'Tis the Season... for biking!

Wow, could we have asked for a more beautiful day?!? Get on your bike and do some riding, I promise you'll thank yourself later.

Speaking of "The Season", lately it seems like it's been the season for crazy bike breaks and equally awesome bike hookups. Cracked carbon, stripped pedal threads, bent crown races, broken seats, thrown bottom brackets, snapped cages, tweaked spokes, it's been a rough couple of weeks for me bike-wise. But never fear, folks, to my rescue came all of y'all! Kris (King Kong) set me up with some sweet cranks for my MTB with the messed up bottom bracket, the guys at Performance helped me out with my headset woes, I scored a cheap cheap seat at the Frankenbike swap-meet (1x1 is GO!), my friend John got me my cranks back so I could fix my fixed gear, and last but definitely not least, Glenn Thompson of DalTex Handmade Bicycles up in Dallas went above and beyond, shipping me a care package with a new fork, derailer cogs, bar wrap, and a whole bunch of swanky NOS gear to get my Litespeed back on the road. Thanks a million Glenn!

Speaking of Glenn, I got to have lunch with him as well as with Elliott and Marcus of A2W, and discuss plans for the Texas Handmade Bicycle Show, which is coming to Austin this October. I'm really excited to hear Glenn's plans for the show, but even more excited about his vision for the handmade bicycle and bicycle component/accessory industry in Texas. A study that was brought up in discussion was the one regarding the worth of Portland's bike-related economy, which stated that industry-related businesses bring in over $90 million to the city each year, and employ over a thousand people.

What's keeping us from these numbers in Austin? There are new businesses popping up every day, new shops opening (in much-needed areas) every time I blink, and the number of cyclists on the streets is nothing short of phenomenal. I think the market exists in Austin for a thriving bicycle industry, and not just retail sales but in design and manufacture as well. Now that we have a strong bike program and a city council that actually responds to our issues on occasion, maybe it's time for this city to drop that second-place medal and shoot for the gold by offering incentives to bicycle-related businesses. Lets bring more of them to town and give them an environment to thrive in! More local bike-related jobs, inexpensive shipping on sweet stuff, and more monies into the city's coffers. What's not to love?