Category Archives: Shop news

News about Chain Reaction Bicycles

Heading to 3 corners of the world

So at the conclusion of TrekWorld on Wednesday, which my brother Steve and my daughter Becky attended with me, it was an interesting scene at the airport. After all three of us first flew from Madison to Chicago, we then went in three different directions.

Steve joined up with his wife Teri and took a plane to Belgium, where they’ll be doing a Trek Travel trip. They love the Trek Travel trips; 100% no-hassle bike vacation. Just a tad bit different from what Kevin and I do!

Becky took a plane home to San Francisco. It felt odd seeing her off; like I was abandoning her. Obviously, at 28, she can take very good care of herself, without help from anybody else. Still, it felt a bit odd she was going one way, me another.

Which gets to the “me” part. As a member of the Board of Directors of the NBDA (National Bicycle Dealer Association), I had to be in Minneapolis to be part of an interview team that’s selecting our next Executive Director. In a nutshell, yesterday was a very, very, very long day. 3 candidates, interviews of about 2 hours, each one followed by about an hour and a half spent debating their suitability. Followed by a long evening in which the overall merits of each were discussed.

So that’s why you haven’t heard anything from me. I’ve been busy in a manner that defines an exhaustion you can’t compare to the toughest of bike rides, because those bike rides make you stronger, and this… it’s not something you ask for more of so you can become tougher yet.

This one’s for Michael F (and a call-out to the staff who’s keeping things going while I’m away)

IMG_1901saganFrom yesterday’s stage, a photo that Michael F, our Service Manager in Redwood City, will enjoy (he’s a Peter Sagan fan, and that’s Sagan at the front, just before the almost-literal killer descent).

And at this point I’ll mention that I couldn’t be here in France with my son (Kevin) were it not for the efforts of Becky & Mike F running things back home, as well as the rest of the staff, including Roger, Margie, Alec, Alex, Sergio, Jose, Charlie, Kayla, Jesse, and of course, my wife Karen. Hopefully I haven’t missed anyone. Actually I miss them all! But we’ll be back soon, the shop will still be standing, and I can start thinking of an interesting place to take my wife in November. –Mike–