Taking The Scenic Route Away From Profits

The COVID-19 pandemic brought us all sorts of deniers.  There were those who believed, even as they were dying from it, that the virus didn't exist--or that it was created by a Chinese lab or Bill Gates-- funded by George Soros because, well, don't you know, he funds Antifa, gender affirmation surgery and everything else Fox News fans hate.

Only slightly less irrational were those who claimed vaccines were ineffective or were created by Bill Gates, who installed microchips in them.  And, of course, it was all paid for by you-know-who.

During that annus horribilis of 2020, there was another kind of denial not directly related to COVID.  That, of course, had to do with the election:  Of course Donald Trump couldn't have lost because, well, he never loses at anything.  There absolutely must have been voter fraud or some other nefarious activity that ushered Joe Biden into office.

Now here's another form of denial I hadn't heard about until today:  the COVID pandemic-induced bicycle shortage was--well, it wasn't. At least, that's what Jay Beaman has said.

Jay Beaman in his shop, Scenic Routes.  Photo by Nicholas David for Mission Local.

He isn't someone who went down a QAnon rabbit hole when he had too much time on his hands after being furloughed from his job.  While he did indeed get sent home when the restaurant where he worked closed during the COVID lockdown, which came earlier and was stricter in his hometown of San Francisco than in other parts of the US, his denial of the bicycle was based on something he, and many of us know: There were  "hundreds and hundreds of thousands of bikes languishing in garages all over the city."  With "a little bit of attention and time," they could be ridden for fun, fitness or transportation just as well as the bikes that had disappeared from bike shops' sales floors and suppliers' warehouses. 

So he gave those neglected machines the TLC they needed--in his North of Panhandle apartment. Soon his longtime friend and riding buddy Mike Connolly joined him.  Soon after, wheel builder Kat Siegal and transportation advocate Emily Horsman came aboard.  

Together, they would build a brick-and-mortar shop in a Balboa Street storefront.  Ever since, in addition to repairing and selling bikes, Scenic Routes has conducted repair classes and other events in its space.  "Our primary goal is to create a space that is centered around the community," Beaman says.  He defines that community as the geographic neighborhood and "transit people, bike people, urbanists."  Most of all, it's "people that believe in cities," he explains.

Anyone who's worked in or owned a bike shop knows you don't do it to get rich. (An old joke:  "How can you end up with a small fortune in the bike business?  Start off with a big one.") Beaman reports that Scenic Routes ended last year with a net profit of one percent, a business model he half-jokingly calls "anti-profit."

His vision is that it won't be a joke: He fantasizes having a rich benefactor (or benefactors) so he can lose money every year.  "How cool would it be if some rich person was like, 'Look, I am going to put a million dollars in your account, that's your endowment," he says.  "Then we could just lose 30 or 40 thousand dollars a year and it would be fine."

Now there's a business model I'm sure the Stanford MBA program--or any other MBA program--doesn't teach. For that matter, I'm not sure that any MPA program that trains people in non-profit administration has such a curriculum.

Perhaps those who administer and teach such programs are the real deniers:  They probably wouldn't (or couldn't) acknowledge the need for businesses or organizations like Scenic Routes.

When A Sinking Ship Isn’t Metaporical

 

You probably heard about the luxury car-laden ship that sank in the Atlantic this past winter. Turns out, the bike world isn’t immune to such mishaps.

A year earlier, another ship carrying 700 containers full of, among other things, bikes from China sank off the Mexican coast.  Now Trek, Bell and a few other companies are suing Maersk, the ship’s operator, and other related companies for damages.

Aside from the losses Trek, Bell and other companies incurred, the ship sinking affected the cycling world in another way:  It exacerbated the COVID-induced bicycle and parts shortage.  That, of course, drove up prices and simultaneously created a boom for some dealers while driving others, who couldn’t get inventory, out of business.

The Summer Of Pre-Love?

COVID-19 has claimed all manner of victims and casualties.

In the latter category are restaurants and stores that closed for good.  I hope that  Broadway Silk will not join them.  In addition to  beautiful fabrics and sewing needs--including rare and unusual buttons and zippers --they sell handcrafted scarves, pens, bracelets, purses and other items.  The sign announcing their "temporary" closure on March 18 is still attached to the door.

On the other hand, there are businesses that have become victims of their newfound prosperity.  One of the first such enterprises I heard about was a funeral home that had to turn people away. Ironically, they are in the same boat, if you will, as many bike shops.

These days, most bikes, components and accessories come from China or other Asian countries.  Those supply chains have been disrupted.  Even bikes and parts that are still made in Europe or Japan are difficult to find because international transportation has been interrupted.

As a result, many bike shops are accepting trade-ins and buying used bikes wherever they can be found.  James Moore, the owner of Moore's Bike Shop in Hattiesburg, Mississippi, says that "folks call, then text me photos."  If the bike "meets our strategy," he explains, he will "go and make an in-person photo and pay on the spot."

His shop has "a reputation for good refurbished bicycles," so he doesn't expect the new bike shortage to slow him down.  Still, he's not taking any chances:  He recently bought billboard space in town and taken out newspaper ads.

Even though there's no shame in buying a bike that isn't new, especially in times like these, it seems that nobody wants to use the word "used."  Sites like Craigslist and eBay refer to "pre-owned" bikes.  Moore likes to call them "pre-loved."

Could 2020 be The Summer Of Pre-Love?

 

A Consequence Of The Current Bike Boom

By now, you've heard from me, Retrogrouch, other bloggers and various media outlets about the new "bike boom" spurred by the COVID-19 pandemic.

That "boom" means that bicycles as well as helmets, locks and other related items are scarce, or unavailable, due to disruptions in supply chains.  

About all I remember from my economics course is "supply and demand."  The professor, it seemed, intoned that phrase about three or for times every class.  

When there's more demand than supply, prices go up. Of course, you don't need an economics class to understand that--or that, in such circumstances, when demand continues to outstrip supply, enterprising folks will find ways to appropriate some of the supply.

That last clause is, as you know, a polite way of saying, in such a situation, some will steal--whether for themselves or to supply unmet demand. 

The thing is, victims of theft tend not to  care much about why someone steal from them.  They want their stuff back, or to be remunerated for it.  And, depending on their beliefs and temperament, they want the thief to be penalized. 

While bikes are stolen in "normal" (whatever that means anymore) times, whether from the street or a shop, it seems that, lately, there's been an increase in the number of shop break-ins---and the amount and dollar value of what's taken.

In the wee hours of Tuesday morning, a white pickup truck pulled up by Pearland Bicycles in Houston.  Someone emerged from the vehicle, crowbar in hand.  In prying open the store's glass door, he shattered it.  He and two accomplices ran inside and grabbed whatever they could.  Within minutes, they had about 20 bikes. Pearland owner Darryl Catching says he lost around $40,000 in the burglary.




Some of the bikes were already sold and waiting for customers to pick them up, he said.  So it is even more imperative for him to replace those bikes than if they had simply been standing in the showroom.

Because the thieves struck at 1:30 am, they had time.  How much? "Looks like one of them, he went to the restroom," Catching said.  

New Life For An Old Ride

"Am I getting old? Or is the bike?"

I replied "no" to both questions because, well, it was the truth.  At that time, I wouldn't have called myself "middle-aged," and she was a good bit younger than I was.  And, as a sometime bike mechanic, I knew that most bikes, unless they've been crashed or left in an undersea cave, can be salvaged.

We used to ride together from work because she lived about halfway between our workplace and my apartment and I enjoyed her company.  Also, we left at night, and I had enough testosterone in me to see myself as her protector.

I offered to tune up her bike--a Dunelt three-speed that was probably even older than she was.  She offered to treat me to a "nice brunch."

She made good on her offer.  One day, I packed my bottle of Tri-Flo with my books and change of shoes.  During a break between classes, I jogged down to the campus bike rack.  She was nowhere in sight. I lubed her chain and inflated her tires with my Zefal HP frame pump.  That night, she marvelled that riding her bike seemed "so much easier." 

If I were a better (or simply nicer) person, I could have told her that she was getting stronger from her daily commute--which she most likely was.  Instead, I "confessed."

She marveled that simply keeping her tires inflated and chain lubed could make such a difference.  I admitted that they were a "major part" of bike maintenance, but reiterated my offer to make her bike "like new."  She never took me up on it.

Had she availed herself to my expertise, not only would her gears, brakes and other parts have worked better than she ever imagined they could; I would have shown her how simple it actually is to keep a bike (especially one like hers) running.

I thought about our offers to each other when I came across this article in Popular Science.  Its author, Stan Horaczek, understands something I've long known:  Most bikes can be "resurrected" as long as they haven't been crashed or have been stored underwater.    Better yet, most repairs that will make most long-dormant bikes functional don't require special tools.

So, if you want to start riding again and can't find a suitable ride at your local shop--or even Craigslist--there may be a "treasure" in your or a family member's or friend's basement or rafters.