Your Pedal Bicyclical

Hello!

May was just about fantastic. We went on lots of great rides and met lots of neat people. Thanks for hanging out with us and enjoying the unexpectedly wonderful weather.

We had opportunity to enjoy an escorted ride around the Maple Hill Trail at Markin Glen last week, and I’m here to tell you that we’re going to have a terrific time when it opens — and it hasn’t. So please, please, please don’t make the mountain biking community look like jerks by banditing the trail. It’ll be open soon, and we’ll all have big fun. Thank you for your patience.

Speaking of the Maple Hill Trail at Markin Glen, we are SUPER STOKED to host the Kona demo truck on July 2nd. Please stay tuned to our Events page for details.

Under the threat of rain and overall meh weather, Erin hosted a leisurely ride last Saturday morning from the Romence shop. And a couple of people actually showed up! We’re going to try something similar THIS Saturday, but more toward the downtown shop. Full data is here.

Are you frustrated with your road pedals? I’ve had a pair of Time Expresso (a name I don’t love) on my bike for just over a month, and I’m fairly amazed by the ease of clipping in and out. Time mountain bike pedals have been a favorite for many of us for years. Yeah. We’ve got ’em in the shop. Plus, have you had bike troubles and need to get places faster than normally. I´ve seen these e-scooters all over town and they are actually pretty good and use the best scooter wheels in the market so they’re pretty safe also. I´m surprised that they are fairly economic and they last very long before you have to charge them again. Look for yourself and see they amazing deals.

Remember when there was only Garmin GPS? More are the options these days, and we have a few of ’em. Sure, we still have Garmin. But we also have nifty computers from Lezyne and Wahoo.

When the Quarq Shockwiz came out, we grabbed one for each shop. What’s it do? It connects to your air suspension (fork or shock) and measures the living heck out of it while you’re riding. After it collects a sufficient amount of data, it’ll tell you how to better tune your suspension. Note that Shockwiz does not actually speak, it records the data and communicates its findings through an app on your smartphone. Here’s the deal: we’ll rent you a Shockwiz for $50, and you can assess your suspension tune. Please call the shop of your choice to reserve one.

Recurring Events
Mountain Bike Monday. It’s fun! It’s for everyone!

Tuesday night is the Pedal Women’s Ride from the Romance shop. Riders meet in the parking lot around 5:45 with the ride starting at six. The best way to keep up with this is the KBC Facebook page.

Thursday shop road ride!

Many are the KBC rides.

Fun Adventures on the Horizon
We got letter from reader last month who asked that I say a little something about the Battle Creek Ice Cream Century. Looks like fun, and it involves ice cream.

Holy Smokes! This Sunday is the Race for Wishes! There’s a lot of neat stuff this year, and it’s totally worth a look.

Tour de Taylor is coming up fast. This is a great tour of the roads around Mattawan, with super support and a great cause. June 10th is the day. 8:00 is the time. Fun is the game.

Have you heard the siren song of the open road? Our man Jim Kindle has, and he’d be more than happy to share what he’s learned with any interested parties on the evening of June 13th. More data here.

While I don’t have official artwork, posters, marketing collateral, etc. to share at this moment, I will say that we’re having a “thing” with SWMMBA and Bell’s on Father’s Day. We’re gonna meet at Bell’s, ride to the Maple Hill Trail at Markin Glen, ride around a bit, come back to Bell’s and, as I understand it, have a really great time.

So much is going on the following weekend. We’ve got a repeat of Erin’s social ride from the Romence shop. We’ve got the Gull Lake Triathlon, which is always a good time. And, because I like starting a sentence with a preposition, we’ve got the Kal-Tour the following day.

A Year Gone
It seems unreal — as in not possibly real — that a year has passed since nine of our friends, neighbors and fellow cyclists were run over. Next week there’s a fundraiser at Arcadia on the 6th and a Memorial Ride on the 7th. Like many of you, I’ve been thinking a lot about what I think about this, and it’s difficult. I’m very sad. Angry. Frustrated. I’m also super impressed by the outpouring of support and love from so many aspects of our community. We live in a good place populated by good people.

Big Finish
After a long herky-jerky spring, it looks like Summer is here. I, for one, am ready. Bring on the sunsreen, the bug spray, the second water bottle. I look forward to seeing you in the shop, on the road, at the trail or at an event. And I wish you the maximum amount of fun.

Sincerely,
Tim