Tis the Season...

When the Community Cares...Stolen Bike Returned!

Within 30+ hours of realizing that one of our bikes had been stolen from the shop, we found ourselves back in possession of it! Now I gotta say, while I truly believe that actions and attitude dictate much of what happens to us in our lives, I never would have thought that we would have gotten the bike back; especially not within that short of time frame! While we are not 100% sure when the bike disappeared, we do know that since last Tuesday (when the last of our sub-contractors finished) the shop had been unlocked. For almost 6 days, Grassroots Bikes sat wide open in downtown Durham and all that we had stolen was one bike. (Disclaimer: There were only two bikes at the shop at that time, and they were hidden in the bathroom, however the fact that only one was taken and no harm was done to our shop speaks volumes about the love my community shows for Grassroots Bikes!)

The bike's disappearance was going to put a decent financial damper in the tiny budget of our little non-profit, but I had come to terms with it and hoped that maybe it was going to be the item that changed someones life for the better. In the end, a good Samaritan named Mario located the bike and contacted us to get it returned. I made sure that I had one of the Trips For Kids - Triangle kids was with me (and a Durham Police Officer) during the hand off. I wanted the TFKT kid to see that not only do good things happen in life for folks who find themselves in less then ideal situations, but also that mistakes can be made right. Who ever stole the bike in the end has done right. The mistake has been fixed and we harbor no ill will towards them. Forgive and Forget.

Bitter Sweet Day at Grassroots Bikes

Today has got to go down as one of the most bitter sweet days in the short history of Trips For Kids - Triangle and Grassroots Bikes. Let's start with the "Sweet" part first...

I picked up one of our Trips For Kids - Triangle kids today and spent a few hours mentoring her. We listened to one of NPR's programs called The Story, that featured a fantastic non-profit in the Pacific Northwest called The If Project. Check it out. I got to be a part of this kids emotions as she listened to the radio segment. It was really moving for me. When the segment was over, and we were both riding on an emotional high, we left to grab a bite to eat and to check out the progress at Grassroots Bikes.

As many of you know, Grassroots Bikes has relocated to a brand new home in one of the coolest mixed used developments in Downtown Durham called Mangum 506. We bought the little place in February and have been working on the upfit since. We are one tiny inspection away from getting our Certificate of Occupancy before we can reopen our doors. The funny thing about the whole "reopen our doors" statement is actually a large part of the "bitter" entry today.

When we arrived at the shop, I found the door had been left unlocked. The good news is that the shop had not been vandalized and 97% of our inventory had not been moved in. The bad news is that one of our bikes had been stolen. As angry as I want to be at the person who left the door unlocked and the person who stole the bike, I instead find myself being really thankful for the great life I have been blessed with. I can only imagine that the person who stole the bike is undergoing enormous hardships in their own life. Maybe the bike will act as their transportation for a new job? Maybe the bike will be sold and will provide needed money for rent? Or maybe the bike will do for them what it has done for so many of the Trips For Kids - Triangle kids; It will provide them the opportunity to overcome obstacles on the road called life...

Day 1 - Andrea goes to Bike School

As I sit here, in true Pacific Northwest saloon, beer in one hand, classroom textbook in another I am amazed at just how unappreciated the art of bike mechanics really is...Now let me start off by saying that I am out here in Portland Oregon attending UBI's Professional Bike Shop Operation class not because I think I have the "mechanical skills" that are so superior that they need justification via certification, but rather to rid myself of the sheer level of bike mechanic incompetency that I have possessed over the past 5+ years. My incompetency did not matter when I was merely a recreational cyclist who spent my time (and money) on expense upgrades. And while today I am still a recreational cyclist, I am also the executive director of the Trips For Kids - Triangle chapter as well as the top dog at its bike shop, Grassroots Bikes. That being said, I felt that I needed to rid myself of my lack of mechanical knowledge and get a little more educated in the art of bike mechanics. So, while I should be reading Chapter 2 - Wheel Building and Repair, instead I am having beverage numero dos and blogging about bike school.

My day began early...Everyday begins early at UBI, as class runs from 8am until 5pm, but it's even earlier when you are biologically on East Coast time. So at 6:30am (PCT) I was already up and wandering the streets of Portland jonesing for some coffee. When class started at 8:00am, I was pumped and ready to learn. After the obligatory "housekeeping" talks (like no cheating, don't steal tools, show up to class on time and sober (which would only need to be explicitly mentioned at Bike Mechanic school)) the lesson began. Never in my life would I have thought that all of that horrible math conversion crap that I was supposed to have learned in elementary, middle, high, and secondary schooling would have surfaced. We spent the better part if the morning talking about the various (and proper) use of measuring tools and torque. The instructor was jumping between the various measurement units like it was nothing...I found myself thinking, "Now how many centimeters are in an inch and what the hell is the difference between foot lbs and inch lbs and newton meters and kgf-cm. My god, this is bike school. This is not math class!" Long and short, I could not help but think of the incredible connections a math teacher could use while teaching bike mechanics...And so begins my push to get Durham Public School's Holton Career Center teaching Bike Mechanics. (Before I offer myself up to teach it,  I gotta whole lot to learn.) Of course, after today, I can complete Hub Overhaul and Adjustments...Not too shabby considering where I started a mere 10 hours ago!

Grassroots Bikes is Relocating Today...sort of

And so it begins...The much anticipated relocation to our new spot in Downtown Durham at Mangum 506. But wait, there’s a catch...

New construction upfits are like new relationships...super exciting but sometimes more difficult than you anticipated at first. Grassroots Bikes will officially begin moving out of our current spot at the JOD over the next few days. The problem is that we are still waiting for the final stages of the Mangum 506 upfit to be completed. So for the next however many days/weeks, Grassroots Bikes is in limbo.

While we will no doubt be filling Jabberwocky orders on a weekly basis, the shop itself is going to be functioning at a snail’s pace. We appreciate your patience and understanding if we can’t meet your every need for the next little bit...But we sure do hope to see you at the new shop when it’s up and runnin’...

Jabberwocky, ride one if you dare!

You may or may not know, but we have a demo fleet of Vassago Jabberwockies. We encourage you to borrow one for a few days and enjoy the experience that is the Jabberwocky.


A quote from an email sent by someone who recently demoed one of our Jabbers:
“The jabberwocky is everything that Vassago and owners of the jabberwocky claim, excellent climbing, descending and handling!"
It's nice when the hype of a product lives up to its reputation

This satisfied customer is already preparing for the purchase of a Jabberwocky:
“get back to you tomorrow night so we can move forward with the sale of a 2010 black frame and matching Odis fork from grassroots and I'll pick them up in the middle of the week. I'll give you a shout tomorrow night, Thanks again for the Demo."
We have yet to have someone demo a Jabber and not purchase one from us at some point.
BEWARE: Demo a Jabber and you are likely to buy one!!!!

Just in time for the release of Tim Burton’s version of Alice in Wonderland…

The 2010 Vassago Jabberwockys have arrived! Although it would appear that we have put the Mad Hatter in charge of pricing, it is not true. This year’s models are being sold at the same price as the 2009 models on purpose.

I hear Alice has her eye on the cool new Army Green, while the Cheshire Cat will stick with the classic Black Out frame.
Our first frame went through the looking glass in under two hours! The others will not be far behind. Do not worry; we always have Jabberwockys in Wonderland.