Free Your Mind, And Your Legs Will Follow

Thursday, February 28, 2013

Frostbike 2013













































Quality Bicycle Products hosted their annual Frostbike this past weekend. Bob and I cruised up in the VW wagon and listened to recorded cassette tapes of the old radio show "loveline" with Dr. Drew and Adam Corolla. We laughed our asses off and enjoyed taking our time on the drive up. We stopped in Madison to scope out some new shops and took backroads up to Faribault to visit Milltown Cycles and Mr. Ben Witt. Ben's shop was cool and we saw the guys from NCC there as they had ridden that morning. Always good seeing new and old friends during this trip and this was just the start. We then went to the hotel for the VIP happy hour and I met up with my friends Phil from Salvagetti in Denver, Jason from Salsa/QBP, and a new friend Adam. Its always great seeing my friend Phil. What a passionate and intellegent guy...I feel smarter for being around him and always enjoy catching up with that dude. Bobo and I got more drinks and the laughter and bike talk continued. I love our industry...we can drink and socialize while still brainstorming and enhancing our knowledge of cycling and the cycling industry. The rest of the show was great... All City had a killer party at someone's penthouse downtown, followed by the cutters ball the following evening hosted by handsome cycles. I got to see my buddy Brian who works for knog and hooked me up with some lights to test out....and test I will. Knog makes some killer stuff. I love this show...not only to see the new stuff....but to make new friends and relationships that help us all develop in the cycling industry. It is not an easy place to be in right now. The industry is bombarded with internet sales and the local bike shop struggles to entertain an existence while being clubbed down by customers who are too lazy to come support a local business and would rather buy products from a faceless entity for $5 less.   Sorry for the Rant    I think small business is what supports this country and to see it struggle is terrible....anyhow, back to the weekend. It was great! haha. We saw the new campy 80th anniversary groupo and talked to many new vendors. I felt like this was one of the best frostbikes....not like how I used to think of it, with how much I brought home physically....but with what I had learned and brought home mentally. I talked to almost every single booth and brought home an idea or catalog home from each and every one. I enjoyed shooting the shit with other bike shops and seeing what was working for them and what wasnt. I asked other shops what the trends were and had some questions about what we were trying to achieve in our shop. Everyone was more than happy to help and give their opinion and I really enjoy how laid back most of us are in the industry. Great weekend, good times, good people, and QBP always does a kick ass job! 

Ohh yea Salsa had some killer new bikes....

- JB

Wednesday, February 20, 2013

Frostbike

Another year and another Frostbike up at QBP. This will be my 7th year going. I had to skip last year. We are a VIP shop and will be going to a lot of seminars and learning up on the latest and greatest products. We always look forward to this trip to give us a little break from home, chat with friends, and brainstorm ideas for the upcoming season. Stay tuned for stories and photos.

- JB

Sunday, February 17, 2013

The Slender Fungus Gets Pro






The new Gunnar Gravel Prototype made specifically for two members of the Slender Fungus thanks to the great people up at Waterford and Gunnar. Thanks to Portland Cyclewear for doing an excellent job on our new wool jerseys as well. The Slender Fungus is making moves. Still waiting for a single speed hub from Chris King for the mushroom bike to finish it off for Trans Iowa. We will be ready. 

Keep your pimp hand strong - Mike Baggio

- Cookie, Slender Fungus

Tuesday, February 12, 2013

Bull Valley Ride






My training grounds are in Bull Valley, IL. These hills destroy my legs and are 1 mile from my house. 4 climbs that are very hard. Single speeding them really burns up the legs. February riding continues. 

- JB