose MTB. It's a welded aluminum frame with a mechanical front disk break. We also haven't priced this bike but it'll likely sell in the low end of the premium range.
-A tandem cruiser bike. I've never had one of these in the shop before but i'm excited to get it up on the stand. Price is TBD but it will be less than 1/2 of what a new one would cost.
-A tandem road bike. We're still working on this one. I hope to have it ready on the 15th!
-We also will have one more "special" road bike in stock. No more hints.

HOLY CRAP! I LOST MY BIKE LOCK KEY!

And it was my favorite bike lock! I know I had it with me when I hid those 9 other keys in geocaches for this month's contest... shoot. I bet I hid it too! That means there are 10 keys in geocaches around Tallahassee and one unlocks my bike!

Tell you what, if you can find the key to my bike lock, you can have the bike (but I get to keep the lock)! Seriously! I'll even give you all the gear you'd need to go with the bike. And if you find one of the 9 keys that doesn't unlock my bike, I'll give you a $5 gift certificate for our troubles.

I've posted all the rules and regs on thegbp.org/treasure! Good hunting!

Move along, nothing to see here

...except the guy who's covered in purple dye! I'd love this idea except for the whole having my bike covered in ugly purple dye but. That's why I ride a Police bike with Lojack! Feel free to steal it. You'll never be able to sleep soundly with the cops on your butt.

Update: And if purple dye isn't enough to keep the guy from stealing you bike I sure hope this is!

New bike and the cost of doing bussiness

Tallahassee has some problems, every city does, and by most measures they're small. Tally doesn't have LA's gang problem, NO's water, or even Seattle's rain. Tally has a road bike shortage. Gasp! As is the case with any shortage, the price of road bikes increases until quantity demanded falls to a point where supply and demand are stabilized. Welcome to Econ 101. The problem is, you (the blog reader) and I (the blog writer) think that road bikes should be valued at a certain point. The GBP is built on this. The market doesn't agree, thus forcing us to raise prices to compensate for increasing costs. Why the long winded explanation? Because we have a new road bike in the shop! WOOT! Unfortunately it's only one and it's not the high end model we had all hoped. On the brighter side, it's a very nice Panasonic mid sized men's bike with 15 speeds. We're pricing it at $150 for two reasons. 1) It's below our cost and 2) we're pissed that the Braves are 7 games out and tied with the Marlins. Oh, and we want to provide good bikes at the most reasonable price we can. But mostly the Braves part.

The Attack of the Premiums

Thank god I don't sell birds. If I did I think I'd have the makings of a good Hitchcock movie on my hands. Also, I am not Tippi Hedren (for those of you who just pictured me as Tippi Hedren I can take no responsibility for any loss of libido or sanity due to the image).

Fortunately I sell bikes. Even more fortunately the GBP has quite a few premium MTBs done and ready to ride! We have name brands including Trek, Specialized, Gary Fisher, and GT to name a few. Prices on Premium range from $100 to $275! Not enough? Well how about $10 off a $100 purchase and $20 off a $200 purchase? How u like them apples?

Not satisfied? Well, we're also starting the conversion of 6 road bike frames into fixies! Feel free to come by Saturday to watch (read: stand around and laugh at) us sand and paint the frames!

Bikes and a Tour

New bikes are up on the main site. 4 very nice premium MTBs for your drooling pleasure. Also, anyone up for a nice long ride in April?

http://tour.diabetes.org/site/PageServer?pagename=TC_homepage