Pro Bike Oklahoma City

MOUNTAIN LION ATTACK ON MOUNTAIN BIKERS IN WASHINGTON

Maybe this is not really relevant here in a part of the country where stray dogs are sometimes a menace to cyclists. But mountain lions (AKA cougars, catamounts, pumas and panthers) do occur in Oklahoma. We are not in their historical range--at least for the last century--so it is unlikely that these big cats will respond to recent loss of habitat the way they seem to do in western states.

But they are around. My son and I saw one about ten years ago on Banner Road five miles west of Yukon. I have talked to reputable mountain bikers who claim to have see them at Lake Draper. And periodically you hear news reports of sightings on Ring cameras. And now and then one is hit by a car or train in Oklahoma. One was traced to a big cat family in the Black Hills. Another was from New Mexico. The ultimate wanderer may have been a cougar that was tagged in Minnesota and hit by a car in Connecticut about a year later.

In any case the linked story is pretty amazing. Three women fought off a lion that attacked one of them. And they held it down with a bicycle until a ranger arrived!

The chances of this happening here are pretty slim but the incident does underscore the fact that we should all be aware of the remote possibility of an attack by carnivores--wild or domestic--when we are riding.

Survivor of Washington state cougar attack details chilling moment Keri Bergere, a competitive cyclist from Washington State, recalled the gripping moments when her friends, Annie Bilotta and Tisch WIlliams, fought off a cougar that attacked her while mountain biking near Fall City.

This is the hotel where we stay on our annual mountain biking trip to New Mexico. I knew it had a lot of history but did not know that Robert Oppenheimer was a regular customer! And he frequented the Owl Bar as well! Wow!
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VALVERDE HOTEL
https://www.facebook.com/valverdehotelsocorro
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Did you know Oppenheimer stayed at the Val verde off and on for 7 years during the manhattan project and to investigate a ufo crash in San Antonio where he frequented the Owl Bar?

DIRT JUMP RIDING IN TECHNICOLOR!

Some time ago our good friend Wesley bought a Marin Alcatraz dirt jump frame. Recently he decided to go ahead and get it built. He gave us a free hand to make it colorful so here is the end result. I am quite sure this is the most colorful bike we have ever sold in the last 51 years!

FREE LIGHT BULBS!!

OG&E has a program in which a sub-contractor will replace fluorescent bulbs with LED units in business locations for a minimal charge. We had that done yesterday and now we have a box of about 20 fluorescent bulbs which we will gladly give to anyone who wants them. The bulbs are 8 foot single pin bulbs.

Come by and pick up some or all of them if you can use them!

WHAT WILL A COUPLE OF $20 BILLS BUY? PLENTY AT THE BOOK SALE! PLUS I WAS ABLE TO GET SOME FREE PASSES FOR TOMORROW AND YOU CAN PICK THEM UP AT THE SHOP STARTING AT 10:00 TOMORROW MORNING!

Tonight was limited shopping at the annual Friends of the Library Book Sale and I came home with 20 practically new books for right around $40! There is even a bike book--The Mechanical Horse--which I'm really looking forward to reading.

The sale is open to the general public starting Saturday (through Sunday) but tomorrow it opens at 1:00 PM for people who have special passes. If you want one or more of those passes stop by the shop Friday morning and you can pick them up. The sale is great! If you read books at all you really must go! It runs through Sunday and after it closes Sunday at 5:00 teachers and charity workers can take as much as they want of what's left for FREE!

See you at the book sale!

SEEING THE COUNTRY ON AMTRAK--IT CAN BE FUN BUT YOU HAVE TO BE PREPARED

Things are slow during the winter months in bike shops so, after taking a train trip last November, I decided to try another one last week.

The Heartland Flyer runs between Oklahoma City and Fort Worth but I was wanting to get to the west coast and a more direct way was to take an Amtrak contracted bus to Newton, Kansas and get on the Southwest Chief there. Once in Los Angeles I took another Amtrak bus to Bakersfield where I boarded a commuter train called the San Joaquins to the Bay Area. After a short visit with my brother I took the California Zephyr east to Osceola, Iowa where my sister picked me up. After a short visit there I flew home via Southwest.

Amtrak has three ways to travel on their trains. The standard way is coach--which has comfortable seats and is as economical as flying but is not necessarily the best for overnight or multi-day trips. That was the way I rode going to California--for reasons I will explain shortly. The other two options are a roomette--a private room with a shared bathroom and shower in the car--or a bedroom which includes a bathroom with a shower. Both of these add a lot of expense to the ticket. But there is a way to get a better deal.

Amtrak has what is called a "bid-up" option when buying tickets. In my case the the basic ticket to Oakland was about $250. But the bid-up option allows a ticket buyer to make an offer for an upgrade. They have a minimum bid which in this case was $300. I decided to try to low-ball the bid at $305 but was notified a few hours before I left home that it was declined. That was not all bad since this is a slow time of year for Amtrak and I had both coach seats to myself. Still, it is not easy to sleep lying across two seats. When the train is more full and most seats are occupied it is even more difficult. Walking down the middle of a full coach car in the early morning you will see people in all manner of body positions which would impress a contortionist or a yogi.

On the trip back to Iowa I placed a bid of $340 to see if that would improve my odds. It did so I rode east in a roomette. Now that is definitely a lot of extra expense but I did get the comfort of a private room for two nights, plus meals are included which meant that I got six meals at no extra charge.

Still, it was a lot more expensive than flying so why do it? That's a valid question. For shorter trips trains are as fast as flying in many parts of the country. But for long train trips you need to look at it as a vacation trip rather than a trip on a set timetable. You get to meet and have really interesting conversations with others over a meal or in the observation car. On this trip I met and chatted at length with a Navajo woman who had recently retired from a federal research lab in New Mexico, a Quaker couple who formerly ran a school in the eastern Sierra, a movie and television producer and his wife (I looked it up--he is who he said he was), a young woman dealing with the loss of a close friend who had a very rare form of early onset dementia in her 20's (she took her life rather that letting the disease take its course) and several others. We shared lots of laughs, some tears and a lot of great stories. When there is no schedule to keep you can have such good, meaningful conversations.

And then there is the scenery. My way west followed the Santa Fe Trail with mountain scenery in southern Colorado and New Mexico. The trip east crossed the Sierra Nevada where railroad tracks were first laid in the 1860's. Then across Nevada and Utah to Glenwood Canyon and Gore Canyon in Colorado. Gore Canyon has no road access; to go through it so you have to go by train or kayak (and you had better be a good kayaker because there are class 5 rapids in several spots). The scenery there was possibly the best I have seen anywhere. And wildlife...elk, deer, bald eagles, beaver and many others.

So would I recommend an Amtrak vacation? Absolutely! But keep in mind just a few things;
1) Go during the off season. Mid January through early March is a good time. The train will not be crowded and you stand the best chance of bidding up to a roomette or bedroom.
2) Forget about a schedule. The Southwest Chief was four hours late getting to Los Angeles. Freight lines own the railroads and their trains have priority--which is understandable since they produce all but a tiny fraction of their profit. And besides, my Southwest flight from Saint Louis was two hours late so delays can happen with any mode of travel.
3) Be prepared to meet and have great conversations with really interesting folks.
4) Take a camera but don't be disappointed if you miss things. From a moving train, by the time you see something it may be too late to photograph it. But it is a memory and that is the best part of any vacation.

SEEN ON THE STREET IN SAN FRANCISCO

Last week I took another long Amtrak train trip (more on that in a few days). While in San Francisco I noticed a colorful Volkswagen Beetle. But it looked odd. And on closer inspection I found it to be a sort of tandem bicycle.

Creations like this are fun to see but I would hate to have to ride one 50 miles!

JUST A REMINDER FROM ANYTHING OKLAHOMA THAT, AS MUCH AS WE WANT TO START BIKING IN A BIG WAY, YOU CANNOT RUSH THE ARRIVAL OF SPRING!

YOU NEVER KNOW WHAT'S GOING TO HAPPEN WHEN YOU SIT DOWN TO READ A BIT BEFORE GOING TO BED IN OKLAHOMA!

There was a bit of distant thunder and then the sound began to change and then the whole house was rumbling and dishes rattling. It was a 5.1 magnitude earthquake according to the USGS. Pretty startling!

earthquake.usgs.gov The Earthquake Event Page application supports most recent browsers, view supported browsers. Or, try our Real-time Notifications, Feeds, and Web Services.

ANNUAL FRIENDS OF THE LIBRARY BOOK SALE IS NEXT MONTH AND THEY NEED VOLUNTEERS

This annual book sale is the largest used book sale in the world according to many people. It takes a lot of volunteers to make it happen and there are some great benefits for those who do. The best one is that you will get limited shopping for two hours on Thursday, February 22nd--the day before the sale is open to Friends of the Library members. If you like books you should definitely put this on your calendar!

Friends, our volunteer warehouse leader let us know today that we have a wonderful problem...

We have WAY more books than we did last year! Wow! We hope we don't run out of room before our big sale Feb. 24-25.
(9am to 5pm each day).

Our REAL problem is that we may not have as many members who are eligible to receive tickets for our member preview sale on Feb. 23! (1pm to 7pm) Are you a member?

Visit www.supportmls.org/membership by 1/31/24 to have your booksale tickets mailed to the address you provide.

OR - visit that website between 2/1/24 and 2/21/24 and you can pick up your tickets at Member Will Call between 12 and 6pm on member preview day.

No memberships or tickets are sold on membership day and the sale is free and open to the public on Saturday and Sunday.

We value all of our members and appreciate that your dollars help us do even more for the community. Consider becoming a Friends member today - and help us solve ALL the 'problems'! 🤣🤩

WELL, AT LEAST WE'RE NOT THE COLDEST PLACE IN THE WORLD

Down to 0 F this morning though it's already up to 1 F! How does that compare to the rest of the world? Here are a few examples:

Mcmurdo Station, Antarctica: 26
Moscow, Russia: 28
Fairbanks, Alaska: 4
Lake Baikal, Russia: 0
Oklahoma City: 0
Ulanbataar, Mongolia: -5
Chicago: -6
South Pole: -26
Cut Bank, Montana: -31

Right in the middle. So it's a good day to stay home if you can.

SOME DAYS IT'S JUST NOT FIT TO BE ON A BIKE

So I thought I had better stop by the shop and see what the indoor temperature was. We had not yet turned on the heat this winter.

It is not a long ride so I decided to bike up there. A parka with heavy gloves got me there though if I were to ride any farther I would have needed an extra layer on my legs. But it was not a bad ride. At 5 degrees the tires just kind of squeak in the snow. I got to the shop and found it was 45 inside so it seemed like a good idea to turn on the heat. I can handle 50 but when things get down below 40--which I'm sure would have happened tonight--liquids start to change state and cause all manner of problems.

But if you're thinking of going for a bike ride today...I think I would wait.

DRIP YOUR FAUCETS!!!

Because I'll be really annoyed if you have to use that money you've been saving for a new bike for plumbing repairs!

ANDY'S LATEST BUILD

Andy continues his quest for the ultimate e-bike. For this one he started with a Marin Stinson which is an excellent city bike. He switched the wheels from 27.5 to 29 inch, raised the handlebars and added electric assist. After owning several e-bikes, Andy says this one is the most comfortable. I think it may have a RAGBRAI ride in its future.

Custom e-bike builds are problematical, and for liability purposes we do not do retrofits. But there are plenty of outstanding e-bikes available from companies such as NCM which will cost $995-$1499. That is less than most retrofit kits for existing bikes. The main thing to remember is that you do not have to spend a huge amount to get an e-bike with plenty of power and plenty of range.

12,000 MILES FOR THE YEAR?!? NO WAY! NO....PHONG!

Many of you have seen Phong--high mileage cyclist, friend of cycling and all around good guy--biking out at Lake Hefner or at Pro Bike. He rides more than anyone I know and still holds down a demanding full time job as an architect. In 2022 he rode over 10,000 miles. This year he topped that in a major way with a total of 12,000 miles which he hit yesterday afternoon. He rode 10,000 of those miles on conventional road bikes and 2000 on an e-bike (e-bike only on very windy days). All of those miles were logged on the Oklahoma City bike trails network which the taxpayers have funded through the MAPS program.

Phong gets up early and starts biking at 5:00 AM, goes to work and then rides again in the evening. He averages 250 miles per week and only skips a day if it is snowy or pouring rain. He has logged 83,000 miles since he started biking and has a goal of reaching 100,000 miles by the end of 2025.

Racing is not something Phong does. He rides. For fun and the social aspect of riding with others. And that is what biking is all about--having fun and going places. You don't have to ride fast or ride long distances to do that. Phong is showing us all how to enjoy biking!

MERRY CHRISTMAS, EVERYONE!

And if you are looking for take out food today (who wants to cook on Christmas, right?) a couple of places are open for business in this part of town. If you want pizza, Great American on 62nd and Meridian is open. Or for take out Chinese, Yummy Yummy next door to it is also open. They are both excellent and I really appreciate places that stay open today!

If you know of any others please mention them in the comments!

https://www.greatamericanpizzamenu.com/

https://www.yummyyummyokc.com/order

Yummy Yummy Restaurant - Oklahoma City, OK 73112 (Menu & Order Online) Online ordering menu for Yummy Yummy Restaurant. Looking for delicious, Asian-style fast food? Look no more, because here at Yummy Yummy Restaurant in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, we're serving your favorite Chinese food! A few of our Chef's specials include Sesame Chicken, Pineapple Chicken, and Seafoo...

HAVE A GREAT CHRISTMAS!

And remember a new bike for Christmas--whether a gift from someone else or yourself or even after the holidays--is great at any age!

ONE MORE PARTY PICTURE (AND A METAL CAKE PAN STILL AT THE SHOP)

There are still a few more pictures from the party that we have not seen but this one is especially good. Here we are posing with 95 year old Fred Kamp, the co-founder of the Oklahoma Bicycle Society in 1974. It was great to see Fred who recently had a nasty encounter with COVID. But he seems back to his normal self now!

Also, if you left a cake pan/cookie sheet (2nd picture) we have it whenever you want to pick it up .

Thanks again to everyone who attended and brought such an outstanding selection of food and drink! See you next year!

MORE PARTY PICTURES

The Pro Bike Christmas party always draws a great crowd. Thanks to everyone who made it another fantastic get together!

READY TO ROLL!

The tables are set up, the lights strung, the drink coolers filled. Now we just have to wait for 6:00! See you then!

PRO BIKE CHRISTMAS PARTY A WEEK FROM TONIGHT!

We have been having this party annually since 2011 and those of you who have been know what a great time it is! If you have not been, you should join us this time. Great food and great conversation with a lot of interesting folks...it doesn't get much better than that. Below are a few pictures from past years.

So clear your calendar for Friday, December 15th at 6:00 PM at Pro Bike. There is plenty of parking in back if the front lot is full. Come join the fun!

GREAT HOLIDAY DEALS ON FUJI BIKES FOR KIDS!

We just received the full shipment of Fuji kids bike at special discount prices. Andy has been busy getting built and out on the floor.

Prices range from $149 to $299 for bikes in the 12, 16, 20 and 24 inch sizes. The thing about bike shop bikes is that they are fully assembled and adjusted AND they will usually outlast several kids. Bikes from mass merchandisers...well, if they last one kid a year that is about all you can expect.

We also have some Fuji Nevada 1.5 27.5 bikes in 13 and 15 inch frames. These are serious mountain bikes which originally were $849 but are now marked down to $569 (Check out the specs! ( https://www.fujibikes.com/collections/nevada/products/nevada-275-15-21?variant=41186165227660 )! The 13 inch frame size will fit riders under 5 feet easily.

So give it some thought. You might have a child or grandchild or niece or nephew who would love to see a new bike under the tree on Christmas morning! And the prices for this quality of bikes have never been better!

E-BIKES MAKING A DIFFERENCE IN WORLD OIL CONSUMPTION

As the world attempts to move toward renewable energy we all have to wonder how much of a difference e-bikes are making. The article linked below indicates that their positive impact is quite significant. It is written from an Australian perspective but the data they use indicate a worldwide savings of 1 million barrels of oil per day brought about by use of e-bikes and similar vehicles. E-bikes, in fact, are having a much greater benefit than electric cars.

So far in the US e-bikes are ridden primarily for recreation but over time that will change. In some cities cargo bikes are used extensively already. When the world moves to renewable energy primarily, power mad dictators funded by oil profits will become largely irrelevant. That day cannot come soon enough.

280 million e-bikes are slashing oil demand far more than electric vehicles E-bikes and scooters displace 4x as much demand for oil as all of the EVs in the world.

LATE LUNCH TODAY--APOLOGIES IF YOU CAME BY THE SHOP BETWEEN 3:00 AND 4:30

This afternoon John Herrington stopped by the shop to pick up two NCM/ET fat tire e-bikes which will be perfect for winter use at his home in Montana. Doug Crawford helped load the bikes before we headed out to Green Chile Kitchen for a late lunch. Andy is at home recovering from a hard cold so we just closed the shop while we were gone. So let me know if you came by and I'll give you an extra discount.