Bike riding is fun. Every adult I know who gets back on the bike says how it reminds them of their younger days, and the smiles on their faces are evidence. But one thing that might be potentially more important than any other reason to commute by bike–and often overlooked–is the inherent health benefit.  Bike Shop Hub is by no means the first to touch on this subject. Increasing health through bike commuting and riding is an ongoing campaign which many of our fellow bike commuting advocates have chosen to promote as well.  BikeCommuters.com as well as CommuteByBike.com have written informative articles discussing the health benefits of daily commuting by bike.

The CDC (Center for Disease Control) recommends that adults in America need 150 minutes of moderate exercise each week or 75 minutes of vigorous activity each week.  That’s more than 20 minutes a day for moderate exercise and about 10 minutes per day if you prefer the vigorous route.  These figures represent the minimum requirements that the CDC has declared for increased heart and health benefits. The American Heart Association has similar requirements for maintaining a healthy lifestyle as well.

American health associations aren’t the only ones to comment on the benefits of cycling.  The British Heart Association states that cycling at least three hours a week cuts your risk of heart disease in half, compared to those who do not cycle or perform regular exercise.

Now for some, commuting by bike may not be an option, whether the distance to work is  to great to reasonably be covered by bicycle, or the logistics of the commute just don’t lend themselves to a safe riding. But for many, especially those in urban areas, a commute by bike is a couple of pedal strokes away.  For many, the perception of bike commuting is one of  significantly greater time commitment than by auto.  Well the numbers don’t lie. The typical bike commute takes about one third longer than the corresponding auto commute. Not really a substantial time increase, especially for a little exercise and a smile.

So if for no other reason other than your health, consider the impact that bicycle commuting can have on your life, not to mention that you will be saving gas money, reducing your carbon footprint, and you’ll fee better about yourself. And you might be just a little bit cooler–in a social sense at least.

Good times Good times were to be had at the 1st annual Flagstaff Hullabaloo. The event featured 4 great bands, kids events, great food and beer and lots of wacky, crazy people having fun. We decided to use it as an opportunity to let Flagstaff know that we had moved to a location in Downtown Flagstaff. We had some BikeShopHub.com T-Shirts done up along with a new banner for the Extrawheel Advert Trailer.

We set up a bunch of bike child trailers, bike cargo trailers, panniers and a bunch of kids stuff. With all of the kids at the event, the iBert Bike Child Safety Seat and our demo Strider Balance Bike were our biggest hits. We also had alot of interest in the Burley Travoy as well as the made in Flagstaff Wandertec BONGO bike trailer.

We also decided to deck out our Xtracycle Radish with an iBert, the new Xtracycle PeaPod and 6 different bike commuter panniers.

We asked about training wheels, and was told by the owner of the shop that it was not possible to put training wheels on a bike with a rear derailleur. Simply not possible, he claimed, because derailleur gets in the way of the struts, or the brackets, or the other thingy. Anyway, I just accepted it as authoritative truth. Then I set my mind on teaching the kid to ride on two wheels from the get go.

In the past week I’ve learned two things.

First, it may have been for the best that we didn’t use training wheels.

Strider Child's Balance Bike

In fact, I now believe that training wheels are at best a crutch for people who should have learned to ride at a younger age. At worst they are an impediment that keeps young kids from transitioning to full competence on bikes.

Fighting words? Call it the zeal of a convert. Last week I was introduced to balance bikes. I took a close look at a Strider Child Balance Bike, I talked to a sales rep, and I watched a couple of YouTube videos.

That qualifies me as an Internet pseudo-expert. So pity the next person who gives me half a reason to go off half-cocked about how best to teach a child to ride.

I was pretty badass on a tricycle, but I was seven or eight years old when I finally learned to ride a bike. I now have to wonder whether my tricycle and training wheels stunted my progress toward two wheels.

The other thing I learned this week is that, contrary to what was said by Mr. Bike Shop Owner Who Shall Remain Nameless, you absolutely can put training wheels on a bike with a derailleur. I did it.

A derailleur living in harmony with Sunlite Adjustable Training Wheels

I can see how it could be potentially problematic with the struts, but top training wheel engineers in advanced research labs have solved that problem.

We have two kinds of training wheels here, and both worked on the child’s bike that I used for testing. The Sunlite Adjustable Bike Training Wheels had the most clearance from the derailleur. The Wald Bike Training Wheels worked as well, but might have had difficulty working on another bike with a different derailleur or a different bottom dropout design.

So, fine. If you must. Put training wheels on your kid’s bike, if only to prove a certain bike shop owner wrong. Just don’t be surprised when the kid who learned on a Strider leaves your kid in the dust.

Well its official, we are all moved in to the new Bike Shop Hub location on 120 E. Phoenix, in good ol’ Flagstaff, AZ.  It was quite an endeavor to move an entire business in one weekend, but with some long hours we pulled it off.   Its been quite a change to have moved from the East side of Flagstaff to downtown; quite an increase in the quality of life.   The new shop is quite amazing, besides the fact that we have more then triple the space.  Along with all the added space, we have a new addition to the company,Wandertec Fabrications.

The masterful metal creations of Stu Henderson, formally know as Silvertone Fabrications, are now a part of the Bike Shop Hub.  The back half of the new space is dedicated to Wandertec fabrications.  Not only will Stu continue to fabricate his own projects but he will be working to develop future bike trailer creations along with other bike touring and bike commuting innovations.  So if you need a weld laid down, stop on by.

The larger space is great for us.  It is allowing us to expand on multiple fronts.  We are in the process of hiring two new employees, an internet marketer and a inventory manager, now that we have a proper office space.  But don’t worry it’s no Penatrode.  With added space comes added organization as well as the ability to expand the brands we carry to ensure we are always offering the most complete spectrum of bike touring, bike commuting and family cycling product available on the market, after all we are the experts.

One of the most interesting yet odd things that we have acquired is our new ladder.  A ladder… Exciting, you say.  Well kind of.  The new building has ceilings that are 16ft, and we bought really tall shelving to maximize the space.  Well we need a really tall ladder to get to the stuff that is stored that high.  And by the way 16 ft is a lot taller then it sounds.  We purchased a giant blue ladder to access everything a.k.a. Big Blue.  Well it turns out Big Blue is really big and kind of a pain to maneuver around the aisles of the shop.  So it mainly just stays in one place and allows us access to the soon to be break room above the office.  We are looking for couches and lawn furniture to donate the the break area. Oh, and a water cooler as well.

All things considered, going from a 1000 sq ft garage to a 3700 sq ft warehouse is quite a liberating experience.  Everyone has their own little space, and even Robin, pictured below, our special-needs employee is enjoying the new space.  I should add to that, Robin isn’t really our special-needs employee.  He is special and needy but certainly not special needs. The shipping department has had plenty of room to expand which will help us get your cycling products to you even faster. 

Having the downtown location has increased our foot traffic as well.  We used to only have people stop by the old shop a couple of times a month, but now it seems as though people are popping in twice a week.  Of course a large part of those are the “bro visits,” but hey, everyone loves company, right?  I would have to say that the growing pains have been minimal and we are all very happy to be in the new space. We are looking forward growing into the space, and we being able to accomplish even more in bringing exciting new products and specialty shops to utility cyclists, family cyclists and bike touring enthusiats.

The first week mainly involved the logistics of getting the new space set up with internet wiring, painting and shelving.  The shelving was the biggest part of the project as we were setting up multiple rows of pallet shelving and rivet shelving.  With Casey managing the shelving project and Frank on the wiring, everything came together right before last weekend and we were ready for the big push with all of the inventory.

Friday evening we cleared out all of our bike child trailers and bike cargo trailers from the storage box that took up the driveway in front of the old shop, loading them into a U-Haul truck.  This allowed for us to get the storage box picked up and out of the way.  We parked the U-Haul for the night and relaxed for the evening in anticipation of the big push over the weekend.

The next morning we met at the new location to unload the first load out of the U-Hual.  With the second load, we cleared out the remainder of our inventory, mainly our bike bags and bike racks as well as all of our desks, shipping tables, shipping supplies and everything in between.  With the third and final load, we cleared out our shelving.  Sunday morning we had gotten our entire shop into the new location and it was time to organize.  Throughout the day, we sorted out as much inventory as we could onto the shelves in anticipation for being able to ship on Monday morning without skipping a beat.

Monday morning we came into the shop and resumed business as usual.  It was a bit chaotic, sorting, organizing and finding stuff as we shipped, but it went as well as we could have hoped for.  The week, definitely kept us busy as we hustled to try to get the inventory into a better state of organization.

At the end of the week here, with things settling into place, everyone was very glad for the weekend to arrive.  It’ll be nice to see things really settle into place over the next month. Beyond getting our office and warehouse organized, the two biggest improvements ahead will be  getting our products all up on display for Flagstaff customers and getting the Wandertec shop set up in the back.  We anticipate all of this coming together sometime towards the end of June and having our grand opening celebration.

Well, in 2009 I started growing rapidly.  Unable to mount my bike after Interbike 2009, I had no choice but to take a leave of absence starting November 14.  I was able to return to work in January with a laptop in one hand, and 2 month old Neva Jeanne in the other (so to speak).  With the encouragement of my boss, and the support of my coworkers, I was able to return to work as a biker, and as a mom.

I have a Nordic Cab trailer which I have been able to use for strolling downtown, and jogging on local trails.  With her being quite young, and the icy weather conditions, I was nervous to take her on her first bike ride.  At 5 months of age, and beginning to crawl, I decided to take the plunge one beautiful, sunny morning before work.  I took the safest route between neighborhoods and the Route 66 bike path, and made it to work with my heart pounding, and Neva soundly asleep in her fleece lined sleeping bag and winter hat.

Riding with a child can be nerve-racking when dealing with traffic, but multiple features really put me at ease when traveling with her.  I like having a bright colored trailer and flag which is easily visible.  Safety colors like red, orange and yellow really make you stand out well.  I prefer trailers which utilize suspension because it makes the ride smoother for her, and I can ride off-road trails knowing there is a dampening effect when traveling over the dirt and gravel.  I think my favorite set up is using the plush Croozer Seat Supporter which supports your baby’s neck, in conjunction with the Nordic Cab sleeping Bag.  Not only is she comfortably reclined, but her head is supported, and she is cozy in the cold weather conditions.  Mom might suffer, but she’s warm and out like a light pretty quickly!

Summertime has another set of features to think about, like venting, and air flow.  Front to back airflow is great, but adding lateral airflow is superb, and makes a big difference when the temperatures exceed 80 degrees Fahrenheit.  An adjustable sunshade is also helpful at any time of day.  When I bike to work at 8am, the sun shade comes all the way down, and her side windows are covered so she doesn’t get sun in her eyes.  At noon, I can retract the sunshade so she can have a full view of the scenery.  The large cargo space is also a plus for picking up groceries after work, or when it’s Pastry Friday at the Bike Shop Hub, and everyone wants a pristine pastry with their coffee.

I feel secure in the safety of my trailer, of my route, and of my skill.  Trailers do add another element to biking, and experience with them needs to be taken into consideration before riding with a child.  I even had to switch from my road bike to my touring bike because the gearing on my roadie was too difficult to pull 5o pounds of trailer, child and work gear around the hilly terrain of Flagstaff!  I love biking Neva to work now.  She seems very happy and ready for work after a 30 minute ride, and a short nap.  Thank you Bike Shop Hub for taking Neva and I into your workplace.  Bike Kid Shop makes it easy for me to be a biking, working, super mom.  Ride on!

Here is Neva hard at work writing about our current Chariot Carriers and Croozer Trailers sale.  Neva says “Chariot and Croozer are on sale thru May 11th at 10%0ff.  Checkout the Chariot Cougar, Chariot Cheetah and Croozer 535.  Ok that’s enough, I’m taking a nap!”

In anticipation of our upcoming move, I’ve been planning the layout of our new location.  This is the pretty color coded CAD drawing of the layout of our new location. The right side is the workshop where the Wandertec BONGO bike cargo trailer and other Wandertec products will be designed and manufactured.  The top left is the office where we will answer calls, order products, list and blog about products, fine tune the websites and keep track of numbers.  The center top is the shipping center where great cycling products from Bike Trailer Shop, Bike Kid Shop and Bike Bag Shop are sent out from.  The bottom left and center is where all of those great cycling products will be organized and stored.  We are anticipating getting in there in about 2 or 3 weeks from now and will likely have a Grand Opening celebration sometime in June.