Bike Me

I was going to post on the subject of Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI). Go on about helmets and the prevention of head injuries etc. Relating some do my experiences as a firefighter and having been hit by cars three times back in the day when I rode a lot – blah blah blah…

Instead, although a bit snarky…and this is Bike Me: Price of a bicycle helmet $35+; Price of a 4 yr College $200K+; Ability to eat your own food NOT thru a straw, PRICELESS; Wear a helmet! ‘Nuff said!

On to more important subjects…a new woman friend of ours, Grim, rewarded us at the shop with a cube of Natty Ice…warm even! Yep we asked for it that way…old habits die hard. We had suggested it half jokingly for services and a swap of a rear wheel! THANKS Grim you are the best!

Thanks to those who visit our shop and make it worth while to be there. This is so much more than a business venture solely for profit. Truly, the richest days are those when we chat with the MIT grad, welding, artist/architect and that happens to be looking for space to work her metal magic. And we can then connect them with someone who has a space that just might work. Or those who come in several times, finally find what they were looking for, even if they did not have any idea what that was when they started. Or help out a young couple that need bicycles for primary transportation and they find what works for them! Now those are some good days. And yes, yesterday was a good day!

Gotta love the bicycle community.

This past Saturday a woman came into the shop looking intently at various bicycles. When I asked if she was looking for anything in particular she told me yes. She needed to replace the bicycle she had purchased from us this summer, because it had been stolen about a month prior. My heart sank. And then I got sad, frustrated, and pissed off…

For many of the people that buy our bicycles it is a major, if not only, source of their transportation. Which, at the very least, it is a partial source of their economic well being. Thus, someone’s economic well being is impacted very time a bicycle is stolen. And a stolen bike just might have a crucial impact on their lives.

We sell used bicycles BUT we do not purchase bicycles at our space in Cambridge. This is for many reasons one being, if a thief has no where to fence to what they steal it becomes worthless. Thieves only steal items that they know where they can sell them for a good price. WE purchase our bicycles from only those people that we know and have legitimate and long term relationships with. To any establishment that might not be so diligent, we urge them to become so!

The following list and links are a a primer for you to whet your (bicycle knowledge) appetite with. A point to note, some locks come with an anti-theft warranty! We all know there are no guarantees in life, but we can increase the odds in our favor.

ALWAYS Lock your Bike.
Brightly lit places are not thief friendly.
An inexpensive locks equals a cheap lock. Locks are not the things to be stingy about. Go as high end as you can.
If you are leaving your bike for a long period of time (like for more than 5 minutes) or over night use at least two locks.
Learn how to lock your bike properly. Thieves want to hit quickly, they look for the easiest targets. The harder you make it for them, the less likely your bike will be stolen.

We all know that thieving has and always will be a part of life, desperate people will do desperate things.

Help defend yourself by learning as much about how bicycles are stolen, knowledge is power!

Help defend others by being vigilant, if you think a bike is being stolen call it in!

Help defend your bicycle with locks and techniques that says…BIKE ME to those that might want to steal it!

This past Saturday a woman came into the shop looking intently at various bicycles. When I asked if she was looking for anything in particular she told me yes. She needed to replace the bicycle she had purchased from us this summer, because it had been stolen about a month prior. My heart sank. And then I got sad, frustrated, and pissed off…

For many of the people that buy our bicycles it is a major, if not only, source of their transportation. Which, at the very least, it is a partial source of their economic well being. Thus, someone’s economic well being is impacted very time a bicycle is stolen. And a stolen bike just might have a crucial impact on their lives.

We sell used bicycles BUT we do not purchase bicycles at our space in Cambridge. This is for many reasons one being, if a thief has no where to fence to what they steal it becomes worthless. Thieves only steal items that they know where they can sell them for a good price. WE purchase our bicycles from only those people that we know and have legitimate and long term relationships with. To any establishment that might not be so diligent, we urge them to become so!

The following list and links are a a primer for you to whet your (bicycle knowledge) appetite with. A point to note, some locks come with an anti-theft warranty! We all know there are no guarantees in life, but we can increase the odds in our favor.

ALWAYS Lock your Bike.
Brightly lit places are not thief friendly.
An inexpensive locks equals a cheap lock. Locks are not the things to be stingy about. Go as high end as you can.
If you are leaving your bike for a long period of time (like for more than 5 minutes) or over night use at least two locks.
Learn how to lock your bike properly. Thieves want to hit quickly, they look for the easiest targets. The harder you make it for them, the less likely your bike will be stolen.

We all know that thieving has and always will be a part of life, desperate people will do desperate things.

Help defend yourself by learning as much about how bicycles are stolen, knowledge is power!

Help defend others by being vigilant, if you think a bike is being stolen call it in!

Help defend your bicycle with locks and techniques that says…BIKE ME to those that might want to steal it!

“Auld Lang Syne”, a Scottish poem written by Robert Burns in 1788, first verse is “Should old acquaintance be forgot, and never brought to mind? Should old acquaintance be forgot, and old times since?.”

Great for reflecting upon a year gone past for sure! For those of us that relish our attraction to older bicycles, bicycles that have character, history, were built to last. It’s a great question also. They are things of days gone by, but still here serving a purpose. Transportation for the masses; and if we got it with out being pushed by $4.00 gasoline, they would be massed for transportation.

But since our society is truly still on a 12 step program from its oil addiction it will be a while before such radical ideas such as reuse and recycle, rework replace throw away, new and improved. I’m not saying lets toss our mp3’s and break out the 33 1/3 rpm vinyls, but there is so much life left in so many old/vintage bicycles! OK, OK, so there are plenty of other really important issues to talk about like solar, but this IS about bicycles!

I have plenty to be thankful for in 2008 and at years end I truly do say to those around me “Aren’t we lucky!” I am thankful that there are plenty of you that wrench life back into old things to make them new again, such as bicycles. I am thankful that there are plenty of you that will return to the streets as soon as the weather allows you to ride instead of drive. I would be even more thankful if only the rest would get it! Get it enough to at least make an effort to cease any unnecessary vehicle use and find another way to move around. As my old buddy Vin form OldRoads.com says…It’s the parking, ______!

So to all that do get it, and are actually doing something about it, Happy New Year!

To the rest…maybe we should just say…Bike Me!

“Auld Lang Syne”, a Scottish poem written by Robert Burns in 1788, first verse is “Should old acquaintance be forgot, and never brought to mind? Should old acquaintance be forgot, and old times since?.”

Great for reflecting upon a year gone past for sure! For those of us that relish our attraction to older bicycles, bicycles that have character, history, were built to last. It’s a great question also. They are things of days gone by, but still here serving a purpose. Transportation for the masses; and if we got it with out being pushed by $4.00 gasoline, they would be massed for transportation.

But since our society is truly still on a 12 step program from its oil addiction it will be a while before such radical ideas such as reuse and recycle, rework replace throw away, new and improved. I’m not saying lets toss our mp3’s and break out the 33 1/3 rpm vinyls, but there is so much life left in so many old/vintage bicycles! OK, OK, so there are plenty of other really important issues to talk about like solar, but this IS about bicycles!

I have plenty to be thankful for in 2008 and at years end I truly do say to those around me “Aren’t we lucky!” I am thankful that there are plenty of you that wrench life back into old things to make them new again, such as bicycles. I am thankful that there are plenty of you that will return to the streets as soon as the weather allows you to ride instead of drive. I would be even more thankful if only the rest would get it! Get it enough to at least make an effort to cease any unnecessary vehicle use and find another way to move around. As my old buddy Vin form OldRoads.com says…It’s the parking, ______!

So to all that do get it, and are actually doing something about it, Happy New Year!

To the rest…maybe we should just say…Bike Me!

Although this piture is dated 12/25/2005, it has a point, even 3 years later. Santa is a member of the US Army on duty near Tikrit, Iraq (note the huge blast walls behind him). The picture was taken by my brother, a US Army Veteren from a generation ago.

Both are serving, although in different capacities, in a very far away place. Santa is on active duty and my brother is in a civilian logistical and support position. Both have been away for a very long time even since 2005. Both could, at the end of their respective enlistments and or contracts, return to civilian lives. Both choose to stay and serve.

Regardless of anyone’s position on this war, it’s still a war and very dedicated and brave people are willing to go into harms way. The bottom line is that they are all volunteers who willing stand between you and pain no one wants to feel. And they do it with a clear understanding that it has huge costs to them, including possibly takng their limbs and or lives. It really is about service and sacrifice which, in the end, is actually for all of us.

So as we go about our business with our families and friends this Christmas please remember that there are people; sons and daughters, farthers and husbands, wives and mothers, brothers and sisters, in far away places standing on the line for you and me.

If you see someone in uniform please be sure to thank them, show your gratitude for what they are doing.

Peace On Earth, Good Will To All.

Although this piture is dated 12/25/2005, it has a point, even 3 years later. Santa is a member of the US Army on duty near Tikrit, Iraq (note the huge blast walls behind him). The picture was taken by my brother, a US Army Veteren from a generation ago.

Both are serving, although in different capacities, in a very far away place. Santa is on active duty and my brother is in a civilian logistical and support position. Both have been away for a very long time even since 2005. Both could, at the end of their respective enlistments and or contracts, return to civilian lives. Both choose to stay and serve.

Regardless of anyone’s position on this war, it’s still a war and very dedicated and brave people are willing to go into harms way. The bottom line is that they are all volunteers who willing stand between you and pain no one wants to feel. And they do it with a clear understanding that it has huge costs to them, including possibly takng their limbs and or lives. It really is about service and sacrifice which, in the end, is actually for all of us.

So as we go about our business with our families and friends this Christmas please remember that there are people; sons and daughters, farthers and husbands, wives and mothers, brothers and sisters, in far away places standing on the line for you and me.

If you see someone in uniform please be sure to thank them, show your gratitude for what they are doing.

Peace On Earth, Good Will To All.

OK, so for the first entry here I agonized over just what to write about. I thought about how important it would be to set the tone and draw readers in for their exchange of ideas comments etc. I thought about how it would be important that I write about who we are, Ed (Shawsheen) and Vin (OldRoads.com) the bike guys at the a Cambridge Antique Market. What we are doing with this project etc.

Then it hit me…like “Dawn on Marblehead”.

I would like to introduce this blog to whom we hope to reach. That would be you! And just who are you? Who is it that comes to the Cambridge Antique Market and purchases used and or vintage bicycles? Who is it that will ride a bicycle 300 out of 365 days per year or every weekend or to the store three times a week? Who is it that sees a used bike as an opportunity to recycle something that already is one of the greenest manmade things, or just someone that likes to save a dollar rather than spend nearly what was $4.00 per gallon of gas. Although, we all like to think that we are very different from one another, you do have a few things in common. How can we say this you ask…? Well we have literally met hundreds upon hundreds of you and these are some of the things we have learned.

You are often an under grad, grad or some other type of student in some shape or form. You are here in the great Metro Area of Boston/Cambridge/Somerville etc. to pursue a world class education. OR, you are a professional working in this wonderful urban area that is host to so many possibilities for incredible work opportunities even when the economy is in free fall. OR, you are a hard working person that is enjoying all that this area has to offer in way of the arts, music, sports and you most likely take part in it all yourself and an artist, ball player or musician. OR you live here because you want to, not because you’re passing through for what ever the reason. You love the drastic contrasts of the region culturally, its weather, its landscapes and all that which make up this place we all call home.

A few more observations are: you like inexpensive transportation and feel good about that when you use it. You appreciate form AND function when they are combined, as they are with bicycles. You appreciate things that are well made. You appreciate being green, not just talking about it and you probably are not one to brag about it either. You appreciate being healthy, as a matter of life style. You appreciate that you can take a 20, 30, 40 year old item that has a lot of use left in it and make something new of it again. You appreciate the fact that for most any given day, you travel faster and more efficiently than all those vehicles you share the road with. You appreciate riding your bicycle because is down right fun and it makes you feel more like the urban dweller that you are. A part of this living breathing urban space we call home.

We would like to say thanks for chatting with us when you come in and letting us know who you are!

We hope that Bike Me Blog, among many things, will be an exchange of practical information that is both entertaining and informative.

Next week. Who are the bike guys in the basement at the Cambridge Antique Market?

I’d like to have you all come up with a saying that includes Bike Me in it that we might use to end this blog each time!

Hit the comment button and give it a try!

OK, so for the first entry here I agonized over just what to write about. I thought about how important it would be to set the tone and draw readers in for their exchange of ideas comments etc. I thought about how it would be important that I write about who we are, Ed (Shawsheen) and Vin (OldRoads.com) the bike guys at the a Cambridge Antique Market. What we are doing with this project etc.

Then it hit me…like “Dawn on Marblehead”.

I would like to introduce this blog to whom we hope to reach. That would be you! And just who are you? Who is it that comes to the Cambridge Antique Market and purchases used and or vintage bicycles? Who is it that will ride a bicycle 300 out of 365 days per year or every weekend or to the store three times a week? Who is it that sees a used bike as an opportunity to recycle something that already is one of the greenest manmade things, or just someone that likes to save a dollar rather than spend nearly what was $4.00 per gallon of gas. Although, we all like to think that we are very different from one another, you do have a few things in common. How can we say this you ask…? Well we have literally met hundreds upon hundreds of you and these are some of the things we have learned.

You are often an under grad, grad or some other type of student in some shape or form. You are here in the great Metro Area of Boston/Cambridge/Somerville etc. to pursue a world class education. OR, you are a professional working in this wonderful urban area that is host to so many possibilities for incredible work opportunities even when the economy is in free fall. OR, you are a hard working person that is enjoying all that this area has to offer in way of the arts, music, sports and you most likely take part in it all yourself and an artist, ball player or musician. OR you live here because you want to, not because you’re passing through for what ever the reason. You love the drastic contrasts of the region culturally, its weather, its landscapes and all that which make up this place we all call home.

A few more observations are: you like inexpensive transportation and feel good about that when you use it. You appreciate form AND function when they are combined, as they are with bicycles. You appreciate things that are well made. You appreciate being green, not just talking about it and you probably are not one to brag about it either. You appreciate being healthy, as a matter of life style. You appreciate that you can take a 20, 30, 40 year old item that has a lot of use left in it and make something new of it again. You appreciate the fact that for most any given day, you travel faster and more efficiently than all those vehicles you share the road with. You appreciate riding your bicycle because is down right fun and it makes you feel more like the urban dweller that you are. A part of this living breathing urban space we call home.

We would like to say thanks for chatting with us when you come in and letting us know who you are!

We hope that Bike Me Blog, among many things, will be an exchange of practical information that is both entertaining and informative.

Next week. Who are the bike guys in the basement at the Cambridge Antique Market?

I’d like to have you all come up with a saying that includes Bike Me in it that we might use to end this blog each time!

Hit the comment button and give it a try!