Monday, November 26, 2012

Fall News

We at BCW wish everyone a happy belated Thanksgiving and thank our devoted and patient friends and customers, for keeping us going. We're grateful to be a part of Philly bike community, which is the best in the world.

Except the woodchuck. The woodchuck ain't thankful for nothin'. 

As many of you know by now, the Junkyard 'Cross is a GO!

I don't want to hear about the cars, ok? You all have filthy minds. 

As I said before, and as I will continue to say until everyone is sick to death of hearing it, YOU HAVE TO BE GOOD. As in, no wanton destruction, no climbing things not designated for climbing, no being rude to long suffering junkyard guys who want you to stop wrecking their inventory. There will be things to wreck, though, we promise. 

Also, please pre-register! It is cheaper for you and you get free beer tickets and it makes our lives SO MUCH EASIER. Here is the link: pre-reg, suckaaaas!

And as always, we need VOLUNTEERS. It will be fun! You can move cars around and pre-ride the course and drink too much and snicker evilly at how hard the course will be for your friends. Steve wants a Specialty Belgian Trap that we can't tell you about yet. Email Isis at isis.shiffer@gmail.com 

Speaking of Steve, we did get hold of a couple glamor shots from the fashion show. The photographer has yet to come claim Ferdinand's promised drooly kisses, and honestly we can't blame him/her. But here are the pictures.......!

Ooo la la!

Sassy!

We think Steve missed his true vocation. 

And now, from the shameless self-promotion department, I have an art show coming up: 

It's bike folks! In a bike co-op!


In any case, there are bikes to build and coffee to acquire, so off I go. 

What do you need to remember?

1) Pre-register! Here is the link again! 

2) Volunteer! Here is my email again! isis.shiffer@gmail.com

Got it? Sure you do!

-Isis
BCW




Monday, November 5, 2012

Woodchucks, Nerds, and Viking Hats


Well, the enduring image of the 2012 Philly Bike Expo appears to be this:

Where my expo at, suckaaaaa?

Seriously, that drunken 'chuck got more attention than all the bikes combined. Which is is a shame because the bikes were, as always, extraordinary. I'll put up pictures as they trickle in, of course I forgot to take any. A lot of natty people with giant cameras cornered us at intervals for interviews. While I believe my co-workers comported themselves with grace and charm, I find a camera, or worse a tape recorder, makes my brain go blank and my voice go 'Bluuuuurgh!' So it will be interesting to see the results...

Here is Jan Heine and a J P Weigle bike, looking cool as a couple of cucumbers

The Vikingcat went off without a hitch, and NO ONE DROWNED-- though a couple of insane brave lads did swim across the Schuylkill. This is disgusting, and not endorsed by the Expo, or Bilenky or ANYTHING... but they did both place, so congrats, kids. I was happy to see that the first and second place winners earned their bike and wheelset respectively by being methodical and nerdy, rather than reckless and terrifying. Philly Bike Expo-- rewarding nerdy cyclists since 2012! 

The fixed smile comes from agonizing high heeled shoes.

Steve and I both modeled in the fashion show (thanks, Philadelphia University Fashion Department! You were so very patient with us!) Unfortunately, I can't seem to find a photo of Steve struttin' his stuff. Ferdinand has promised a big, drooly cat kiss to anyone who sends us one, so get on that. 

Then of course there was a hurricane, so we all scampered home to batten our hatches and sleep for fifteen hours. We can't thank everyone enough for coming out and making the third annual Expo so wonderful. You, our clients, fellow industry folks, and just general bike lovers have made this city an amazing place for cyclists and the Expo is our way of saying thank you. There's a post-Expo retrofit sale if you happen to need your bike chopped, It's on our homepage. 

....SO NOW WHAT?

Well, there are bikes to catch up on, a shop to clean, a pile of retrofits, a bunch of neglected paperwork...

WHO CARES? WHAT ABOUT THE JUNKYARD CROSS?? You ask. 

Well, it will probably happen and if it does it will be on the 16th of December. The junkyard guys are still kind of ticked off that you freakin' hooligans overenthusiastic 'cross fans bashed up a bunch of their cars and inventory. This year you're going to have to promise to behave and pay a little more-- they want to have a couple of guys onsite preventing damage. We want this to keep going and we know you do too, and the ill-advised nature of the course will remain unchanged. We just need the spectators to not destroy things. This shouldn't be a problem, right? RIGHT?


Anyway, we'll keep you posted. 

No promises of sheep, though! 

Unless you bring a sheep. And it has to behave itself too!

Happy real fall! The best cycling weather. Keep dry, ride safe, and PLEASE no more swimming across the Schuylkill. Yuck.

Isis
BCW