Chomping at the Bit

We at Salvagetti are dying to ride. We feel pain in our bones that aches through to our hearts. We know summer is coming, but riding through the winter makes all the cold blues go away. Makes them (oh lord don't say it...) melt.

We at Salvagetti want warmth, and this winter has changed our definition of warmth. We want 40 degree weather or I'd even take some 38 degree days, but this 37 days (so far) of cold and snow and ice has lost its luster. Yes, it was nice a few days this week, but there is still ice on 11th and 12th that makes riding it border line stupid. We've had to ride it, but it doesn't make it okay.

We at Salvagetti want you to think warm with us. Ready???
- Cold beer sounds delicious
- Smell of sun tan oil is not good, but reminds you of warm days
- Plant that garden with lots of squash
- RIDE! RIDE! RIDE!

We thank you! See you soon.

Shop Dog, Shop Dog, Shop Dog

We are getting a shop dog!

Her name is Myra. She is a vizsla. Today she is 48 days old. That means we still have a few days before we can get her and then a few more days before we have her in the shop. Then, she will be there almost every single day we are open. Please come by and say hello to her when you get a chance.

When she is full grown, she will be about 45 lbs and tough as nails, except she will also be sweet. She will be able to ride a bike by the time she is 1 year old and we will be entering her in cross country races (most likely the Winter Park Series) by the time she is 1 and a half. She has to earn her keep if she wants to get free bike stuff for life.

Helmets make death optional

I heard another great I-had-a-helmet-on-and-it-saved-my-life story:

One of the messengers in Downtown Denver had to work in the gross frozen yet still wet web of streets this past storm (Dec 2006). He had the few days off of riding because the offices were shut down and there was no reason to have bike messengers running around. So back to work, ice is on the sidewalks, on lamp posts, on roads, on cars, on EVERYTHING. This guy is just feeling proud to be able to stay upright on his bike with all the ice and idiots on the road. He gets a call to a place on Broadway that has all sorts of weird architecture going on. He locks up his bike and is walking toward the front door when he gets smacked on the top of his head in an apparent death blow style chomp by an entire windows worth of sheet ice. His lump of foam in plasic saved his life while he was walking. I guess he should be glad he is comfortable in it.

Bringing it all back home

We have had a guilty conscience for not having a great selection of steel bicycles for sale here. So, we started researching companies and steel bikes in general. Steel is such a great material for bikes, you have to wonder why companies went elsewhere. People follow what the latest trend is.

But, our customers are different. They expect us to provide an experience with cycling. And that is why we have decided to bring in Jamis bicycles (http://www.jamisbikes.com). Jamis is one of the last big cycling companies to still be individually owned. When you start researching companies that seem to be independant (Gary Fisher is an obvious example), you will find that they are owned by Trek. (Trek also owns Bontrager, Rolf, Lemond, and Klein (all last names...)). The small company gets to refine its product to specific people. We think they made their bikes for Denver.

Soon enough, we will detail all the bikes we are bringing in on our website. Almost all of them are steel. All of them are cool.