Its that time. Let me know your spring wish lists and I can start getting your stuff :)

http://www.livablestreets.com/streetswiki/bike-boxes

For your last Thanksgiving in Minneota I invited half the universe,
Holm's single-handed feed-the-hungry, stuff-the-lonesome-stranger
with turkey and giblets and pie. Already death had winked at you
once or twice from behind its shadowy curtain.
My neighbors pitched in with gravy, bread, and labor. Thursday morning
Tom brought lemon pies, steaming, acid-sweet smell,
majestic meringues, soaring peaks of beaten egg white.
On the table cooling, you smelled them, found a fork,
and, a mischievous sweet-toothed boy, were set to violate a hot meringue,
when I walked in and said, sharp of voice, "Get the hell out of there!
Those hot pies will be ruined if you dig into them."
"So what?" You shot me an insulted look. "They're only pies.
Eat them yourself." You skulked out into the morning. Toward night
your snit evaporated, and you resumed your usual grace and humor.
By then I'd grown my guilty conscience, remembering
that you lived under sentence of impending death.
I should have kept my mouth shut, one nagging inner voice
said to another, watched you put an entire hot lemon pie
into your gullet. What a hard business being human -
all we know and remember shadows every simple act.
The next Thanksgiving you lay close to death, all food
loathsome, indigestible. Kept half alive with cans
of glutinous Ensure, we made a lemon pie to tempt you
into one more small pleasure, but you impaled
the pie with a fork, left it standing upright in the meringue,
and turned away, lost to all joy.
We are who we are until we aren't anything anymore but air.
I carry that steaming pie to my own grave, offering it to you
over and over again, atonement. I hear your wry voice
saying, as it said so often:
"Eat dessert first; life is short and uncertain."

Just clik the picture

  I repair a lot of Fox Alps Rear shocks. The downside of these shocks is that they have two major failure modes.

1. The strut cracks and the shock will not hold air anymore. Sometimes I can replace the strut with a used one. Used ones are getting harder and harder to find so the this is becoming harder to to.
2. The Eyelets crack. Same story here.

  If you have an older Cannondale this can be a real bummer because nothing else fits in place of the clevis mount Fox.

  But the guys out at Risse Racing put together some of their Genesis Air Shocks for me and they have the clevis mount!! Yeah! The retail is $198 and they out perform the original Fox Alps.

   So if your shock can’t be repaired this is a really nice to keep your bike going!

So there you have it. My cell phone is 952 240 9158 if you can’t find me at the shop.

They will be really happy to see you and while you are there they can send your fork in to me :) It is a great time of year to get your service done!

I will be in late this day

• Gotta go to the dentist
• Gotta go to the Post Office
• Gotta go to QBP

Then I will be back, most likely by noon :)

http://deletionpedia.dbatley.com/w/index.php?title=Shockspital_%28deleted_03_Apr_2008_at_10:42%29

Press Release from BRAIN

LEXINGTON, SC (BRAIN)—The Hawley Company's service center manager Ian Foyster was tragically killed on Monday.
"He was in the wrong place at the wrong time and was shot," said Dave Goeppner, marketing manager for The Hawley Company.
“This is a stunning and tragic loss for the Hawley family—as well as the bike industry as a whole,” said company president Steve Hawley. “Ian was a truly gifted and respected service technician and was a dear friend to many in our industry. There are no words to adequately describe the sadness of this event”.
Prior to arriving at Hawley in 2004 and literally building Hawley’s Service Center, Foyster raced motorcycles professionally in Europe and worked in the motocross industry for over 15 years. Upon entering the bike industry, Foyster quickly earned a reputation for his vast technical knowledge and mechanical skills. He was also well known for his English wit and sarcasm.
“Ian will be deeply missed by all of us," Hawley said. “Our thoughts and prayers are with his family."
Foyster is survived by his ex-wife, daughter and stepson of South Carolina, and a son, daughter and grandchild in England. Services are pending.

My 29er was stolen last night.  The lock was cut and the bike was clumsily dismantled loose from my Bob trailer (which they left) from inside the gate in my front yard at 28th & Fremont in Uptown.  The bike is very distinctive, has little resale value, and you'll know it when you see it. 

Description:

It's an aluminum no-name frame (NYCbikes, for the record) that's been rattle-canned white with a black Karate Monkey fork.  It has a "sticker collage" on the downtube that's mostly blue and black and a Surly head badge.  Someone might try to pawn it off as a Surly, but it's clearly not.  Most notably, it has a pink bashguard (anodized red, really) and red pedals.  It's set up 2 x 1 with a front derailleur and Shimano Alfine tensioner.  Salsa riser bar.  Silver Sugino crank, other parts all black.  Crank Brothers headset (green) and a white headset cap.  Avid V-brakes.  Schwalbe Big Apple tire in the front and WTB Nanoraptor in the rear.

Elliott Morris 812-350-1013  elray.morris@gmail.com

Grumpy Girl Ride WINTER, 2009

Come rain, come shine, come snow or sleet!

Alls you need to know is meet us at Grumpy’s Nord East 1:30pm November 7^th.

Time to catch up on paperwork and solve some problems.

(Picture by Brad Quartuccio)

I was out of town, but now I am back. I have a mountain of voicemail and email to get back to. Please be patient.

Now you know, and knowing is half the battle.

Although neither Goathork or Shockspital is a featured link on this site; you should still check it out,

http://www.allhailtheblackmarket.com/

I am collecting old Fox Alps Shocks, anybody got some they want to get rid of?

Best wishes toward your fast healing!!

Urban Bike Tour 2009

There are approximately 700 bridges in Minneapolis, some of which take you to fantastic locations to drink beer, and some of which ARE fantastic locations to drink beer. In the Fat Tire Tour tradition, we’ll ride our bikes over and under as many bridges as we can during this 25-mile cruiser loop.

When: Saturday, August 15^th, 2009, meet at 11 a.m. and ride at 12:30

Start: Town Hall Brewery Show up at Town Hall Brewery around 11:00 a.m. if you plan on eating first. Food is straight off the menu, beer is straight up delicious. Roll out is at 12:30. If you miss the rollout, follow your nose, it always knows.

The Route: We’ll do a counterclockwise loop north along the Mississippi, then down south through the chain of lakes, onto the Minnehaha Creek path, back along the Mississippi north to Town Hall. We’ll mix it up with, some optional off-road sections, a few beer breaks and some historical information about some of the bridges we see. Consider it like the greatest hits of Minneapolis Mafia rides all tied into one, but with a large group of superfreaks.

The Reason: Because bridges are engineering marvels, wonderful places to view the city and because Reed said so.

Also: This is a slow ride. get your all-day pass, if you wear a heart rate monitor, leave it at home, in fact, leave yourself at home, nobody gives a shit how fast you are, how much street cred you exude or how tight your pants are, if you’re scared, where a helmet, you might have to pee outside, pray for an equal number of chicks, make sure your bike doesn’t suck, carry some Xtra beer, tell your friends and plan to see the best parts of this city for the whole day.

Brought to you by: Drop, Roll and Stop Productions

Thats right, get’em while they last!!

I got a google phone number! it is 786-Bikefix !

I am loading up my bike as we speak and I will spend the next 7 days with 20,000 people riding across Iowa. Cyril will be manning the front desk Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, I will be back around the 27th.

In an emergency you can text me, but don’t call as coverage will be spotty. 9522409158

I will try and update Facebook often :)

A few things from the bike shop.

Date: 2009-05-27, 4:05PM PDT

Whoo-hoo Seattle, the sun is out! Let's discuss a few things before you fumble with swapping the unused ski rack for the unused bike rack on the Subaru.
So yes, you've noticed the sun is out, and hey!- maybe it would be cool to to some bike riding. Let's keep in mind that the sun came out of all 600,000 of us, so for the most part, you're not the only one who noticed. Please remember that when you walk into my shop on a bright, sunny Saturday morning. It will save you from looking like a complete twat that huffs "Why are there so many people here?"
Are we all on the same page now about it being sunny outside? Have we all figured out that we're not the only clever people that feel sunny days are good for bike riding? Great. I want to kiss all of you on your forehead for sharing this moment with me. Put your vitamin D starved fingers in mine, and we'll move on together to some pointers that will make life easier.
SOME POINTERS FOR THE PHONE:
- I don't know what size of bike you need. The only thing that I can tell over the phone is that you sound fat. I don't care how tall you are. I don't care how long your inseam is. Don't complain to me that you don't want to come ALL THE WAY down to the bike shop to get fitted for a bike. I have two hundred bikes in my inventory. I will find one that fits you. Whether you come from the north or the south, my shop is downhill. Pretend you're going to smell a fart, ball up, and roll your fat ass down here.
- Don't get high and call me. Write it down, call me later. When I have four phone lines ringing, and a herdlet
of people waiting for help, I can't deal with you sitting there "uuuuhhh"-ing and "uuummm"-ing while your brain tries to put together some cheeto-xbox-fixie conundrum. We didn't get disconnected, I left you on hold to figure your shit out.
-I really do need to see your bike to know what is wrong with it. You've already figured out that when you car makes a noise, the mechanic needs to see it. When your TV goes blank, a technician needs to see it. I can tell you, if there is one thing I've learned from you fucking squirrels, it's that "doesn't shift right" means your bike could need a slight cable adjustment, or you might just need to stop backing into it with the Subaru. Bring it in, I'll let you know for sure.
- No, I don't know how much a good bike costs. For some, spending $500 dollars is a kingly sum. For others, $500 won't buy you one good wheel. You really need to have an idea of what you want, because every one of you raccoons "doesn't want to spend too much".
FOR YOU INVENTIVE TYPES AND DO-IT-YOURSELFERS:
- Just because you think is should exist, doesn't mean that it does. I know that to you, a 14 inch quill stem makes perfect sense, but what makes more sense is buying a bike that fits you, not trying to make your mountain bike that was too small for you to begin with into a comfort bike.
- If some twat on some message board somewhere says that you can use the lockring from your bottom bracket as a lockring for a fixie conversion doesn't mean that A: you can, or B: you should. Please listen to me on this stuff, I really do have your best interests at heart.
- I love that you have the enthusiasm to build yourself a recumbent in the off season. That does not mean however, that I share your enthusiasm; ergo I won't do the "final tweaks" for you. You figure out why that Sram shifter and that Shimano rear derailleur don't work together. While we're at it, you recumbent people scare me a little. Don't bring that lumbering fucking thing anywhere near me.
A DEDICATION TO ALL THE HIPSTER DUCHEBAGS:
-If you shitheads had any money, you wouldn't NEED a vintage Poo-zhow to get laid. Go have an ironic mustache growing contest in front of American Apparel, so that I can continue selling $300 bikes to fatties, which is what keeps the lights on.
- Being made in the 80's may make something cool, but that doesn't automatically make something good. The reason that no one has ridden that "vintage" Murray is because it's shit. It was shit in the 80's, a trend it carried proudly through the 90's, and rallied with into the '00's. What I mean to say is, no, I can't make it work better. It's still shit, even with more air in the tires.
SO YOU'RE GONNA BUY A BIKE:
Good for you! Biking is awesome. It's easy, it's fun, it's good for you. I want you to bike, I really do. To that end, I am here to help you.
-Your co-worker that's "really into biking" knows fuck all. Stop asking for his advice. He could care less about you having the right bike. He wants to validate his bike purchase(s) through you. He also wants to sleep with you, and wear matching bike shorts with you.
- You're not a triathlete. You're not. If you were, you wouldn't be here, and we both know it.
- You're not a racer. If you were, I'd know you already, and you wouldn't be here, and we both know it.
- So you want a bike that you can ride to work, goes really fast, is good for that triathlon you're doing this summer (snicker), is good on trails and mud, and costs less than $300. Yeah. Listen, I want a car that can go 200 miles an hour, tow a boat, has room for five adults, is easy to parallel park but can carry plywood, gets 60mpg, and only costs $3,000. I also want a unicorn to blow me. What are we even talking about here? Oh yeah. Listen, bikes can be fast, light, cheap and comfortable. Pick two, and we're all good.
ABOUT YOUR KIDS:
Your kids are amazing. Sure are. No one else has kids as smart, able, funny or as good looking as you. Nope. Never see THAT around here.
- I have no idea how long you kid will be able to use this bike. As it seems to me, your precious is a little retarded, and can't even use the damn thing now. More likely, your budding genius is going to leave the bike in the driveway where you will Subaru the bike to death LONG before the nose picker outgrows the bike.
- Stop being so jumpy. I am not a molester. You people REALLY watch too much TV. When I hold the back of the bike while your kid is on it, it's not because I get a thrill from *almost* having my hand on kid butt, it's because kids are unpredictable, and generally take off whenever possible, usually not in the direction you think they might go. Listen, if I were going to do anything bad to your kids, I'd feed them to sharks, because sharks are FUCKING AWESOME.
I hope this helps, and have fun this summer riding your kick-ass bike!

  I share a building with The Alt and last night we were broken into. Only one thing was stolen,  a new Felt “Brougham” from the Alt. The Serial number on the bike that was stolen is HT0503782 and here is a picture of it, it should stand out like a sore thumb.                                                                                                                                            

Please help spread the word about this. We think we were cased out for the week beforehand, a young guy with a camera kept suspiciously showing up around the shop. SO keep an eye on the people drifting around your shop.  If you see this bike you can contact me or The Alt Bikeshop

Communications Department  City Hall

News Release

Contact:  Matt Laible, Communications Department, 612-673-2786

View this release online at www.ci.minneapolis.mn.us/newsroom

Minneapolis City Goals: A Safe Place to Call Home . One Minneapolis.Lifelong Learning Second to None. Connected Communities.Enriched Environment. A Premier Destination.

Minneapolis named one of the world’s top biking cities

June 24, 2009 (MINNEAPOLIS) Travel and Leisure magazine has named Minneapolis one of the world’s top biking cities. The magazine chose ten cities worldwide for its list, and just three in the United States. According to the June 2009 issue of Travel and Leisure, Minneapolis is among this elite group of bike-friendly cities in the world because it has built an infrastructure that promotes bicycling for both transportation and recreation.

Because of the bicycling improvements made in Minneapolis in recent years, it’s now the nation’s number two bike-commuting city, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. Travel and Leisure refers to Minneapolis as “a case study in policy promoting bicycling as a viable means to get around.” The magazine notes designated street lanes, bike lockers, recreational trails, and winter plowing of bike trails as reasons it placed Minneapolis on its list.

Minneapolis has 83 miles of off-street bicycle paths and 40 miles of streets with dedicated bicycle lanes. Minneapolis has also been awarded the League of American Bicyclists’ Bicycle Friendly Community Award.

The U.S. Census bureau ranks Minneapolis as the number two bicycling city in the country, just behind Portland, in its comparison of how many people bike to work in the nation’s 50 biggest cities. Bicycle commuters help keep down traffic congestion in Minneapolis. Bicycling is a great workout and an environmentally friendly alternative to driving, reducing our dependence on oil and our production of greenhouse gases.

To learn more about bicycling in Minneapolis, visit the City’s bicycling Web page.

New Patch kit from Knog. A little cheeky but a lot of fun.

Check’em out!

   I just found out today that an old friend has passed. Joe Bungo and I were messengers together in Pittsburgh, we mostly lost contact with each other over the years but when we did see each other (Usually at Dee’s) It was like old times all over again.

  I helped him build a single speed out of an older Raliegh Professional frame, it was blue with white panels. We found some white Sante' cranks and white Velocity rims; it was really sweet. That was more than 10 years ago but I remember how excited we were to finish it. It was hip before hip was hipster.

  Joe had a very bright face, kinda like a kitten that was playing. I really enjoyed his company and always wished we would have more time in common.

  I will really miss bumping into him.

Stolen Bike and Kids Trailer, NE MPLS

Stolen from a garage at 11XX NE 4^th St, Minneapolis

Surly brand bike. Unmarked Long Haul Trucker model, with braze ons on fork, chainstay, and under down tube. Mostly black parts include XT/Alex Adventurer rims, XT deraileurs, ITM stem and drop bar, Continental Contact tires, WTB Siverado saddle, Ritchey seatpost. Silver Sugino triple crank. Bar end shifters. Black Planet Bike fenders. Black rear Surly Nice rack w/knog light attached. A black and orange Kryptonite u-lock was on the rack. The frame had non-standard “surly’ decals on the downtube and a black and white face decal on the seat tube. 2 water bottles, one plastic, one stainless steel. The frame was a prototype, no may have had no serial number (would be located on the underside of the frame, on the bottom bracket (crank axle casing).

Attached to the bike was a Burley Encore child trailer, black, yellow and blue. It had no front or rear reflectors (it did have wheel reflectors), and there were no wheel guards installed in front of the wheels on the frame. Inside were 2 glass baby bottles, a coil lock and a red target shopping bag with a pump, bicycle tube, and small tool kit. This trailer belonged to Max, and he used it all the time. This is a real bummer.

Stolen sometime Saturday night June 6/7.

Call with any info: Andy 651-373-2500

The News

Sign the petition,

  Have you ever been to Fruita ? Have you had Pizza at the Hot Tomato ? Then listen up, the ladies are loosing their lease and have to capitalize a move to a new location in a hurry ! So stop in and eat a lot of Pizza or shop till you drop online.

  It looks like there is no new location yet so this move wont be cheap. It reminds me of Shockspital this winter.

So go here, then go here !

It will be a very very very busy day

Police Department  130 City Hall  350 S. 5th St.

                           Minneapolis, MN 55415

News Release

Contact:

Sgt. Jesse Garcia III  612-919-9023 jesse.garcia@ci.minneapolis.mn.us

Sgt. William Palmer  612-919-9362 william.palmer@ci.minneapolis.mn.us

TO PROTECT WITH COURAGE / TO SERVE WITH COMPASSION

Bicycle versus truck accident closes Park Avenue

May 20, 2009 (MINNEAPOLIS)  At approximately 7:40 a.m. officers in the First Precinct responded to a report of an accident at the intersection of 14^th Street East and Park Avenue South.  When the officers arrived they found that the accident involved a semi tractor pulling a large dump box and a bicyclist.  The bicyclist was deceased. 

The cause of the accident is under investigation by the Minneapolis Police Department’s Traffic Unit and the Minnesota State Patrol’s Commercial Vehicle Enforcement Unit. 

The identity of the victim will be released by the Hennepin County Medical Examiner’s office.

Currently Park Avenue South is closed at 15^th Street East.  East Fourteenth Street is also closed from East Grant Street to Park Avenue South.   These closures will remain in effect for one to two hours while the accident investigation continues.  Motorists should avoid the area as there is already congestion surrounding the accident site.

The PIO contact for this incident is Sgt. William Palmer.

I just found that my old address is still on the reply message from the admitting form. This is responsible for some work delays but we are on the case and getting the fix in.

Management

http://www.shockspital.com/blogspital/2008/08/damsel-in-stolen-bike-distress.html

Mr Domeier is a hero!

And It also looks like this one has just been recovered…

http://www.shockspital.com/blogspital/2008/09/stolen-bike-this-one-is-easy-to-spot_16.html

Things are looking up unless you are a thief.  This means that every bike but Jason Brandts Spectre has been recovered.

Here is a new one to look for:

“As for the bike that was stolen here is the info.

2006 Giant roadbike OCR 3 Women's XS  
the frame is 42cm and silver in color
there is a rack on the back
a couple stickers: Recycle or Die, YinYang symbol, and a purple one
 
It was stolen on 3/26/09 between 11am and 1pm outside the Uptown YWCA. “

Pay special attention to the new color scheme, Blue sky brown earth (instead of Green). Thanks to my lovely wife for the beautiful paint job.

Ans there are more colors on the way!!

Here is a hint, I am the good looking one.

  A few years ago I was at home and I head a knock at the door. It was a young black man that was dressed shabby but he didn’t look homeless or anything. He asked if he could mow my yard. I said sure we agreed on a price and he asked if I had a mower he could use. We chatted a bit and he got to work.

  SO… I let him use my mower, he was noticeably disappointed when he saw it was a push mower. But he didn’t say anything and did the deed and I paid him.

  Next week he came back and we made the same deal. But this time he said he would trim the yard for a few extra bucks, and of course he ask to buyer my trimmer and an extension cord to plug it in.   When he was done we chatted a little bit and that was that.

  A few weeks later he was back for more of the same. And when he finished he asked if he could borrow my trimmer to use at a neighbors house. He said she offered him a few dollars to trim for her and I didn’t want him to miss out on the money so I said sure,  no problem.

  Never saw him again…

  A couple of days ago two little kids, maybe 10yo came knocking on the door and asked if they could shovel the side walk. It had snowed a lot the day before and I am lazy so of course I said yes. $10 was the negotiated price and they asked if they could use my shovel, sure why not. I asked them if they were planning to shovel more houses in the neighborhood, they said yes. SO… of course I told them they could use my shovel. I told them just to leave it in the yard when they were done with it. I gave them the $10 and let them at it.

  Well, first I noticed the sidewalk was not shoveled, then I noticed I no longer have a snow shovel.

  Needless to say, Julie was disappointed with the situation. I figure 3rd times the charm right?

J6 and I have finally gotten on the same page and I have been told that Seal kits will be shipping out to me Tommorow!!!  So I will be able to get caught up on Noleen front and rear rebuilds.

I have the flu, its killing me.

I am half moved into the space between a rock and a hard place. I can not work in the old shop and the new shop is not ready for me yet.

The space I am in is freezing cold.

Woe is me,

If you can brighten my day send me an email

brose@shockspital.com

What's up! After a successful first year, the Jolly Roger is back and better.

Big thanks to everyone who came out to the races last year.

Once again, the races will take place at Memorial Park in Redwing, MN.

However, the format of the races will be varied in order to spice

things up! The tentative dates are list below, so mark you calendars. As the dates and formats begin to solidify themselves, we will release

more information. This race series is at terror alert: Blaze Orange! Tentative Dates:Race #1: June 6th, 2009Race #2: July 11th, 2009 Race #3: August 1st, 2009Race #4: September 19th, 2009

•   Shockspital is selling all the used stuff we have collected in 2008 and 2007. This will help to capitalize our me and get rid of a bunch of stuff filling my space. You can see the auctions here. I am adding more everyday.
•   My hope is that on the morning of the 31st there will be a large collection of people on bikes with all sorts of trailers and cargo capacity to help Shockspital move to it's new location.
    This is a day that will live in infamy; as Shockspital has many things that need moved and by hell or high water we will endeavor to do it all by bicycle.
    We will meet at CRC at  10am to rally the troops and who knows when we will be done but I promise a few cases of really cheap beer and standing around in the cold by a fire somewhere as a reward.

That’s all for now

Having trouble viewing this email? Click here

Why should anyone steal a watch when he could steal a bicycle?  ~Flann O'Brien

Shockspital Newsletter
2009 could be my most optimistic year ever!
Januraury 2009 Issue#3

What lies ahead!

:: Big move is on!! Januaray 31st!

:: The state of the state...

:: We got Greenway safety on our brains!

:: Did you know I buy and trade?

:: Stuff for sale

:: Catfish Postpwned

  Contacting me is not always the easiest thing in the world. I am sorry and I have been trying to make it easier for you and me. If you see Comcast on the street; kick'em in the shin and tell'em "Shockspital says you suck!". Although I have had good Internet service with Comcast, and my phone mostly works; I have not been able to check my voicemail. I called my "Comcast Small Business Representitive", he is ignoring me. I have spent hours on the phone with various customer service people around the world and they are very nice but they have not been any help so far.
  So one thing has not changed at all, the best way to contact me is email, brose@shockspital.com. I appreciate your efforts.
B Rose
owner guy

Here is a question I get often;
Hello,
Great site! I am considering having my Fox Vanilla RLC 2007 fork's seals replaced. But I am confused as to whether the "weeping" around the wipers is supposed to occur in order to lubricate the stanchions or if this is indicative of a problem. I've heard reasoning for both.
Thanks for your time!
Marc

And Here is my answer;
Weeping is not really a bad thing, it is especially normal on a fox fork. Basically as long as the oil is just collecting on the seals and the stanchions, things are ok. If enough oil starts to collect that it runs down the leg that is a sign of seals that are needing replaced or a scratch in the leg. I recommend wiping off the oil often, because the more that collects the easier it is for that oil to become a path for contamination. Also,  oil that has collected can trap very very fine grit, this grit in solution with the oil can act like a polishing compound that will wear the stanchions prematurely.
  If you lift the seals up, you can  squeeze out the foam rings with a paper towel, this will allow the foam rings to capture more oil and weep less.
(Rockshox and Manitou forks are not as ok to weep, their seals weep less so it is more a sign of a problem on those forks).
Hope this helps,
B Rose

Shockspital is moving on up!
January 31st starting at 10am
  My hope is that on the morning of the 31st there will be a large collection of people on bikes with all sorts of trailers and cargo capacity to help Shockspital move to it's new location.
  This is a day that will live in infamy; as Shockspital has many things that need moved and by hell or high water we will endeavor to do it all by bicycle.
  We will meet at CRC at  10am to rally the troops and who knows when we will be done but I promise a few cases of really cheap beer and standing around in the cold by a fire somewhere as a reward.

The State of the State...
What's up with the Shockspital

  Well it has been a tough winter for everyone.  I know what winter is like in a bike shop; this ain't my first rodeo. This has been my second winter owning my own shop and I must say it has been a lot tougher than last winter.
  A big part of this has a lot to do with the move. It is of course very taxing on a business to relocate after only one year (after moving after only one year). The financial aspect is also tough. Who knew it would cost so much to move.
  The holidays are a silly time to try and get any work done anyway.
  But we are back on track now. Everything is a constant process of picking up and starting again. Sometimes I feel like Sisyphus but a guy my size has a lot of liver to spare so its not a big deal :)
  I am very optimistic for 2009, it is feeling like a very good year. How about the Who?
Got a feeling '09
Is going to be a good year,
Especially if you and me
See it in together.
So you think '09
Is going to be a good year?
It could be good for me and her,
But you and her - no, never!
I had no reason to be over optimistic,
But somehow, when you smiled
I could brave bad weather...
Got a feeling '09
Is going to be a good year,
Especially if you and me
See it in together.
Got a feeling '09
Is going to be a good year,
Especially if you and me
See it in together.
I had no reason to be over-optimistic,
But somehow, when you smiled, I could brave bad weather...

The B. Rose Approved Greenway Safety System
Not at All 100% Affective

  When riding at night, alone, in the dark; you can find yourself in a scary situation.

This is a simple blinky light that has red and blue LED's.
  Here in Minneapolis there has been a lot of late night crime and Mugging on the Green Way (our bicycle highway through town).  Riding at night always has  a measure of risk along with it. But on the Greenway it is really easy to find yourself in the dark very isolated from the world around you. 
   Years ago when I lived in Pittsburgh I had a nightrider light with red and blue lens covers. If you were riding down an alley alone and there was a suspicious group ahead of you you just needed to turn on the red and blue lights and they would part like the Red Sea because when the red and blues start flashing trouble hits the road (and not you).
  You can find them here.

Did you know I buy and trade?
  I do often trade services and even buy out right old parts.
  Some of these parts are just not available anymore and your odds of finding a home for them are slim and none. That is where I come in; let me know what you have and what you want and I will make you an offer.
  This is a great way for shops to turn those parts that have never sold into something you can use.
  If you have something you want to liquidate just fill out the inquiry form and let me know all the details.

Keep an eye on the Blog...
  To raise money for the big move I will be putting a big part of my collected parts on Ebay and on the Shockspital Pharmacy page.
  The Shockspital Blog will be updated with listings for auctions.  We have a lot of money to raise and a lot of stuff we don't want to have to move.

I want to apologize for not having the continuations of the serial "A little about me" ready for this news letter. Editing and copy have been struggling to stay on top of things in the Shockspital publications department.  Stay tuned I promise to bring the next installment soon.

Promotion Name
Since this newsletter is going out so late I will be extending this offer till the end of February.
  Hooray for you!!
  Be sure to print it out and if a t-shirt is what you want make sure you fill out the details.
  You can also print the coupon out here!

  Thanks again for taking the time to read my news letter. I hope that the February edition will be bigger and better than ever. Once we have moved and set up shop in our new location I will have time to put in print some of the ideas I have been stewing over.
  And as always any help you provide to the growing of my business is always appreciated. I spend very little on advertising and prefer to spread via word of mouth or "word of email" as it seems to be.
  So please send a copy of this newsletter to anyone you think might be interested. (As it grows it will get more interesting, we hope anyway).  And if you are tired of getting it please forward it to someone you don't like and then you can unsubscribe at the bottom.

Sincerely and thankfully,

Brian Rose
Shockspital.com
3013 Lyndale Avenue South
Suite B1
Minneapolis, MN 55408
(612)886-3834
PS We are redoubling our editing efforts to try and make each new issue of the News Letter even more error free than the one before it.

Forward email

Shockspital | 3013 lyndale Avenue South | Suite B-1 | (The same building as the Alt) | MInneapolis | MN | 55408

  Here in Minneapolis there has been a lot of late night crime and Mugging on the Green Way (our bicycle highway through town).  Riding at night always has  a measure of risk along with it. But on the Greenway it is really easy to find yourself in the dark very isolated from the world around you.

  Years ago when I lived in Pittsburgh I had a nightrider light with red and blue lens covers. If you were riding down an alley alone and there was a suspicious group ahead of you you just needed to turn on the red and blue lights and they would clear a path.

  So I ordered some red and blue blinky lights. Here is a picture of what the blinking looks like.

These lights have 6 super bright LEDs (3red and 3blue) and a nice clip on mount (some adaptation would be needed to mount on a handlebar but a velcro strap would do the trick).

Well Christmas is over and New Years is looming. Moving my new shop is on the horizon and snow is in the air. The normal winter slow down does not feel as slow as it should. I have over due repairs and parts thats are long long overdue. It has been a crazy time of year.

So here is the dirt on the move, still waiting. My goal is to move sometime between now and February 1st. I can't wait to move because my productivity is really starting to get affected and my shop is a mess right now. These are two things that drive me crazy.

I am also up to my editorial arm pits getting my next newsletter ready. I hope to make it the most interesting yet. I will give you a special sneak preview.

If you are waiting for a repair, it will probably be leaving today or Friday. Then I should be all caught up. If you need to drop a repair off you can drop it at The Alt, it will soon be Shockspitals new home.

I will be at the shop Wednesday off and on all day, Marlin will be there all day; so if you need to drop by someone will be there :)

As always just fill out the inquiry form if you need me.

Shockspital is out for the holidays!

“The attached photo tells most of the story on the latest Big Dummy adventure.  What is not shown because I was too busy pedaling in cold weather and balancing on ice and snowpack is that the day following the picture I loaded two pair of skis and my wife on the BD and we biked to the start of our favorite ski trail.” Northfield

“This is the best picture I could get of dude jackin bikes from Grant Park. I know that if all you bloggers put it out there someone will recognize this dude. Mark can you put this on bikelove? That is beyond my skill level. Lets get’em'!!—Zito”

Check it out!

Time Left 13d 3h 53m

Online Close Dec. 25, 2008 9:00 PM EST

Leading Bid $750.00

At Grant Park, the condo building I work at, there has been a rash of bike thefts from the parking ramp. The details I have right now are:

1. 2005 Gary Fischer, Zebrano, black and silver. serial #SCA4DN056.Bought at Copeland Sports in Las Vegas
2. Trek 7200 20" Black and silver. Serial #ITK4D22023, bought at Penn Woodbury
3. two road bikes a Connondale and a Trek

(via Zito)

  If you wanna give me a hug or a punch in the nose I will be hangin out at Dee’s on the 27th at about 8:00pm. Check it!

  You might have read in the blog that Shockspital and the city do not see eye to eye. Neither does Shockspital and it’s neighbors.  My generally crappy demeanor and unpleasant disposition have finally done me the ultimate disservice. I have been spending most of my time sleepless; head in hand and crying a lot. But I am taking all the lemons given me and making Tagine of Chicken.

  Shockspital has a new home. We will be shacking up with the Alt.  I will be opening up shop in their building. We are not combining businesses but we will both be in one convenient location.  Its gonna be a giant bicycle love fest.

  The move won’t be without its share of pain. But in the end the results should be very worth it.

  The phone number and email will be the same but the new address will be:

Shockspital,  3013 Lyndale Avenue South, Suite B1, Minneapolis, MN 55408

  For the next few weeks it will be a little awkward. I will be doing repairs on various couches around the city but pick ups, drops offs and shipping will be handled at the Alt.

  So all my mail order business will be unchanged; other than some shipping delays because of my missing so much time behind the wrench while scouring the city for a new home. My local business will see a little awkwardness but should be totally normal before February 1st.

If you want to know more about Shockspital then sign up for our news letter!

  Also here is a recipe for Tagine of Chicken:

What you need

• two to four cloves of garlic, minced
• olive oil (or any oil) for pan-frying chicken and mixing marinade
• one or two chickens, cut into serving sized pieces; or similar amount of chicken breasts
• Spices:
  • quarter teaspoon black pepper
  • quarter teaspoon ground ginger
  • pinch of saffron
  • one teaspoon cumin (optional)
  • one teaspoon turmeric (optional)
  • one stick of cinnamon or a few pinches of ground cinnamon (optional)
  • one teaspoon coriander (optional)
• two onions, finely chopped
• two cups chicken broth or stock (or water)
• one cup green olives
• two preserved lemons, cut into slices (see below)
• salt, to taste

What you do

• Mix the garlic, some black pepper, and a spoonful of oil. Rub the chicken with the mixture and set aside for a few hours or overnight.
• Heat the oil in a large dutch oven (or tagine cooking pot, if you have one). Fry the chicken until all sides begin to brown. Add spices. (The black pepper, ginger, and saffron are most typical. If you have no saffron, consider one or two of the optional spices, which can be added according to you liking.) Add onions. Stir-fry over high heat for a few minutes.
• Add chicken broth, stock, or water. Bring to broil. Reduce heat. Cover, but leave a crack for steam to escape. Simmer over low heat for thirty minutes or more.
• Add olives and preserved lemons. Add salt and adjust seasoning. Continue to simmer. Remove chicken and set aside. If necessary, bring sauce to boil, stirring continuously, until thickened.
• Serve chicken, covered with sauce, over Couscous or Rice. Have Green Tea with Mint with or after the meal.

  You might have read in the blog that Shockspital and the city do not see eye to eye. Neither does Shockspital and it’s neighbors.  My generally crappy demeanor and unpleasant disposition have finally done me the ultimate disservice. I have been spending most of my time sleepless; head in hand and crying a lot. But I am taking all the lemons given me and making Tagine of Chicken.

  Shockspital has a new home. We will be shacking up with the Alt.  I will be opening up shop in their building. We are not combining businesses but we will both be in one convenient location.  Its gonna be a giant bicycle love fest.

  The move won’t be without its share of pain. But in the end the results should be very worth it.

  The phone number and email will be the same but the new address will be:

Shocspital,  3013 Lyndale Avenue South, Suite B1, Minneapolis, MN 55408

  For the next few weeks it will be a little awkward. I will be doing repairs on various couches around the city but pick ups, drops offs and shipping will be handled at the Alt.

  So all my mail order business will be unchanged; other than some shipping delays because of my missing so much time behind the wrench while scouring the city for a new home. My local business will see a little awkwardness but should be totally normal before February 1st.

If you want to know more about Shockspital then sign up for our news letter!

  Well, the powers that be have spoken and Shockspital has to move.  So I will spend most of Wednesday and Friday looking at new shops and Thursday will be spent decimating a Turkey.

  Sooo if I owe you something before then and you think I forgot, send me an email. brose@shockspital.com  . If you will need me before then you can do the same and we can schedule you in.

  In the meantime think of all the things you are thankful for and get ready for turkey or tofurkey in some cases.