Yup, we've got 'zines - by Shawn Granton of the Urban Adv. League

It's a dreary late-January Sunday afternoon and you're dreaming about those magical sunshine days that are just a few months away, right?  Get inspired and informed with these two awesome little 'zines by our friend Shawn Granton of the Urban Adventure League.  We've got both his Bike Fun Primers ($2) and the Cycle Touring Primers ($3).  The first is about bike-related things to do around Portland, while the latter covers basic information on bike touring in our lovely Cascadia.  Shawn does a fantastic job of clearly explaining pretty much everything you need to know about touring, and his cartoons will surely make you laugh...and you might just forget about the rain for a moment.  Get both 'zines for $5 - it's easily the best deal we've got at Upcycles!

Upcycles stickers!

I realize that this probably won't change your life, but I'm pretty excited about our new stickers - they're like mini bumper stickers, made of durable vinyl and 1"x4" in size.  Stop by the shop and pick one up for FREE with any purchase, then stick it on your bike, your car, your coffee mug, your forehead, or your cat.  I thought this was really cool: a customer came in with an old Gitane road bike that he's going to be restoring with our help, and I was struck by the similarity of the old sticker on the seat tube.  Here they are side-by-side:

Monty Python - Bicycle Repair Man

Something to laugh about...

How-to's, ravioli, and the meaning of "Pake"

Greetings in this brand-new 2012 year!  Off to a very busy start at the shop - it seems that everyone and their mother is needing a mid-winter tuneup and some new brake pads, but it's been so dry I haven't had a request for fenders since Christmas.  I'm enjoying this cold, dry weather for sure, but it's strange to be actually MISSING rain...

Thanks to Jake Greenberg of Classic Foods for bringing me some of their fantastic ravioli - I had dinner covered for three days!

The second installment of our Basic Maintenance Classes is this Sunday, Jan 15, from 11am-noon - we'll be covering brakes.

I'm about to start an exciting custom commuter build on an affordable and versatile Pake C'Mute frame.  It will have a 5-speed internal hub, drop handlebars, and a stylish color scheme (Melody will decide on this).  Oh yeah, "pake" is Hawaiian slang for "frugal person."

Kai