Sound Repairs

If a restaurant doesn't post its prices on its menu, I probably can't afford it.  

I learned that lesson the hard way on my first trip to Europe.  On a wonderful day of riding through the Loire Valley, I was ready for a nice meal.  So I stopped at an utterly charming restaurant where the staff were oh-so-friendly and attractive and the food was even better than I dreamed they'd be.  I would have enjoyed the meal and the ambience, I think, even if I hadn't been hungry and spent the day pedaling.

I was in Nirvana or paradise or whatever you want to call it...until I got the check.  That meal didn't cost much less than my budget for a whole week!  At least I didn't have to worry about a tip:  In France, that's included (service compris). 

Now, I must say that the rule about menu prices doesn't necessarily apply to bicycle shops.  Some post "menus" of repair prices.  Of the shops in which I worked, none followed the practice.  The reason was that, very often, repairs turn out to be more complicated than they seemed at first glance:  The flat tire might have been caused by protruding spokes, which means re-truing or re-building a wheel (or even replacing it) rather than simply installing a new inner tube.  Or that creak or other noise might come from a crack in a frame tube caused by a fall that the rider might not have given a second thought because he or she rode home after it.

(I can honestly say that, in spite of the fact they didn't post "menus", none of those shops charged more than others in their area for repairs.  Two of them, however, advertised "tune up specials" where, for a fixed price, cables were replaced, bearings and chains lubed and adjustments were made.)

I got to thinking about "menu" pricing after I came across this:

Imagine if we could determine what needed to be done, and what it would cost, simply by listening!   For all I know, at least one mechanic with whom I worked may have been doing that:  He used to work with a stethoscope hanging from his neck!  Then again, he took substances that may or may not have been legal at the time, so he may have heard things I never would have.

What Entrepreneurs Can Learn From The Bicycle

What is the greatest threat the hat industry ever faced?

No, it wasn't the Reign of Terror.  

Since you are reading this blog, you may have already guessed that it was--the bicycle!

Believe it or not, in 1896, supposedly sane and rational businesspeople actually believed that the bicycle would bring an end to la fabrication des chapeaux. Apparently, cyclists were wearing cheaper caps and saving their more expensive headwear for special occasions--or doing without it altogether.  One irate hatter even proposed asking Congress to pass a law that would have required every cyclist to purchase at least two felt hats a year.

But the makers of cranial coverings weren't the only ones who feared for their livelihoods because of the newfangled two-wheelers.  Before the bicycle craze of the 1890s, men went for a shave and haircut on Saturday afternoons, in preparation for a night out.  "Now they go off on a bicycle and do not care whether they are shaved or not," lamented one barber.

(Imagine how he would react to today's young male denizens of Portland, Oregon and Williamsburg, Brooklyn!)

Shoemakers also complained they were losing business because people weren't walking.  Not surprisingly, cigar makers were in a panic:  Even in those days, before people knew about the health hazards of smoking, pedal pushers saw that cycling and stogies didn't go together very well.  Saloon owners said they were losing business because cyclists preferred other beverages to beer.  And, interestingly, booksellers complained that times were tough because people were riding instead of reading.

That last complaint seems really odd to me:  Cyclists, at least the ones I know, tend to read more than other people.  Perhaps things were different in 1896.

Moreover, I haven't seen that cycling keeps people from drinking beer.  Now, I can understand the panic of cigar makers:  I can't think of a single cyclist I've ever known who smoked them.  Then again, I've never known a lot of people who smoked cigars.  For the record, I've smoked two in my entire life, and don't plan on lighting another.

Jason Feifer, the Editor-in-Chief of Entrepreneur, talks about the "panic" I've described to make this point:  that change should be embraced rather than fought.  We may be experiencing another "golden age" of bicycling and, he explains, it presents all sorts of business opportunities, some in industries that have no apparent relation to cycling.  He draws parallels with other innovations that some companies should have embraced, but didn't--or did so when it was too late.  For example, he says, music companies should not have resisted streaming, any more than energy companies should have shied away from solar technology.

All you have to do is look at how many books about cycling and bike-themed beers are on the market to understand what he means!

P.S.:  A reproduction of the photo in this post hangs on my wall--next to my bicycles, of course!

Why Their Mood Is Festive

Today is, of course, la fete nationale francaise:  Bastille Day.

Well, the French have two things to cheer on this day.


One is that one of their own, Warren Barguil, won today's stage of the Tour de France.  In addition, he now wears the polka-dot jersey, awarded to the leading climber in the race.

And what's the other?  Well, it depends on your point of view, but I'm sure most of Barguil's compatriots would agree:  Donald Trump has gone home.

These days, being shocked when The Orange One commits a faux pas is a bit like just having discovered the Rolling Stones.  So nobody was surprised at his awkward handshake with Brigitte Macron, the French President's wife.  But one can be forgiven for expressing consternation after he remarked on her "good physical shape," if only because he made the comment while standing next to his wife.

Well, maybe.  After all, we are talking about a man who said, "If Ivanka weren't my daughter, I'd be dating her."

Anyway, the French actually have some more reasons for optimism.  Another Gallic rider, Romain Bardet, won yesterday's stage and moved up to third place overall.  He finished second in last year's Tour, so hope--and expectations--for him are great.

Will the festive mood continue all the way to the race's end?  Who knows?  But, with Bardet's and Barguil's stage victories, and the guy with bigger eyebrows than hands gone from their country, life is pretty good in l'hexagone.