Skinwalkers?

Yes, sometimes a new build can become a vendetta!  Such is the case of the show bike I decided to create. Woof!  It's a rather unique looking BIG BOY frame I chose as it is also aluminum.  With the lightweight alloy components I picked out, shouldnt weigh much when I'm done.  Trouble started though in the tear down when it became apparent the alloy crank set was stripped out and my crank puller would just push out.  Ended up having to take a cutting wheel to it.  At that point came to realize the sealed bottom bracket was fused in rust!  ARRGH!  Not giving up, kaleb and I took turns with the socket and hump stick and finally broke the left side free.  The barrel is still left, though, but we soaked it with rusticate and will try again tomorrow. Sadly, this puts me a few days behind as I won't have access to the sandblaster until Monday.  Well, at least if we get that last piece out I can do a dry fit and make sure this Frankenstein will work!
Things picked up a wee bit today, sending the gents 29er to a newly displaced fellow Yankee and got a few repairs in to boot.  We banged them all out so I'm free up on my full day to dedicate to some builds before jumping on special projects.  Picked up a well loved three wheeler as well and I'm gonna do just a mechanical on it so as to sell it cheap as a banger.  It don't look to bad and will make it through the park and to grab groceries.
Speaking of the supernatural...
(nice clean seguea, hunh?)
Whilst on my break I was passing the time with some lightweight reading on line , touching on the top ten most "haunted" places and I stumbled on this blurb about a place in Utah called the "Skinwalker Ranch" Ok, short version (Google if you want all the tidbits) supposedly, this place has been a mecha of all kind of other worldly shenanigans since the fifties.  Everything from poltergeist activity, monsterous inhuman creatures, huge wolves that can't be killed, alien creatures, UFOS, cattle mutilations, voices coming from nowhere...you name it!  It drew so much attention that when the most recent occupants had been scared away a private research firm purchased it, and set up full time employees to monitor it with all the latest technologies from audio to video, extensive monitoring all over the property.  Now this has been under constant surveillance since like, 2006.
So....here's the thing, photography has been around for almost 200 years but sadly 90% of ALL photographs EVER taken...in the world...have been taken in the last ten years! (very true...look it up).  With the advent of the cellular phone and equipped camera we are remorsefully overwhelmed with an enormous GLUT of narcassitic, ego driven "selfies" as our legacy! But I digress...my point is, after about an hour of punting around online I couldn't find ANY pictures or videos or even sound bites of all this suppised activity that is reported to occour around the clock!  So...maybe age has made me cynical, but as a movie had been made about this place it begs the question; "did the promoters of the film take a page from the mockumentary that preceded "the Blair Witch Project" and just fancify this urban legend?
You be the judge.
Okay. Gonna git cleaned up and padd out.
See y'all soon!

Justva Thing...

At the point the enquiries to sell bikes outweighs the desire to buy, this time of year it usually denotes the end of the "season".  Ugh...that's starting to happen, sadly.  Even with at least two more months of good riding weather left (for the casual rider) and this week has been SOOOOO quiet!  NOT a good sign!  We will though, as always, try our damndest to keep plugging!  We decided to build an entry for the rat rod competition at the end of the month to help pimp out what we do and let people around here know there is a cheaper alternative out there than the snobby boutique bike shops so proliferate in the area.  If it helps at least one person save a few twenties on repair cost, all the better!
Yea, a little down.  Went in this morning full of pi$$ and vinegar ready to bust a move....but had no visitors.  Managed to clean up the place and get to work on stripping down the new creation, but would have loved to help someone get back on the road!
Hopefully, with fingers crossed, tomorrow will be a better day!
Miranda is doing well by leeps and bounds, and as predicted, going to sleep earlier.  I'm sure angi is thankful for that!
Elijah is recovering and headed back to work tomorrow with the blessing of his doctor..
So , with nothing more to report I'm going to hit the hay!
Night!

Day Two and All Is Well!

Yea...well....ok....that was boring.
So, this morning I awoke early to help Angi pry a VERY tired Miranda from bed and get her ready for her second day of school.  Angi was in contact with the school checking up on her as we were both concerned with whether or not our little miss would take to the experience or blow a gasket and thrash some poor unwitting child who had the misfortune of crossing her. Either that or have a meltdown from being separated from her mommy.  But as it turned out, no such trauma of any kind!  Quite the contrary she seems to have adapted right out of the gate!  Taking to the transition like a true champ she has been reported as participating quite adeptly.  Well, we knew she is a smart cookie and it looks like all of Angis efforts to get her enrolled were well invested.  Hopefully over the next few days the early mornings will rid her of her nocturnal tendencies.
Once she was on the bus and gone and all the other kiddos were dispatched Angi and I passed back out.
I got to the shop around noon, but as it turned out I could have just slept more as we barely had any visitors!  Just a couple looky loos that kaleb could have handled. Ah well...i do what I must.  The one upside is I did come up with a design for an entry in the rat rod show at the end of the month.  Suffice to say...a cruiser/road bike hybrid.
Yep.  I went there!
Cant wait to show it off!  SOON!  Keep an eye on these pages!
The plant wasn't any better!  Five hours of sandblasting right to machine cleaning!
Joy of joys.
BUT...here again, I wrested interest from boredom and in my breaks looked up a topic Logan recently showed an interest in; alchemy.
Wow!  Talk about FACINATING!  Over 4000 years of history of a subject that was the precursor to not only modern science, but spirituality, occultism, medicine, philosophy and psychology to name a few!  And who knew! There are not four but EIGHT elements!  Wowzers!
Its gonna blow his mind next time we get to talk!  And he thought it was all the pervue of mage's!
Okay. So enough of my day, gotta buckle down fer the night!
See y'all soon!

Days don't get much better!

Good morning campers!  Oh my what a wonderful Sunday!
Yes, yesterdays post was melencholy, but with a mind like mine it's like living in an industrial tumbler filled with superballs!  You never know whats gonna git tossed out!
But seriously, Sunday was a BLAST!  The kids church was throwing a shindig at Philipee Park (never been there before. I don't get out much) and it was GORGEOUS there!  Man! Like...in our backyard and I had NO idea!  We had barbecue than played a massive kids vs adults kickball game!  Of course, i was a little less than gracefull playing in steel toe workboots, but when you're a ONE pair of footwear kind of guy, you make do!  Izzy, Rozy and Owen played while Logan followed Miranda around as I was in the outfield.  Each one of them clobbered the ball and Izzy was so cute, after she nailed it down the center she just stood, not realizing she had to run.  Of course, when the wee ones were up to bat, the adults gave leniency.  She made it all the way to third before the next runner got the third out.  Rozy and owen did real well too against genuine effort from the adults.  Miranda found her two favorite things to play with; water and the bathrooms!  Don't ask me, it's her fixation!  I'm just thankful she listened when I told her not to grab the urinal cakes!  Y
After the game ended we wandered about and ended up in a far field where a group of LARPERS (live action role playing) were engaged in battle.  Logan was smitten and soon he, Rozy and Owen were doning shields and foam padded swords and engaged in furious combat!  Half way through, izzy and Miranda joined in and showed NO fear at attacking the other team head on!  Izzy actually lead the charge far out front!  I was one proud papa at the battlefront exploits of the Atherton clan!  Shortly onto the second charge an odd guest lumbered out into the field in the guise of a rather large box turtle.  One of the leaders of the other team quickly scoop him (or her) up and delivered it to safety. Quickly miranda and Izzy abandoned the fray in interst of the turtle and slowly followed it around as it munched on grasses.  The look of excitement and wonder on their faces was to die for!  I followed them around quite content to just spectate. The afternoon ended far to soon for all of us but our ride had to go.  But I have assured them next Sunday, we go for the day!  Picnic lunch and all.
Check out some cute pics of our day out below.
On the work front! Managed to get one newbie out, in the way of a solid single speed cruiser created from two.  I forget sometime how EASY single speeds are!  Then we got busy with a bevy of repairs and that comprised the remainder of our day.  Thanks to all for the kind words and continued trust!
Oh, and a special thanks to Joe, our poster guy, and the lucky owner of the 67 Schwinn Two speed kick back We had wasting away in the back room for three years!  There's a rod ride show in Dunedin April 30th and he sent me a flyer via a jpeg file (reproduced below) and will be printing one out for the door!  FINALLY we hear about this show BEFORE it happens!  There is a good chance if you go, you'll get to see me banging about on the clown bike (yea, the twelve foot tall blue one sitting outside the shop!) not to mention the "truck.
So, tomorrow, got more goodies just waiting!  Hope you come join the fun!

Another First!

Please forgive me a few moments of bittersweet melancholy.
This morning Miranda began school, and for the first time we all stood curb side, her bedazzling in one of her fresh new school outfits Angi picked up last week, to bid her farewell on her first school bus trip.  Surprisingly, she took it all far better than we had anticipated.  As predicted, she was a little tough to wake up and get motivated, but once the bus arrived she was almost excited.   As the attendant stepped down of the bus, Miranda, quite formerly and with flair introduced each member of her family in attendance and then with hugs and kisses eagerly climbed the steps, and quickly took her seat. 
Wow.  This was SO not the happenstance we had thought it would be.  Nowhere was the expected tantrum or anxiety ridden separation.  While relieved that it was not an ordeal, I couldn't help but slip into the whole paternal "my how they have grown" thing. 
Once the remainder of the kiddos were ushered off to school, Angi and I sat to finish our morning coffee and reminisce.   As we sat, Angi put on her music, and while flipping through her play list lighted upon a recent remake by the band Disturbed.  Now, I'm not a huge fan of remakes and as the name of the band implies, their style of music is, well, disturbed.  Not always my choice of musical fare!   I was, to say the least, surprised when their version of the classic Simon and Garfunkel tune "Sound of Silence" produce serious shivers down my flesh.  Nowhere was their guttural vocals or screaming guitars, but an elegant harmonious rendition complete with orchestral accompaniment. And, while listening to the song and remembering the original, now some 52 years old, it struck me as just how applicable it's original social commentary is to our current state of affairs! As Angi and I discussed this we both came up with two other significant examples of this.  First, was her remembrance of White Lions ballad from 1987 "When The Children Cry". 

Little child
Dry your crying eyes
How can I explain
The fear you feel inside?

'Cause you were born
Into this evil world
Where man is killing man
And no one knows just why
What have we become?
Just look what we have done
All that we destroyed
You must build again

When the children cry
Let them know we tried
'Cause when the children sing
Then the new world begins

Little child
You must show the way
To a better day
For all the young

'Cause you were born
For all the world to see
That we all can live
With love and peace
No more presidents
And all the wars will end
One united world
Under God

When the children cry
Let them know we tried
'Cause when the children sing
Then the new world begins

What have we become?
Just look what we have done
All that we destroyed
You must build again
No more presidents
And all the wars will end
One united world
Under God

When the children cry
Let them know we tried
When the children fight
Let them know it ain't right
When the children pray
Let them know the way
'Cause when the children sing
Then the new world begins

Almost thirty years old and you could take this song, play it over a recapping of todays news soundbites, and it would still remain topical.  Angi's thoughts, and replaying the song reminded me of another example of the stagnant state of social change in our world, and that was of Phil Collins/Genesis's song "Land of Confusion". 

I must've dreamed a thousand dreams
Been haunted by a million screams
But I can hear the marching feet
They're moving into the street

Now did you read the news today
They say the danger's gone away
But I can see the fire's still alight
There burning into the night

There's too many men, too many people
Making too many problems
And not much love to go round
Can't you see this is a land of confusion?

Well this is the world we live in
And these are the hands we're given
Use them and let's start trying
To make it a place worth living in

Ooh, Superman where are you now
When everything's gone wrong somehow?
The men of steel, the men of power
Are losing control by the hour

This is the time, this is the place
So we look for the future
But there's not much love to go round
Tell me why, this is a land of confusion

This is the world we live in
And these are the hands we're given
Use them and let's start trying
To make it a place worth living in

I remember long ago when the sun was shining
Yes, and the stars were bright all through the night
And the sound of your laughter as I held you tight, so long ago

I won't be coming home tonight
My generation will put it right
We're not just making promises
That we know, we'll never keep

Too many men, there's too many people
Making too many problems
And not much love to go round
Can't you see, this is a land of confusion?

Now this is the world we live in
And these are the hands we're given
Use them and let's start trying
To make it a place worth fighting for
This is the world we live in

This is the world we live in
And these are the names we're given
Stand up and let's start showing
Just where our lives are going to

Originally produced in 1986, during my generation, as it turns out, what seems to have been like a generation of lost hope, it gave an impassioned plea for not repeating the same mistakes of the preceding decades, even to the point of asserting, with vocal vigor "My generation will put it right".
Well...we didn't.
What makes this song a prime example of failed practices and broken promises was that the song was redone, once again by Disturbed, in 2005, and was still just as topical at that point as it is eleven years later!  The one thing that struck me as funny about this cover, was the band seemed to pick up on the irony of the originals shortfall, as when they get to the passage I mentioned above, there was no disguising the ironic sarcasm in the lead singers voice.  He got it. 
And then we come to todays generation.  And not wanting to sound cliché...I weep. 
Nowadays, there is more effort being put forth, through protest and petition signing, and interaction with government officials to legalize marijuana then there is to fight global warming, famine or the encroachment of "Big Business/Brother" into the most hidden recesses of our daily lives.  Quite the contrary, we seem to be blissfully embracing that last part, while shielding our eyes form the realities of the others.  Sadly, the only thing in our society that has seemed to evolve at a breakneck pace, is that of technology.  And oh, don't we eat that up!?  Yes, I could (and have) railed on about that one, but the problem is, even though we are quite adept at using them, our interaction with todays technology often reminds me of the opening scene to "2001: A Space Odyssey" where the primitive Monkey Men experience the obelisk.  All this power for instant communication and interaction and what is it primarily used for?  Pseudo Social interaction, pornography and cat videos! 
Yep, we gave primitive man the power of a harnessed atom, and we use it to careen off the road at 65 miles an hour to our death because we're to busy texting the person we are three minutes away from meeting!
Okay, yes, I do seem to go on about the same things often enough, but at moments when I look upon the hopeful promise of youth I can't help but feel the slightest twinge of concern.  What kind of world am I (we) bequeathing our children?  And why is it that for so many decades so many other generations have asked exactly that same question...and no one seems to have the answer?  Actually, you know, that may not be entirely true.  I think most folks KNOW the answer...but don't like the conclusion.  Because, in the end, it would mean a WHOLE lot of sacrifice and work on our parts, and as individuals, we can see it...we just don't want to be the ones to take the first steps.  Most folks I talk to about these subjects all seem to be in agreement.  Some do take baby steps, like our family did thirteen years ago giving up on cars, but I know there is more we could do.  Like yesterday, when we became aware of a swarm of honey bees building a hive in the tree in our front yard.  Instead of the knee jerk reaction of destroying it, we just moved to the back yard.  No, we'll have to get rid of it, as Angi is allergic and we don't want to risk the kids getting stung, but thankfully, we found a few places locally that relocate the hive rather than destroying it.  SEE!  A GOOD use of Google!
Folks, you know the changes you need to make.  Things like, walk or ride a bike if you're only going a few miles.  Buy locally grown food, or better yet, plant a garden and get a few chickens.  You see someone in trouble or struggling, help out.  Do it because it's right, not because you're looking to get something out of it.  If you hear about your elected officials doing something contrary to the public good, call them out on it.  And, for at least a little while each day, shut the bloody cell phone off and view the world around you, not take photo's of it.
Okay, I'm stepping off my HIGH soap box. 
See y'all soon. 

OOOOO! Look at the Preeties!

Thank Heavens! Yesterday was a day for nothing but NEWBIES!! 
Well, okay, there were a few breaks for some repairs, but right back at pumping out some more goodies!  
Put up a real sharp looking, all chrome men's 29"er 7 speed cruiser for starters.  She needed a lot of work, but well worth the finished product.  Then, went on to a full frame up on what turned out to be a pretty sharp looking 26" dual shock Mongoose MTB.  Makes for a real sweet DAILYBANGER SPECIAL!!  Then, not to overlook the younger folk, got two really nice looking 24" er's as well!  Another dual shock Mongoose, this one, too needing a full frame up, then onto an easier one in the shape of a really cute girls Trek!  That last one has some REAL nice components and the bosy is close to cherry! 
Thankfully, there were no other catastrophes to report, and Elijah is on the mend.  He even came up for a little bit in the early evening as he reported he was just bored lying about the house.  Even though, to watch him move, you could clearly see he was in a bit of pain. 
So, if your in the area today, we will be open until four PM.  Look forward to seeing you!

Men's 29" SEVEN SPEED CRUISER!!
ONLY $130.00!!!

GIRL'S 24" TREK MTB!!

ONLY $90.00!!!

BOY'S 24" DUAL SHOCK MTB!!!

ONLY $65.00!!!

MEN'S 26" DUAL SHOCK MTB!!!

ONLY $85.00!!!!

Did Tim Burton Write Yesterday's Script?

SO...just gonna write off yesterday like it never happened.
AS IF I COULD!
What a WEIRD day!
(Yea...this is one of those time when I witch..so skip over a few paragraphs if you're not inclined to share.)
First thing to stick a HUGE chip in my craw was having to contend with our credit card processors.  Oh are THESE people a REAL piece of work!  As many who have come in know, we have not been able to take credit cards for a few months now.  Trust me, it aint been from a lack of trying!  We switched our service back in December, as the previous company we worked with kept jacking up their rates until we were paying 21% on every purchase.  We went with the Square, with their promise that the whole set up would take three days to complete.
That was on December, 21 2015!
Lest me just say, if you own your own business and the "Elliot Management Group" tries to convince you to use their service? Run away screaming! 
Now, not only did they not deliver on ONE promise, but it took them until Feb 29, 2016 to deliver the equipment. Unfortunately, the equipment was NO good unless it was set up on the phone, something they had to send a tech rep out to do....which didn't happen until YESTERDAY!
Now, the biggest problem was, that no sooner did we get the equipment, did the "Service Charges" begin!  Mind you, when we signed up, it was clearly stated "NO MONTHLY SERVICE CHARGES!!!"   OKAY, so that was OUR fault for not reading the fine print!  The processing company only charges per transaction, but it's the credit card companies themselves that charge the fees!  Trouble was, we were charged for a full month when we only had the equipment for a day!  Well, we got that fee refunded, but still, no rep to set it up.  So when the next month rolled around, and we still had no service, and they charged us again, I called them out on it.  They again, agreed to refund the amount, but in some odd maneuvering (I guess someone changed their mind) ten minuets after they refunded the original amount, they charged our bank account AGAIN, plus a thirty dollar fee on top of it!
YEESH!!
Needless to say, I spent the better part of the day contending with these people. 
During that time, things took a turn for the worse! 
Elijah and Kaleb were both up at the shop.  Kaleb working, and Elijah hanging out.  As it turned out, because of the frakas with the bank, we needed to get the light bill paid, and Elijah offered to pay off the shortfall until I could straighten things out. 2.30 rolled around and I was still in "On Hold" limbo, so I asked Elijah if he could go get the girls from school.  He headed out a few minuets later, only to call me shortly thereafter to inform me that he had just been hit on his bike at the corner!!
We all took off running!  He was going through the intersection of Patricia and Beltrees, just at the end of the Plaza , and with the crossing signal on, and ushered across by the school crossing guard ANOTHER idiot car driver barreled into the intersection, taking a hard right and mowed him down.  Well, actually, threw him OVER their car!  He's okay, thank God!  But, I insisted he go with the paramedics to get thoroughly checked out, and in the end, no broken bones or head injury, but enough contusions and stiffness to warrant morphine at the hospital and a prescription for hydrocodone. 
This intersection is one of the WORST in Florida.  Not that it's a blind corner or anything, but the fact that the cross signal is in conjunction with a solid green.  The road is two lanes, and heavily trafficked.  so folks tend NOT to slow down when taking the turn, to hell with whoever may be in the crosswalk.  What makes it even more serious is the fact that it's the same road the schools are on so more than half the "walking" students use that stretch of road, on that particular side, to get home!  And, as both left and right turning traffic compete to make the light, anyone in that crosswalk is in CROSSHAIRS!!
Izabella was almost run down by a ditzy blonde in a Mercedes two weeks ago, and I was a mere four feet in front of her waiting in the middle of the intersection for her to cross when this twit cut a hard right ON HER CELL PHONE and almost mowed her down!!!  What made THAT experience all the more tragic, was a scant few moments later, a police officer pulled us over a half mile up the road!  At first I thought perhaps the incident was reported by the crossing guard, and he was there to check up on us and take a statement.  Oh...no.  The lady that took the freaking turn called the cops and reported negligence!! ON OUR PART!!! I was dumbfounded!  Even Izzy and Rozy exclaimed that the lady almost hit US!  But, in true police fashion, they always take the side of the car driver and merely chastised US to be more careful!?!?!
UM....don't the police KNOW the law?  The CAR is supposed to yield to pedestrians!!  When Angi heard of this, she went ballistic and called the police to ask for them to investigate, to which she got the patented brush off of "What would you like US to do about it!?"
Yea...the local police REALLY need to change the moto on their cars to read "To serve and protect...anyone in a car"
Now...if THAT wasn't enough to make our collective hair gray even more...after we got Elijah sent off to the hospital, Kaleb and I returned to the shop, me carrying Elijahs now defunct bike (the REAL irony of that was, Elijah had JUST replaced his wheelset with a nice set of deep dish single speed he picked up, which were now toast!) when Kaleb hooked up with a friend to go and grab lunch.  But, as they were backing out of the parking spot, the driver struck a parked car! 
Okay....now it was just getting "sadfunny"!
More cops later....
and I just wanted to curl up into the fetal position and mumble incoherently!
Well, on the bright side, I think Elijah has a REAL good lawsuit in his future!
So, needless to say, with all the excitement, nothing of any significance got done!  We did manage to get a bunch more goodies, though, so at least I have a lot to keep me busy today. 
So, with that. I am going to click my heels together, sprinkle a little fairy dust and "think good thoughts" and hope for a better day today!
See y'all soon!

AUNTIE EM! IT'S A TWISTER, IT'S A TWISTER!!!

...been a few days.

Okay, first things first, weird freaking weather yesterday morning!

Came home from the plant the usual time, about 3 am and sat on the porch for before bed chill time.  The weather was pleasent with not a cloud in the sky.  When I turned my phone on my weather app flashed with the three day forecast declaring clear sunny skies across the board.  Complete with pleasant temps.  NICE!  So...imagine my surprise a scant three hours later to find Angela running through the house frantically waking everyone up to get to the center of the house as all our cell phones went into klaxon mode, flashing bright red letters "TORNADO ALERT!! IMMINENT DANGER!! SEEK SHELTER IMMEDIATELY!!" 

To tell the truth , if the bloody thing touched down in our neighborhood...I'd be dead.  I never woke up I was so out of it!  I didn't even know what happened until Angela came out later for morning coffee.  Apparently a twister hit less than a mile away (three more struck surrounding areas) and she described how when she came outside earlier she could see failed funnels starting to churn all over head and the wind was so bad the stop sign on our corner was hobby horsing it back and forth.  Oddly enough, none of our outside stuff was disturbed at all!  Yea, I'd hate anything to happen to our collection of vintage bike lawn art!  Oh yea, one trip down our street and you KNOW where the bike people live!  Don't try and snag 'em though...none are rideable!  Heh. Heh!

It's just freaking odd how there was so little warning of even a storm coming in?  Bizzare.

So, things at the shop have been rather quiet the last couple days, thoigh.  Where did everybody go?  Npt even the usual slew of daily repairs.  So, nothing exciting to report there.  

Did have another visit from Uncle Chippie.  He's sweet, checking up to see if I'm being a good boy.  Yes, purifying my diet....tough, but I'm just thankfulI like veggies.  Hard to give up bloody rare steak though!  Damn! But...there's always samon.  The good thing is...I can eat ALL the garlic I want!  YUMMMY!!!  You want the best snack?  Pick up a jar of smoked pickled garlic cloves!  TO DIE FOR!!!

Just warn your significant other, or carry a pack of Trident.  And DON'T get on a crowded elevator....they'll KNOW it was you!  Sound travels!

So...this week, after my overnight in the hospital last week, I slept in and had Kaleb open, but next week I'll be back on point.  He's just not ready for busy mornings alone.  Plus, I gotta keep banging out newbies as stock got low again.  He can rough them out but I just don't trust anyone to give our rides the full Recycle treatment.  But he'll get it eventually.

Whoops. Went off on a tangent.  So yea. I'm cutting down on the bad and hopefully will start juicing this weekend when I have time to make the concoction.  Kale, green apples,lime..etc.  Don't know WHAT that's gonna taste like.  

Oh it's all about me day!

Anywho. Tomorrow is gonna be busy.  Miranda finally starts school tomorrow and we have to be up by six AM to take her for the first morning.  I have NO idea how THAT'S going to go.  She is SOOOO attached to Angi...could be MAJOR separation anexity!  

But...at least I'll be up to hit the shop early...and take a nap!

So. I'd best go get a couple hours..

See y'all tomorrow...blurry eyes and all!

Still kicking!

Man. What DID I do today?
Hmmmmm?
Well....I know cleaning was involved! 
Ummmm? There was...ah YES! Now I remember!  Oodles of repairs! That's always fun and we picked up a PLETHORA of newbie material that if Kaleb values his tush will have had torn down for me this afternoon to get on first thing in the AM tomorrow.  Also sent the Raleigh mtb and the IZip to new homes as well! 
Thanks to Chip for swinging by today and giving me a stern talking too about my health. Yes. I am on my way to a severe diet change and kicking the smoke.  Heh...they said ELIMINATE stress!  And thanks to the anonymous gent for popping in and giving us a GREAT compliment today!  Oddest thing, I was talking to a couple folks early in the day and out of no where a past customer just burst through the door exclaiming he LOVED this place and we were fantastic people, then walked out .  
Wow.  
So awesome!
Yea, out of the new goodies the real gem is a classic all chrome Diamondback I'm looking forward to digging into first thing.
Returning to the warehouse was surreal. Apparently, word gets round real quick and everyone there was quick to inquire how I was doing, and no sooner did I explain did the all in food jest jokes come.  The funniest had to be the lead foreman threatening to hug me cause I "just needed more loving" and my bosses ribbing about a rectal exam!  Ah men...we all understand each other.  Than Bill, the night foreman kept coming around my department inquiring"are you dead yet?" 
Ah yes, a factory filled with guys with sick senses of humor. Could there be anything more heart warming?
I did take some time to research recipes to help reduce cholesterol and got a good juice idea. Not only that but one of the best things is oats and barley to help eliminate bad cholesterol so....YAY BEER!!!!
Heh heh heh!
All in moderation folks!
But...maybe they mean Cheerios?
Hmmmm. Oscar Madison got it right...beer ON Cheerios!
Okay....I'll stop.
Allright. Best get to bed.
See y'all soon!

Dare to take a Risk, MAN!

Oh, what a wonderful Sunday!
Yea, somewhat banal opening, but it fits! 
After last week, I needed, very simply, some chill time.  I was allowed to sleep until almost noon, then upon waking, went out to my morning coffee to discover a marvelous day!  Blue skies, nice breeze and mild temps, and I became inspired to make it an "outside day".  Sure, we did a wee bit of the traditional Sunday cleaning chores, but mostly, we all (well...most everyone, the older boys find it incredibly difficult to separate themselves from their bloody cell phones) played and relaxed outside for the afternoon, then cleaning up the Barbeque, made a simple flame broiled dinner.  Having set up the outside dining table, the kids were thrilled to have a "picnic".  As an added bonus, when some of the kids and I went to the store, one of our neighbors was just putting out a wrought iron table and four chairs (made in 1967!) for trash pickup.  A couple trips back to the house, later, and we had NEW (to us) patio furniture!  Perfect for in the grilling area.  As I cooked, Izzy and I played some Uno, then we fed.  After clean up, Elijah set up the outside movie theatre Angi was inspired to create for the party, and we all lounged in the back yard, closing out the evening watching "Finding Neverland".  Bed time was easy, as all of the youngins passed out (except Miranda of course) then, to close out the evening Angi and I enjoyed some much needed peace and quiet in front of the fire pit. 
It was a pleasant reprieve from the weather of Saturday, I assure you.  Rainy, the majority of the day, it was a tad bit slow, even though we did send two more rides to new homes, but the repairs were obviously slow.  Not too much of a problem, though, as I had PLENTY to keep busy with.  After some much needed cleaning and reorganizing, set about the FULL refurb of the SAH-WEET Hunter "BIG BOSS" Cruiser!  Oh...she came out even better then I could have hoped for!  Check out the pic below.
Once we finished that up, it was time to head out.  Thankfully, the rain had ended mid afternoon, so it was a dry ride, but once I got home, the harassment began! HA, HA! 
Elijah had been pleading with me for the last week to go and see "Superman V Batman".  Angi and I never got out last week, as planned, to view it, and even though I was hesitant to see it without her, she said no worries.  Quite frankly, she had reservations about seeing it (not a big Affleck fan) but it was only after seeing it, then relaying my impressions to her later that evening, did she reveal that was "why" she wasn't going to bother.
That, my friends, is a lead in to another "MOVIE REVIEW!"
****************SPOILER ALERTS A PLENTY!!!!**********************************
My dire predictions of the path of DC movies was, unfortunately, proven accurate!  As much as I wanted to love this movie....I just couldn't.  To be honest, I really didn't even like it.  And for a myriad of reasons, here to fore revealed, in no certain order.  The biggest problem is, that in an attempt to capitalize on the popularity of Marvel Movies, not to mention the WHOPING numbers pumped out by Avengers, DC came to terms with the fact they NEED a Justice League movie.  But, they rushed it BIG TIME!  Unlike the subtle nods to other DC stalwart's in the first Superman Movie (remember, the first Supes movie was the "beginning" of the "NEW" DC universe, Christopher Nolan's Batman trilogy with Christian Bale, doesn't count) such as Batman, Cyborg, Zantana, Green Lantern etc, etc (just google Superman "Easter Eggs" for the full skinny)  which are acceptable previews, this New Superman Movie was nothing more than a two plus hour set up for the upcoming JLA film! 
ARRGH!!!
Here's why I say this.  First, the script for the full film was completely unoriginal. Instead of taking a chance and creating something wholly unique, all the writers did was take the popular elements of classic comic book stories such as Frank Millers "The Dark Knight Returns" and blended it with the pivotal "Death of Superman" and "Doomsday" story lines.  That's....IT!  Of course, like in EVERY bloody Batman story to DATE, they felt the incessant need to waste valuable screen time on YET AGAIN rehashing WHY Batman became who he was!  OH FER CRIMENELY!!  I think the WHOLE world KNOWS Bruce's folks got shot by a mugger, he set to avenge them, saw a bat...and there ya go! We DON'T need to waste fifteen minutes rehashing it!  The ONLY thing I liked about the "flashback" (SLOW MOTION?  REALLY!?!) was the fact that the part of Bruce's father was played by a cameo from Jeffrey Dean Morgan.  Okay, follow me on this one, Jeffrey played the Comedian in "The Watchmen" a much maligned but, by far, WAY BETTER movie!  The subtle nod being, that in the opening credits of the Watchmen movie (yes, a DC property) the character "The Nightowl" is shown punching out a would be mugger, behind a movie theatre featuring the Zorro film.  In the background can be seen an obviously affluent couple clutching their young son.  An obvious reference to the thwarting of Batman's origin.  I found that "seven steps to Kevin Bacon" moment, priceless!

 But I digress!
The new film is choppy, and has moments where you are introduced to Wonder Woman, first in her alter ego form, then in costume later on, but her place there, is not conducive to the story.  Then, as Batman has gained access to Lex Luthor's "secret files" he stumbles upon the "Meta Human", oddly enough, featuring footage of "Wonder Woman", "Cyborg", "Flash" and "Aquaman" (Um....how come no files on Supes or Bats?  Because, the viewing public doesn't NEED to be introduced to those characters....DUH'!) Yea, there files were complete with each copy written insignia!  Batman then recognizes the Diana (aka "Wonder Woman" (keep up folks)) whom he ran into, conveniently, at Lex Luthor's Party, and see's an old WW1 (?) photo of her, in costume, along with a crew including Steve Trevor (film still, anyone) SO, he emails the files to her, and in the middle of the film, she plops down at her laptop, and then she (and the viewing audience) are treated to short "Preview" snippets of the upcoming Films (along with the appearance of a "Mother Box" in the Cyborg snippet, leading to the obvious conclusion, along with the following "Flash Forward" scene, that the villainous Darkseid will surely be the one to beat in the JLA film! The Flash Forward scene comes as Batman is pondering the intentions of the Kryptonian, and has a visitation from the Flash (via a speed force induced Time Tunnel (oh, yea, gotta dig deep in the DC Mythos for this one folks) who informs him he is correct in his mistrust of Superman.  We are then treated to a "vision" of our near future, as Superman Lords of the Earth with an Iron Fist, teamed up with a cadre of jack booted armed thug, with the aerial support of Para-Demons (another gift from Darkseid) who demolish a Batman led uprising, then as Bat's is strung up in chains, Superman LITERALLY rips his heart out. 
This is SOOOO not a subtle "Sneak Peek" at upcoming events. 
Look, I am a fan (obviously) of both the comics and the movies, and I ADORE the fact that the new wave of Superhero movies pays loving homage to their "in Print" forbearers, but in- jokes and Easter eggs aside, WHY couldn't we have had an ORIGINAL storyline?  I mean, come on!  THIS is probably the MOST pivotal story to tell in the history of Super Hero's.  Two of the OLDEST costumed crime fighters (Superman, arguably being THE original Super Hero) who have LONG had a rivalry, and uneasy working relationship, coming together, for the first time on film, and Hollywood uses it as nothing more than a sidebar to promote another series of films?  Truly, I feel slighted, insulted and marginalized as a fan. 
Oh, there are many more issues with this film, such as the incessant need of DC to turn EVERY bad guy into a psychopath.  WHY?!  Lex Luthor, in this film, pathetically portrayed by the ANNOYING actor Jesse Eisenberg (LORD, I can't stand this guy) as a fast talking, riddled with pathos, and SEVERE Daddy issues, comes off as nothing more than a used car salesman!  ARRGH!!  Sorry, but Lex Luthor was cold, calculative, manipulative and possessed a total disregard for anything save his own personal interests, but he was NOT a salivating lunatic prone to bouts of dysfunctional, disjointed mannerisms!  Seriously!  NO ONE that disconnected from reality would have ever been able to run a multi billion dollar enterprise (Donald Trump not withstanding!)
In the end, sadly for Elijah, our resident DC fan, he was visibly disappointed that I didn't get the thrill he was hoping I would, but in the camps of Marvel VS DC (I tend to veer towards Marvel, obviously) I can only say that by weight and measure, Marvel has hit the right button with each and every film they have put out (after they finally got the point with Blade), but I really thought DC was on the right track.  I just hope they can learn from this debacle and get it fixed with the upcoming films, but it is a tragedy that squandered this moment in a big, big way!
ALRIGHTY!
I best get to some REAL work now!
See y'all soon!!

Dateline: UPDATE!

So today was filled with labors of love!
Right off the bat we got a visit from one of our regulars who had snagged a classic 90's Schwinn "Big Boss" style cruiser at a local yard sale, but didn't realize the level of work that she needed to get her up to snuff!  SOOOOOOO, the sweet Trek 700 we HAD caught his eye, and he traded up!  WELL, we MORE than welcomed the gem!  He wasn't even out of the shop 30 seconds before she went under the knife and got the FULL work up, complete with NEW cruiser tread!  I LOVE these old boss frames!  Check her out below!
Once he was done, I pulled a classic Schwinn Mountain Bike (one of the rides I spoke of earlier) and put her through a FULL tear down.  MAN!  Was that  task!  30 year old aluminum seat post in a cromoly frame?!  WHAT A CHORE!!!  Anyone who has ever had to UNSTICK one of these puppies KNOWS what I'm talking about!  I was a good boy, though!  I kept the Daddy language to a minimum, sparing my blood pressure!  Heh, heh!  Once out (an hour later) I did the full clean up, and with only a few replacement parts (and a nice set of Bonterrager tread) we got ourselves an excellent example of when Schwinn made a real strong effort to compete with the upper class rides of the day!  Granted, the paint has seen better days, but the action on this ride is CHERRY! 
At this point, I was pushing seven PM (making up for time lost) and put the Hunter Big Boy Boss Cruiser under the gun!  She's all stripped and waiting for the treatment that she'll get tomorrow, as I need another set of NEW tread for her!  That, and I REALLY need to head home and get a bloody shower! I stink! 
SOOOO, tomorrow I'll be all fresh smelling and spiffy clean (well....at least for the first ten minuets) and I'll see ya then!

The Flutterfly Effect

Do we even HAVE bikes!?
Yea...sorry.
Anyone checking on the blog for the last week to see what new goodies we may have, if they looked to the left, they would have seen an empty column where the "What's New" is listed.  Again, dreadfully sorry, it's been rather chaotic this week, and I all but forgot to update it! WHOOPS!  I rectified it this morning, so you can see all the goodies we have left, and there are some GEMS!  My personal favorite of the newbies, is the way cool looking KHS Brentwood, which I would have to call, for lack of a better term, a Sport Cruiser.  It has the classic cantilever frame style, but with a low head set profile, 21 speed with integrated shifters, thinner road tread and very lightweight for the style.  If it were a tad bit bigger, I would have claimed it for myself!  But, we have other sweets too!  Check out the classic Trek 700 (EXTRA CLEAN!) and the BIG BOY GT we built up from scratch!  Not to mention the highly coveted low slung ladies comfort cruiser! That girl is only about three weeks old! SAH-WEEEET!  And, we finally got in some more lower priced BMXer's!  The parents should be thrilled about that! 
Today, we have two old school Schwinn MTB's (back when they actually made an effort to compete with the big boys) and a CLASSIC Hunter BIG BOY!  Got that one in after being much loved for thirty years, but the gent was all but done with riding but didn't want to just chuck his old faithful steed!  NO WORRIES!!!  We are well into bringing it back to life!  I LOVE those old Boss frames!
So yea, been a crazy week!  In a dual attempt to not only give myself a wee bit of a break from the long hours and to give Kaleb something to do I'd had him coming in, in the morning so I could try and get a couple extra hours of Z's.  This proved....problematic.  I will admit, though, it wasn't all, really his own fault.  Sometimes, as with ANY business, you occasionally have folks with....issues come in too visit.  Thing is, I've been doing customer service for over 30 years, and know how to deal with this, while remaining firm on our principals.  Kaleb...does not.  And like a Dog smelling fear, some folks will jump on that weakness.  SOOOOO, almost every day last week I was coming in to put out fires, rather than do what really needed to be done.  See, some times, a few folks can just be outrageously unreasonable.  We had one gent come in too sell a couple bikes, and even though it is posted on our door WHEN we do buying (when I am here) he became QUITE irate that Kaleb wasn't just going to hand him money for the bikes he was looking to sell.  Kaleb called me, and I could hear the man ranting in the background about the fact that we had posted on the window that we buy bikes, so somehow he equated that with, we bought bikes each and every time for exactly the price the customer was asking?
Um....no....it doesn't work that way.  It's not that the gent was asking an unreasonable price, quite the contrary, it was a really good deal, BUT, I was trying to explain to him that I was the only one, currently on staff, that did any buying.  Half way through trying to calm him, he tossed the phone back at Kaleb, striding out of the store surly and annoyed.  It worked out in the end, he returned, calmer and the transaction went off without a hitch.  Things like this continued all week and Kaleb was a tad bit frustrated as the week progressed.  It didn't help any when in the later half of the week, I ended up having to check myself into the hospital.  What I had thought was a case of food poisoning turned out to be a "mild cardiac event"?  UGH.  Doctor speak for "we have no idea".  All they COULD tell me after several tests was my heart was as strong as an ox, I passed the EKG and stress test with flying colors, but for some reason my heart has "developed another beat"?  What the HELL does THAT mean!?  The cardiac doctor told me it's no problem and nothing to worry about, but that it relates to stress.  "Do I have any stressors in my life?" 
BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH!!!!
Once I picked myself up off the floor from laughing so hard, I concurred that; "Yea...a bit!" Quite frankly, nowadays, Who doesn't? Plus, my cholesterol levels are elevated.  SOOOO, with all the "risk factors" I have (and yea, I know, smoking is a BIG one!) I'm going to have to implement some life changes.  
Ugh.
ANYWHO!
Now, I just gotta get used to the fluttering in my chest, and try and relax.  Uhn.....hunh.  That'll be interesting! 
I'm thinking.....Tai Chi.
S'okay....Now, I'm going to endeavor to....peacefully...rebuild some rides, and not to fall sway to fits of Daddy Language.
Oh....this is going to be interesting!
See y'all soon!

And THAT'S how you fit a square peg in a round hole!

Okay, WHOOPS!
Since when did Easter hit so early?!
Oy!
Well, as I just was informed yesterday, don't think the Bunny is hitting this weekend!  Unless Angi pulls a miracle, but given the fact that she's working a booth at Tampa Pride today, and I gotta work AND tonight has been planned for over two years (actually, if you think about it more like 40 years, when I first read Justice League of America) to go and see the realization of every Fanboys dream, the knock down coupling of the celluloid Supes and Bats!  Yes, when I first learned Ben Affleck was doning the cape and cowl I cringed...loudly.
But...
After viewing the trailer some months back? It became apparent that as the older "Frank Miller " inspired Dark Knight, he just may pull it off. They DEFINATELY got the right Superman...and Wonder Woman don't look to shabby either! Elijah, a HUGE Bat man fan went opening night and apparently afterwards called mommy in tears, sobbing "EPIC!!" SO, no, not gonna miss out tonight!
And, as Easter is low on the totem pole of Holidays around here, we'll just put it off until next weekend. Heck, all the left over Easter stuff will go on sale Monday, anyway!  BONUS!
Yesterday saw some torrential rain, so we were pretty much DOA, BUT got in a fresh batch of newbies and we pounded out a total of seven!  SAH-WEEEET!  One already sold, a GMC Denali, five minutes out of the gate, but got some real nice, priced right goodies left!
As I am up WAY to early this AM , (Had to run to store at six AM "UGH" because we were out of coffee, and Angi can't motivate without) gonna hit the shop earlier as I have a special order to put out, then back on rebuilds. Kaleb tore down five yesterday and, parts willing, gonna get them all together.
So, check out your future ride below, and I'm gonna get going!
See ya soon!

MEN'S 26" MOUNTAIN BIKE
ONLY $85.00!!!

LADIES 24" MOUNTAIN BIKE
ONLY $65.00!!

LADIES 26" COMFORT BIKE
ONLY $95.00!!!

LADIES 26" MOUNTAIN BIKE
ONLY $90.00!!!

7 SPEED COMFORT HYBRID
ONLY $120.00!!!

LADIES 26" DUAL SHOCK MOUNTAIN BIKE
ONLY $90.00!!!

HEY. Dr. Fate! Take this day and SIT ON IT!

Okay. That was a thing.
Woof.
Wendsday morning coming home from work I came to find, whilst a few minutes into relaxing and posting before night, night time that all the girls had different plans!  A scant few moments after finalizing my post and heaving my kiester into an upright position, Miranda awoke. Wide awoke!  Took me an hour to get her settled down, and no sooner had she drifted off, did Izzy wake up and wanted to tell me about het day.  Who can resist that angelic little face and baby blues?  So once she was content with the length of Daddy time, she took a shot of milk and drifted off,  Finally thinking I had it made I went into take a shower, only to discover Rozy was occupying my spot in bed! As she has gotten to grown for this old back to carry to bed I had to undertake the arduous task of trying to get her to move to her room.  NOT an easy task for such a heavy sleeper!  Delirious and still sleeping she kept flopping back towards our room and I had to forcefully steer her to her bunk. Finally, with all females in some approximation of proper sleep quarters, I headed to the shower...
Around six AM!

OY!
Needless to say...Kaleb opened up!
Fate not done toying with me, I crawled in around 12.30 in JUST enough time to waste an hour on the phone with the Succubuss's at the Department of revenue.  Oh yes, the bimonthly playful romp with these morons who have NOOOO concept of KEEPING NOTES!
Sheesh!
Once it was determined that the "encrypted" email they sent was inaccessible (he had to prove it to himself by sending one to himself only to declare in a completely dry, unapologetic tone "hmm, there's no way to access this link"  DUH!!!) And do what I HAD ORIGINALLY ASKED HIM TO DO. and send the bloody info snail mail!!
ARRGH!
Could have had the whole thing taken care of last week if they just listened!
Somebody just slap me!
Anyway...
With an hour left to my vices I tried to get on repairs only to find the parts I had ordered turned out to be the wrong ones, well, they sent me the wrong ones, so with a deluge of Daddy language, I set it aside for tomorrow and just cleaned for the remainder of my short time.
Then, to top off the day of fun and frivolity...
I got to the warehouse this afternoon, WAY burnt out, frustrated and exhausted and was not...coordinated.  none to coherent, I took my work list and ambled about for a few minutes, until the floor manager came over, took me aside and in a compassionate tone let me know that someone expressed the concern that...
 I was under the influence!?
OH MY...FREAKING GOD!!
After relaying the state of affairs of the last twelve hours of my life, he just shook his head and stated "no, I think you're cognizant "
NO $#!+!!  PAINFULLY SO!
Sometimes, a group of burly shop workers are worse than a bloody sewing circle!
You can quote me!
So..it goes without saying, I didn't get SQUAT done today, sadly, but hope to rectify that later this morning.
And to top it off...I cannot say with conviction if I ever GOT a shower last night!
Ugh.
Hopefully the chipper me will be the one to wake up tomorrow.
Night y'all.

find my other boot...and I'll join you!

Another beautiful day under our belts!  I say beautiful, not only because the weather was excellent mild riding weather, but because I got to SLEEP IN THIS MORNING!!!  WOW!!!
Kaleb took point (um...yea...he's back in the fold.  DON'T JUDGE ME!!) He's earning his keep at the shop while he looks for permanent work (BWAHAHAHA!!) He can effectively turn a wrench, and is good with the customers, but I have to beat his lay about mooching friends away with a crow bar!  Hey...keeps my batting arm in practice!
Yea, pooped to the tenth power I incoherently passed him the keys from beneath the duvet with one crusty eye cracked open and muttered "I'll be up soon" non commitedly, and passed out.  But, I did manage to drag my carcass in around noon time and bang out a few repairs and a couple newbies before I needed to head to the other job.
Also gotta give a shout out to Dave Foot for the bountiful donations of cookies and pastries!  Left overs from a gathering at their retirement community.  Also to the lady with the food donations as they were headed back up north.  Hey, I. Aint so proud I'm gonna pass up free food!  These kids eat butter out of the tub, so they ain't against ANYTHING edible!
We also picked up a couple new goodies we already tore down and are working on, hopefully out tomorrow.  One is a cool looking Schwinn comfort bike, with a real unique frame!
And as always, thanks ever so much  for ALL the continuing referrals folks happily give out!  Lots of looky loos and repairs, not to mention special orders from folks who were told NOT to go ANYWHERE ELSE!!
That's the beauty of good solid friends; they'll NEVER steer you wrong!  And we know by coming to see us, you'll be so thrilled it will strengthen that bond of friendship!
One such new comer came in this afternoon for a noise in the crank, upon study, we found the chain ring was sharked out, and the chain stretched.  This was enough info to inspire the gent to snag up a new ride, in the way of a sharp Raleigh we'd just put out, and he rode off a very happy Snowbird!
That made the day fun!
Okay friends, I gotta shower and hit the silk, so until next time..
Your friend and mine,
Me.

LADIES 26" CRUISER
ONLY $65.00!!!

RALEIGH MOUNTAIN BIKE
ONLY $110.00!!!

Another Perfect Sunday!

So apparently Angi has a direct link with Mother Nature, and has her on speed dial!  For the last couple months Angi has been painstakingly planning a big party for all the kids.  It was a combination "All Hands Birthday Party", and Apology.  Last year was so bad financially we ended up having to skip everyone's celebration.  Oh she did cupcakes to mark the day, but couldn't swing gifts or cake or decorations, and she felt pretty sad about it.  The kids took it in stride, but she never forgot.  With great time and effort she planned out a real humdinger of a celebration, setting it for the first day of Spring Break (well, the first day I wasn't working) and had everything done, all ducks in a row (except the food, which needed getting the day before (leave any snacks in the house for more than twelve hours and they would have all been gone before the party!)) She had all the gifts got, rented a jumpy house, tables and chairs, some way cool inflatable outside furniture NOT to mention, an awesome DVD projector, to set up a really neato outside movie theatre, plenty of outside games, decorations galore and plenty of barbeque!
THEN.....
Two days before the party a cold front was coming in, preceded by two days of rain!
ARRGH!!!
We'd been watching the weather report diligently since mid week, and each day the projected  chance there would be rain on Sunday continued to climb!  By Saturday, having already rained most of the day, the outlook was bleak with a 50% chance we would be rained out.  I started making plans to regrettably move the celebration indoors, but in a very calm and collected voice Angi reassured me "It's not going to rain".  Very matter of fact, as if she had the inside poop contradicting the weathermen.  Well, I wasn't going to question (but the back of my brain was still calculating an indoor retreat) and went on with finalizing errands Saturday Evening.  Finally finishing all the prep (and wrapping) we hit the sack at 3.30 am only to be woken by a phone call at 7.30 that the rental company was outside the house with the HUGE jumpy house. 
Ugh...
SO, our morning of prep began, and the whole while I had one eye on the clouds, worried at any point the skies would open up, but Angi went happily about her decorating without a worry in the world.  To my surprise, around ten AM the clouds had all but drifted away, leaving only sunny blue skies, warm air but accented with an almost constant light breeze.  You could NOT have asked for a more perfect day!  The kids and their friends had a BLAST!  It was an all day affair that went off without a hitch (SO NOT like what usually happens!) and aside from a slight altercation between Izzy and Miranda regarding who's gifts were who's (and Owen insistently trying to annoy everyone) it was wonderful!  I even had my OWN treat, by midafternoon, having gorged myself on barbeque, and as Angi sat out front socializing with the parents I snuck into the back yard and took a nap on the big inflatable loveseat!
Hee, hee!
Then, as the sun started to set, the cold front drifted in, and it was just enough to warrant lighting the fire pit outside, and we sat about chatting up the day.  At this point, I asked Angi how she knew it would not rain, she just smiled a peaceful smile and stated "I had a word with God.  We came to an understanding" as if that was all I needed to know. 
Once dark, we drifted out back and with the kiddos snuggled up with blankets and watched the new "Peanuts" movie and brought the day to a close.  After an hour of clean up, we hung outside with the boys and their friends until we ran out of firewood and then hit the sack.
Sure enough, once finished and settling down to bed, the REAL cold moved in accented with rain!
WOW!
God listened!
SO, on to work!
Saturday, as stated, was rainy, so aside from a few repairs we were quiet, but we did manage to bang out a few kiddo bikes, and a couple adult rides.  A real clean ladies MTB and a mechanically sound (but somewhat scratched up) Fuji road bike, but that one is priced accordingly!
Today, gotta git to the repairs and hopefully a couple more newbies as we are sadly understocked at the moment!  With that, I best git!
See ya soon!

VINTAGE FUJI ROAD BIKE
ONLY $110.00!!

LADIES 26" MTB
ONLY $75.00!!

Yet Another Monday

Well, another weekend come and gone and FAR to quickly I might add!  This weekend we worked a little later on Friday and Saturday to get some more newbies out, well Friday ended up in finishing up repairs, going into Saturday with a clean docket so I could rip right into the newbies.  We managed to put out five, with one finding a new home almost immediately.  What we have left of the new batch is a sweet older Tandem, a LIKE NEW Mongoose MTB, a NOW gorgeous K2 2.3 Zed MTB with a full set of disc brakes and a lightweight alloy frame, and a SAH-WEEEEET 1973 Ladies Schwinn Suburban.  The last one was a BEAR, but only in the sense that it needed quite a bit of rustication (all surface rust from sitting in a garage for twenty years!) and threading the cables for the gearing was quite the task!  I have NO idea who designed these things, but betting the new cable in through a u clip and eyelet was maddening!  With my eyesight?  OY!  Finally got it done, though, and she rides like a champ!
Once the day was ended we entered into our one day off with the pleading hope there would not be much house work to do On Sunday and allow us the time to just chill and take it easy!
Enh.  Not so much!  At some point in the night some punks came on the property and made off with three of our bikes.  Mine, the truck and Logan's.  The only fortunate thing was they abandoned them a couple of streets up.  My only hope is that the idiot little scumbags were unprepared for the fact that the truck is a fixed gear (HEE, HEE!) and perhaps with the unexpected weight of the thing on top of that, when they went to coast I hope they were unprepared, it threw them off and they got crushed by a passing motorist!  HEY, I can dream, can't I!  Not only that, but Greedo has been in desperate need of a major overhaul.  The rear axle recently broke, and if you try and ride it too hard, the chain slips.  The hope there is...the assailant was standing up on the bike when it occurred (as we found the chain off and kinked up around the bike) and he now has NO hope of ever having children! 
One of our neighbors discovered them and let us know, so we were able to retrieve all of them! 
Karma, dudes....karma!
Well, the remainder of the day, while busy, was still slow paced.  We decided to clean out the shed, with the caveat that NOW all bikes MUST be kept put away, and we got rid of a lot of unnecessary garbage to boot!
Then, we just chilled.  One success of the later afternoon was Izzy, who loves to sit in the tree in our front yard, finally was able to make the climb up, unaided!  I was very proud of the little monkeys accomplishment, as she was thrilled too!
Well, other than that, we kept it mellow for the remainder of the day, bringing us into today.
For today, still have plenty to work on, and I'm getting on it now!
Hope to see y'all soon!

Time Keeps on Slippin', Slippin', Slippin'.....

WHOA!
Where did the week go?
Seriously, if it were not for Angi reminding me, I would totally lose track of the day's of the week! 
And it's been an energetic week, to say the least!  The season in full swing, we have been working primarily on repairs, and BOY HOWDY have there been a LOT!  Thank you SOOOOO much for all your trust, not to mention some AWESOME compliments along the way!  And one surprisingly common statement has been bandied about from several Snowbirds making the trek South.  This is the fact that several visitors have actually waited to have their bikes serviced until they get here.  And I don't mean just to Florida but specifically HERE!!
WOZERS!!
I mean, how bad is the service at your local bike shop that you'll drive 2000 miles for a tune up?
HA, HA, HA!
No, I'm not THAT vain!  I know they're coming down here for other things!  My charming personality and rapier wit! Really, the Florida Tourist Commission would really amp up their revenue if they adopted the slogan "Come to Florida and visit Steven!" Oh, I can see the dollar signs now!
So, we did manage to put out several newbies amongst the repairs, but of course, I will only be picturing the one's left, which aint much!  It would appear that more and more folk are taking the ten minute rule seriously, and NOT letting them go once they see them!  Had one yesterday that was a Ten Minute Rule in the minus column!  Had a gent looking at a sweet GT MTB we had.  He took it for a ride, loved it, but then was pondering the purchase when another gent came in specifically to check it out, and I watched the unspoken exchange between the two gentlemen.  The funny thing was, as the first guy was thinking, the second man paused, then moved to pull the bike out to take a closer look when the first guy, without so much as an upward glance, place his hands back on the bike and said to me "I'll take it!"  Heh, heh!  Good call sir! 
Today, I have another ladies MTB that seems more hybridish than Mountain, in my rack, then, time allowing, will go on to a vintage Schwinn ten speed we picked up last week.  Although, don't hope to much on that one, as I have five folks waiting for it to be finished. 
The house has gotten interesting...
Miranda finally has her school assignment, and we went to take her on a tour and meet the staff on Tuesday.  The biggest hurtle is going to be separation from Angi.  Normally, a trial for most children, it is doubly traumatic for a child with autism.  While we were there, and Angi spoke with the teachers as I wandered about the classroom following her, she kept glancing back at Mommy, at times annoyed that Mommy was paying attention to someone other than her.  The school is six miles away from the house, and even though they supply a bus for her, if there are any problems, it's going to take a few minuets to get there on a bicycle. 
Kaleb has, for an undetermined amount of time, come back to the house.  The temp agency he was (or still is?) working for seem somewhat flighty.  Not sure where this is all going, but so far he has been on his best behavior, and you can bet Angi has him under a microscope! 
Of course, this week we have been contending with another bout of kiddie colds, so there strewn about the couches, moaning.  Last night, when I got home all the girls were still up and poor Angi was sprawled on the edge of the couch, half on half off, as if she had just dropped "mid-tending" to their needs.  I had to help her to bed as she kept ricocheting off the walls on the way to bed.
I stayed up until the last girl gave up the ghost and passed out myself.
Bringing us too today!
SO, now I best get a move on as I got some heavy chores to do!
See ya soon!

OK...That's SPOOKY!

First things first!
Saturday was STELLAR!!!  We SOLD OUT!!  Well, almost, we have ONE adult size bike left, but I am pumping out more today, so no worries.  It was a fast one after another going out the door all morning!  The funniest one was a gent who came in with an MTB for a tube change, saw the vintage Raleigh we had, fell in love (his friend had a similar Raleigh, so it just fit) and traded in the MTB towards it.  Also, another HILARIOUS moment in the day...about mid morning, I saw a police car pull in front of the shop and stop.  Of course, at this moment I was doing a mental check to figure out if I had done anything "questionable" lately, and as I nervously pondered this a mini van with three retirees pulled behind him and into a parking spot.  As the ladies got out of the van they exchanged waves with the officer and he drove off.
!?!?!?
It turns out, they were looking for our shop, couldn't locate it, so the officer gave them an escort right to our door!
COOL!  But...not sure if a cop knowing where we are is a good thing...or a bad thing...
ANYWHO! 
They ended up picking out a ladies cruiser from Bone Row to have built for one of them visiting.  There reception once it was done was most appreciative because we really brought it back from the dead. 
Of course, as always, thank you to all the folks for the traditional flood of weekend repairs and for being quick to return and pick them up! 
NOW....on to the spooky!
Depending on your thoughts regarding the supernatural, you're either going to be entertained and curious or think I'm a loon, but the following story has happened far to much recently!  Either I am going senile, or something else is going on!
Over the last few months, in conjunction with some odd goings on at the house (witnessed by far to many members of the family AND Suzanne) I have been plagued with a weird string of "where did I put that" occurrences.  Things like keys, lighters, tools (at the house, shop and warehouse) that I would then search for, to no avail only to find them some time later in a blatantly obvious spot that I KNEW I had searched through repeatedly.  Sure, I am getting older and will write a lot off as just not paying attention or being tired, what have you, but the following happened on Saturday and is just WAY to obvious to be ignored.  I have a lot of clutter behind the counter, but do my best to keep it organized, and the most important part of office necessity I have is my notebooks.  Currently I have two going and it's where I write down all the customer information regarding repairs, consignments and one is for things folks are looking for.  Whatever notebook I am working in ALWAYS stays behind the counter in easy access.
Until Saturday.
I had finished a string of repairs and went to call the customers only to discover both notebooks gone.  Rozy and Owen were here that day and I though they may have taken them to doodle in, but neither had them.  What followed was an exhaustive search of the whole shop, and a thorough cleaning of the counter area (best way to find something is clean as you go) but found NOTHING! 
Somewhat frustrated, I consoled myself to the fact that perhaps Izzy had grabbed them on Friday and took them home, and prayed that the customers would call when they curious about their bikes.  Mind you, when we left Saturday evening, I was the last one out, and gave a cursory glance to the counter area for good measure, but nothing was there, just a clean organized area.  And, as it turned out, they weren't at the house either.
Then I came in to the shop this morning...
NO ONE else has a key to the shop, there is only one.  NO ONE (at least corporeal) was at the shop since we left Saturday but lo and behold, what do I find neatly stacked on top of each other DEAD CENTER of a clean desk top!?! It was like whoever or whatever was saying "HA HA!  HERE YA GO!"
Either I am losing my mind, or we got ourselves a spiritual hitch hiker!
As long as the sucker is just mischievous and not malevolent...we'll be okay!
So, as long as I can keep track of my tools, it's off to bang out some rides!
Hope to see y'all soon!  (bring sage, salt and a crucifix)

Boomerang!

Middle of the week wrap up! 
It's been a blustery blur so far, and I completely lost track of the days!  Realizing this morning I hadn't even had time to post the few newbies I had enough time eked out to allow me to build them.  Well, as it turns out, was needless anyway, as they didn't stick around long enough anywho!  For the most part it has been repairs, repairs and for good measure...repairs all week long!  Thank you SOOOO much to all the wonderful folks and their faith, trust and most importantly REFERALS!!  Heh, Heh!  I'm blessed, in the fact that at just the right moment someone comes in to compliment us on our efforts!  Thank you for fueling a Leo's ego!  "EGO MY LEO!" 
SO, no...I don't have anything new to show (and I best remember to edit the "What's Still Here" listings!) as yesterday was spent primarily weeding through the stuff out back.  Yea, it's to the point now that there is NO getting past the pile in the back.  Surprisingly, no one in the plaza has complained yet...but I KNOW they will!  Most of today will probably be spent working on that, but I do have a couple lined up I'd LIKE to get to if time allows!
No worries though, we still have some gems left looking for new homes.
On the home front...
Sheesh...
Kaleb had a minor set back, the place he was working for (through a temp agency) filled their quota apparently, and no longer had use for temps.  SOOOOO, he showed up at our doorstep a couple days ago, having lost his living arrangements. *sigh*.  To my surprise, Angi took him back in, I think for the reason that, to his credit, he hit the "Internet Bricks" and started looking for another job right away.  AND, for the time being, he has been very respectful and helpful, so perhaps humility has settled in.
Time will tell.
Miranda has been testing Mama's stamina, quite a bit to be precise.  Her nocturnal schedual has persisted, and even though Angi gets her up each morning with the other kiddos, and limits her nap time, she STILL won't go to bed much before 2 am.   Next week she starts school, so fingers crossed that will help!
OKAY, now, I gotta jump!  New batches of repairs starting to come in so I gotta get to work!
See y'all soon!