A short but fun ride to run some errands, drop off the compost, and check the surf before heading out to dinner. Probably should have made some time to surf too, a new swell is filling in.
It has been a good year, achieved many of my goals, closed in on others and was able to slow down and enjoy things a bit more than years in the past. Looking back there is nothing I would change.
On the personal front for the coming year, I want to make it a point to surf more, make the time to ride as often as I was a year ago, and expand the family time allotment. It should be a little easier to manage my time this year with out little girl starting child care 4 days a week.
Looking back on the last year’s surfing I realized that I need to get in the ocean and not just ride past it. The surf is a large part of why our family makes the extra push to live blocks from the beach, and we need to take advantage of that.
In the past few months my riding has morphed from the morning photocycling rambles to 90% errands and commuting. I need to get out of bed early and make more time for to morning fun rides again. Likewise I will be riding longer distances again. Both organized rides like a few randonees, a few mixed terrain centuries, and at least one tour.
A fringe benefit of child care will be more lunch dates with my wife. Fridays will be dedicated daddy days, more riding adventures with our little girl. She still has at least another 8 lbs before outgrowing the BoBike mini.
On the business front of Ocean Air Cycles, the past years leg work will manifest as a real bicycle company, not just an idea and a dream. In the coming weeks the used gear will be moving out of the storefront and onto eBay. The storefront will be getting a facelift in preparation for the line of bags, soft goods and BIKES! I am still working a few design tweeks out, but my frame and bar bags will be added by spring, with saddle bags to follow. The designs and materials are a blend of the traditional with a twist of modern. Soft goods will include the standards like t-shirts and hats, as well as an improved touring wallet design, and some other clothing items. The bike frame sets are still in the engineering phase, with a prototype target for the end of January. The pre-sale and full line should be ready to go by the time weather is getting warm. Everything in the lineup will either be made by me, local contractors or in the case of the frames, U.S. contractors. This helps to keep lead times short while keeping our local economy bolstered up a bit.
I hope that the year was good for you too, and the coming year will be even better. Ride your bike, play outside, and do some new things you have never tried before!!! Don’t wait for the adventure to find you, grab the bars and ride!
Hi Rob,
I’m really excited to see where you frame plans go. I may be interested in a 650b frame. There are some things that I don’t like about my Kogswell, and they may be addressed on your frame.
I’m interested to hear more about your bags too. Are you making them, or is that being farmed out?
Maybe I’ll see you on one of the brevets this season.
Errin
Erin,
Thanks for the encouragement. I am pretty sure the frames will address most of the things you would want to change with your Kog. These are not going to be quite bicycle quarterly super light, they will be on the lighter side of things, and should have a more sporty ride, but with the all day in the saddle stability you need for the long rides.
For now I am making the bags. I make it a point to develop a working pattern for each bag as part of the development process. In the event that the volume starts to exceed my time available. I will take on a local contractor for the sewing. Either way it will always be clearly described. I would rather do it that way than run a long backlog. Likewise, while I am a decent seamster, we have local people who likely are better and faster than I can.
Did you do the “Views of Anacapa” on the 1st? I had thought about doing it, but all of the family holiday stuff compressed to make it not work. I saw a bunch of the riders on my way to the farmer’s market and it looked like the hard south wind was making the route a bit more challenging than it would have been with the normal seasonal wind patterns. When I am doing one of the rides I will post it up here on the blog and shoot you an email too. I am sure we will cross paths soon
I did not ride that brevet. I will be riding the OC 200k this weekend. I was still feeling under the weather over the holidays.
Yeah, patterns help a ton, and they are piling up in my room. I need to figure out a better filing system for them.
As far as your frame goes, I’d like something lighter than the Kog. A more sporty feel for sure. Right now I rely on my Fargo Ti for that kind of riding because it’s lighter than the Kog fits me like a glove. Sometimes I wonder if my Kog is even needed. The Fargo Ti is just that good for me. However, aesthetically I prefer the look of a 650b rando bike. They get my juices flowin’.