NAHBS Recap! We came, we saw....

Well that was fun! We're still reeling from amazing bikes, thin air, amazingly nice people, too much beer, too much snow... According to the airplane announcer guy, Denver is sunny 300 days of the year. According to me, it's kind of slushy. But there are actual mountains all around, and that makes it worthwhile.

All the bikes took the train:

 

ALL THE BOXES ARRIVED. Miracles can happen. 

And then those 12 grubby boxes became this:

 

So tidy.

And then Steve did this:

 

So MESSY. 

Note the pink vest. I'm waiting for our official shop photo with ALL our beautiful studded vests on display to turn up. Tom and Kasy didn't like wearing theirs at all, but Steve stood out like a hot pink glittering beacon all weekend. And the woodchuck got drunk:

 

The beer is called Old Chub

And passed out at like three PM: 

 

This is just embarrassing. 

We were honored to win the ribbon for best lugs! All those hours of cutting, flowing and polishing paid off:

                                        

AND moody lighting

We got a ton of awesome press, too. I can't sufficiently express how thrilled and humbled we all are by everyone's kind words. 

Here's a slightly mortifying blurb about me (of course this would be the weekend I had roadrash on my FACE)

Here's one from CXMagazine, about our SUPERFAST Baltimore Bullet 'cross bike. 

Some GREAT pictures from Bicycle Times.

MORE great pictures from BikeRumor.

And some love from Velonews.

There's more, but you get the idea.One of the great things about these shows is that all the builders from around the country (and world!) get to hang out and trade ideas and gripe and draw an already tight community tighter. We don't often  get to let our dork flags fly quite so flamboyantly! I'm writing a much longer recap on my own blog, if anyone's interested.

And now we're back, with bikes to build and a website to redo and a woochuck to resuscitate. Again, it was great seeing old friends, making new ones, and drooling on pretty bikes. And next year NAHBS will be in Charlotte! Bike trip, anyone?

Also, SPRINGTIME!

-Isis

                                         

NAHBS Countdown!

So the lot of us are rolling off to Denver for NAHBS with piles and piles of boxes, three singles, a tandem,  two frames and a woodchuck. Ferdinand will be having a holiday in South Philly, as the shop will be closed. We thought about bringing him along, but we hear there are mountain lions in Colorado and we don't want him to feel little and develop a complex.

Don't worry Big Man, everyone on the East Coast is smaller!

Bikerumor wrote a nice blurb about us. Thanks, Bikerumor! 

We're super stoked to see all our favorite bike nerds and meet new ones. We'll have a whole bunch of merch, some old, some new, and some seriously blinged-out bikes. 

                                                    BLING! That's going to go on a fork.

We also have two Amazing NAHBS Specials (tm). Number One...

 

Please order cool looking bikes!

And Number Two, which is kind of on the down low, so there isn't even a graphic. BUT! If you bring a live, healthy woodchuck to the Bilenky Booth, we'll build you a frame. Extra points for a good mannered woodchuck. And doped woodchucks will be disqualified at once. And be advised that it's your responsibility to bring the 'chuck back to his hole after the show-- we do not want to be responsible for a Colorado Woodchuck Plague.

Meanwhile, Ferdinand's intern is engaged in mysterious preparations:

 

But why? You ask. Why not! We say.

In any case, we will be recognizable. 

So see you there and safe travels to those who are traveling. Do you know how HARD it is to keep Steve from packing excess bikes? (We only got a 10X10 booth). I know he's gonna try to slip a cargo bike or two in among the luggage. Not on my watch! 

Westward Ho!*

Isis

BCW

*By which I mean the exclamation, not the quaint little town that apparently exists in Somerset, UK. It even has a ! at the end. Who knew?

Belated thanks for not dying! And pre-spring cleaning.

Happy 2013, everyone! And thanks again for killing it (but not yourselves) at the Junkyard race. I still don't quite know how we had 152 racers, 1,100 beers, one EMT (thanks Anthony!) and no disasters. Here's a great recap from RideTheJawn . Seemed like everyone had a go-pro this year which is great because I got to experience the scary parts without riding them.

Also, where did those blow-up dolls come from? Anyone?

Next year we're gonna connect this event with the Single Speed Cyclocross World Championships which are COMING TO PHILLY so make sure you're around next December because it will be amazing.

Now that the last ton of sand has been shoveled into a pile (does anyone want two and a half tons of sand?) we're back to production under the eyes of our laser cat master:

He only LOOKS like he sleeps 20 hours a day

We're making wiggly bikes,

 

Squirmy bugger kept getting away

Tiny bikes, 

 

Too small for Steve!

And really excessively big tandems: 

 

 700c, Baby.

In order to make room for heightened production and because the cat boss wants unobstructed sight lines for his laser beams, we're trying to get rid of some of the stuff that Steve we've been accumulating for years. Some is brand new; some is vintage. All is cool. The first round is up on Ebay now, keep checking back.

There will also be a calendar and a new Brazin' Woodchuck t-shirt in the near future. We be busy!

And because people keep asking us what we think of the Lance Armstrong debacle, here's our statement:

We knew it all along ferchrissakes. Now just get his smug mug off the news and the internet because the only fitting punishment is to ignore him forever. Also, Bradley Wiggins is awesome.*

                                                                ---The BCW Celebrity Doping Control Board

Case closed. 

Keep warm, ride safe, and may 2013 have so many bikes in it that you need to buy another shed. 

Isis

BCW

*If our man Wiggins turns out to be doping we are all going to buy hummers and Steve will shave his beard.

 

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

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