Over the River and Through the Wood

If you are like most people the holidays come with traditions - something to look forward to that is special to you or your family.  Thanksgiving brings two to mind for me - first is the over eating and second is a bike ride outside.  The two go hand in hand because if I can get a good ride in before gorging myself it helps alleviate some guilt about gorging myself.

If I am really fortunate, I can ride to the Thanksgiving feast -today was such a day.  We were going to have dinner at my dad and stepmother's house and the weather was clear and low 40s.  Nice given the storms we have had the last week.

We live down by Hangman Golf Course and my folks live near Whitworth University which is about 18 miles via the most direct route.  My folks act as if we live on the dark side of the moon when it comes to driving to our house. But 18 miles is too short and not very scenic for tradition so I have discovered the long-way so I can get more riding and eating in the same day.  My wife and kids come up by car with my clothes so I leave about an hour earlier than they do.

The route involves riding up Hwy 195, over to Government Way, through Riverside State Park to 9 Mile Dam, to Rutter Parkway, then along the Little Spokane River, to Waikiki then south to my folks for a total distance of 32 miles.  Today was perfect for a ride with clear sky and light wind.  As I rode I could not help but think of the the Thanksgiving (not Christmas) song "Over the River and Through the Wood" by Lydia Maria Child though she did it in a horse-drawn carriage and not a Trek Madone with Dura Ace Di2.

My Carriage

Truth be known, my song went more like: Through the Wood, Over the Creek, Up the Highway, Through the Wood, Along the River, Over the River and Along the Little River to Grandfather's House I Go - but that doesn't make a very good refrain in a song.

Through more wood

7 Mile Bridge

From the Bridge at Deep Creek

9 Mile Reservoir 

9 Mile Dam (Over the River)

 

Grandfather's House

Upon arriving, I was greeted by wonderful smells, my boys grazing in front of a football game and my dad opening a growler of an IPA he was very enthusiastic about - now that is what I call a tradition. Oh and yes there was pumpkin pie.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Spokane Southie.com and Spokesman Review Stopped By

Tuesday was our first day of business at our new home in the South Perry District.  As you can imagine, it was a day filled with both energy and relief at being able to open our doors to customers again.  Bruce and I cannot thank the employees and volunteers who helped make the move possible enough.

The owner of Spokane Southie Blog and Pia Hallenberg of the SR stopped by to check-out the new digs.
Spokane Southie is a blog about happenings on the South Hill whether they be community or business related and a good way to keep up to date on the area.

Pia  Hallenberg lived just a few blocks south on Perry Street for years and still has an interest in and a historical perspective on the area.  She does a great job on covering community related stories throughout the Spokane area.

We appreciated their taking the time to stop by and do the following write-ups:

Spokane Southie

Spokesman Review

Also a shout-out to fellow cyclist Dan Pelle, for his time and photography for the SR.

We are OPEN at 817 S Perry St!

Thanks again to everyone for their help and patience during our move this weekend.  We are offically open for business and working-out a few kinks.  The main focus was on getting the retail area set-up and all of the employees and volunteers did a great job.

Here are some photos, but come down and check-out the new space in person.

Temporary Signage

Temporary Entrance

Retail Space With Temporary White Wall

More Retail

Bikes

Bikes and Retail

 

Move Weekend Update - Sunday PM

It has been a pretty humbling few days.  So much work to do and so many people showing up to lend a hand.  Not with just the fun stuff, but the truly hard stuff like heavy lifting and bringing all of the garbage up from the basement. We are very blessed by all of you - thank you.

Things are happening fast at our new home!  We have some fine-tuning to do tomorrow and we open our doors on Tuesday at 10am. See you then.

Moving Day

It was with mixed emotions yesterday that we boxed-up all the inventory at our 1st Ave store for the move to S Perry.  So thankful for the memories that this cool old space provided the last 3 years and very excited for the possibilities the cool new space will provide in the years to come.

Thanks to all the folks who have offered to help us with our move today and this weekend.

We are closed today - Monday. See you on Tuesday at 10 am.

Moving Week Schedule

We can't believe the week where we relocate the our bike shop from 1st Ave. to the South Perry District is finally here.  The schedule for the week is as follows:

M-Th - Normal operations from 10am - 6pm
F - Closed
S - Closed
Su - Closed
M - Closed

Open at Perry Tuesday Nov 13 - 10am!

Thank you all for your offers of help and patience during our move.

Please call before bringing any major repairs in this week to ensure we can accommodate your schedule with the move.

No Doubt - This MOOTS is Living Room Worthy

Working in a bike shop we see a lot of things, joy, despair, hope, triumph and excitement.  Not sure who was more excited (him or us) FJ when he took delivery of his brand new Titanium Moots Mooto X mountain bike yesterday.

My wife has graciously accepted the fact that a new bike is prominently displayed for worship at the bike altar in the living room.  Some stay there for weeks where I can sit comfortably on the couch and appreciate each and every detail for hours.

If this Moots had come home with me it would probably be there long enough to serve as a Thanksgiving display and place to hang stockings for Christmas.

This bike is in a word - breathtaking.  The sweeping curves and crisp lines combined with world-class, hand-built craftmanship and finish are enough to make a person light-headed. Don't let the sophisticated good looks fool you though.  This bike will turn into a trail burning, rock-eating beast once it is unleashed.  A full-on 29er with XT 2x10 and Bontrager RXL wheels - she is going to dish-out gobs of speed and confidence inspiring handling for her new owner.

Thanks for letting us share in your excitement and very cool project.  Happy trails

Moving Sale This Saturday 10 - 5

Moving Sale - Saturday November 3, 10am - 5pm.  Time to clean out the basement so come help us out and save some serious dough!