Open For Business

I'm currently in Gustavus, Alaska (pop. ~400) where my friend Dan and I have opened a short term bike shop (Just open for a couple weeks, and then maybe again later in the summer). You wouldn't think a bike shop in a town of 400 would really have very much business but Gustavus is anything but a typical small town. Unlike the rest of Southeast Alaska it is very flat here. It's really easy to get around on bikes and the people here take a certain amount of pride in being self sufficient and I think some of that spreads over into an interest in being self propelled. It's a really neat place.

Mostly we're just cleaning bikes that haven't been cared for in years and changing out whatever parts we need to make them rideable. Not as smooth as working on newer, higher end bikes, but there's more of a sense of satisfaction in knowing that you're putting a bike back on the road that would otherwise be sitting in someone's yard for the rest of it's life. I like it.

I've been sick most of this week so my training leading up to Crow Pass hasn't been perfect but I think I'll be ready to roll next Saturday. I've got so much strength right now from all the long climbs up into the mountains. I just need to hope that I find some way to convert this strength into speed for something as short as a 3 hour race. We'll see.