Getting ready for Bike-to-Work Week – Chris’ Bike Trailer

April 30, 2010 3 Comments

Since Bike-to-Work Week (May 17-21, part of National Bike Month) is coming up soon,  we thought we’d relate a bike-commuting dilemma that Chris, one of our bike distributors and a Performance blog contributor, faced today.

Chris commutes, almost every day, on his trusty older model Scattante XRL Cross bike.  Of course he rode in today, but his dilemma was this: a coworker asked him to go for a mountain bike ride this weekend, but Chris had no mountain bike at home (don’t ask–this is not normal).  So what’s a guy to do?  Well, how about rig up a 29″ mountain bike-towing trailer out of a B.O.B. Ibex trailer and  a Thule Insta-Gater Truck Rack:

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Performance Bicycle Racing Profile – Kirsten Davis

April 28, 2010 1 Comment

Meet Elite Rider Kirsten Davis

USCF Category: 1
Hometown: Cross Plains, WI
Current: Tucker, GA
Profession: Statistician
Coach: J.R. Smith

Kirsten is a cyclist who is dedicated to the sport. She has showcased her abilities in events all over the country, consistently placing in the top 20 of the toughest NRC, elite women’s races. She is a strong advocate of the sport, having founded two women’s cycling clubs. Her goals for 2010 are to be a contributing member of Performance Bicycle Racing: a cohesive team with national-level racing. Currently she is ranked 28th overall in the USCF and 4th for women age 40-49 in the USCF.

Her Performance Bicycle Racing season opener was a WIN at the Tour de Tuscaloosa road race in March! Look for her in the following 2010 races: Speed Week (Athen’s Twilight, Roswell… Dilworth), Kelly Cup, Fitchburg, French Broad Cycling Classic, and Atlanta 10K.

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40 at 20 #2

April 26, 2010 Leave a comment

The continuing saga of the Performance HQ Wednesday night group ride, as told by Randy, our elfin warehouse maestro.

From Baker’s Dozen to Six Pack:

Under a fine mist of North Carolina’s legendary pollen, 13 P-funkers saddled up for the season’s second round of ego stroke, emasculation, and braggadocio. From the get-go, a stiff southwest wind battered the peloton, bending the lead pulls into the drops early and beguiling what seemed like a strong effort on the pedals. The mood of the mass seemed more somber this week, and I can only guess it had something to do with the sight of Peterson’s superhero muscle mass and the Unabomber stare of one Bob Eichvalds. The G-man tried to lighten the mood with a few cavalier solo attacks, often precariously straddling the center line as on-coming traffic gawked in disbelief at a 97 year old man in the hideous purple of the Donut Boy lycra kit: Read more of this post

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Flashback Friday – Fall/Winter 1984-85

April 23, 2010 9 Comments

Fashion model by day & copywriter by night!  Chuck Lewis has been at Performance since nearly the beginning of our company, so we asked him to write up a few memories about the Fall/Winter 1984-85 catalog:

“Back in the early days Richard Snook and I shared copy writing responsibilities, frame prepping and wheel building skills, and even provided the occasional talent for catalog photos.” Read more of this post

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Earth Day – Grand Opening Bike Tube Blowouts

April 22, 2010 2 Comments

Since today is the 40th Earth Day celebration, it’s a day when we should all reflect on what we can do to make the world a cleaner and greener place.  As a cyclist, you’re already off to a good start down the road to environmental sustainability, especially if you ride your bike to run errands or commute to work.  You can check out our Earth Day page to see green facts about the positive impact that riding your bike makes in terms of reducing pollution, plus read about initiatives that we are undertaking in our stores and here at our headquarters to reduce our corporate environmental impact.

But we identified one specific area where we can make a real difference, with your help,  by reducing waste through re-using & recycling one thing that all cyclists end up with plenty of… blown-out inner tubes!

We are teaming up with the nation’s leading tire recycler, Liberty Tire Recycling, to encourage cyclists and bike enthusiasts to recycle their used bike inner tubes.  In our pilot program this spring, we are launching the “Bike Tube Blowout,” a bike tube recycling program that will run during the grand openings of 12 Performance retail stores beginning in April.

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Performance Bicycle Racing Profile – Cara Applegate

April 21, 2010 4 Comments

Meet Elite Rider Cara Applegate

Age: 32
USCF: Category 1
Hometown: St. Louis, MO
Current: Asheville, NC
Profession: Accountant

Cara has been for cycling for over 13 years. Her husband is a coach with Carmichael Training Systems, and an elite rider. Together they have 3 National Champions wins in the tandem division. Cara has claimed numerous first place titles in Road, Cyclocross, Time Trialing and Mountain Biking.

How long have you been racing?

2010 marks my 14th season of competitive racing.

Who or what inspired you to start racing?

I had a void to fill after my competitive swimming season ended, and cycling was an easier sport to adapt to as a bulky swimmer than running. Ultimately what keeps my coming back is the thrill of competition and a desire to maintain lifetime fitness. Read more of this post

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Spin Doctor Mechanic Profiles – Jae Honda

April 20, 2010 Leave a comment

Spin Doctor

For today’s mechanic profile, we’re heading out to the west coast to meet Jae Honda, a Certified Spin Doctor bicycle mechanic (and avid surfer, if you can’t catch that from the photo below).  Jae currently wrenches in our Ventura, CA store, although soon he’ll be moving, along with the rest of the store, down the coast a bit to our new Oxnard, CA location:

How long have you been a mechanic and how did you get started?

5 years. I started just working on my own bikes, then my friend’s bikes, and it just kept going.

How long have you worked for Performance?

1 year 4 months.

Where are you from?

Los Angeles, Ca. and grew up on Maui. Read more of this post

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The first 40 at 20 of the year

April 19, 2010 Leave a comment

word. this really doesn’t mean anything… just word.

It’s going to mean something when I drop the word “hammer” on you up the steeps!

You too EWEB. Just like cross season.

oh, no you did not! game on!

And just like that, the 2010 40 at 20 was on.

Here at Performance Bike corporate HQ we have a Wednesday evening tradition, once the weather starts to shake off the early spring chill and we get that extra hour of daylight, that we like to call the 40 at 20. As you might have guessed, the goal (and the route, usually) is the same every week: average a pace of 20 miles per hour over a 40 mile route of rolling country roads (and a few real hills) with 2 all-important, hotly contested, county line sprints! You never know who will show up to try their luck, but the rules are always the same: show up with a sense of humor (everyone gets made fun of at some point), keep the pace when you take your pulls at the front, and be sure you know the way back… because there’s a good chance no one will wait up if you get spit out the back!

So without further ado, we present the first in a series of mostly true, but definitely entertaining, ride summaries from our sometimes epic 40 mile group ride (which is currently only 30 miles long since we don’t quite have enough daylight after work yet), as seen through the eyes of Randy Jones, our mercurial receiving guru (and crafty sprint master).

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Performance Bicycle Racing Profile – Evie Boswell-Vilt

April 14, 2010 9 Comments

Meet Elite Rider Evie Boswell-Vilt

Age: 33
USCF: Category 1
Hometown: Coal City, IL
Current: Chapel Hill, NC
Profession: Research Associate

After 14 months of bicycle racing, Evie was ranked #1 in the US for Masters road racing, age 30+ in 2009. Her athletic prowess started when she attended college on a full scholarship for cross country running; she has been acquiring athletic accomplishments ever since.

Evie has already started her 2010 season strong, with a win at the Rock Hill Omnium last weekend!  It was a big early season race with hefty competition and Evie was 2nd in the Street Sprints, Queen of the Mountains in the Road Race and 2nd in the Criterium, giving  her the Omnium crown.

Overall Podium at Rock Hill

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Spring 2010 Catalog

April 9, 2010 2 Comments

Our new Spring 2010 catalog is here, and you may have noticed…

This thing is huge!

We designed this catalog to be the go-to resource for all your cycling needs.  Packed with new products and featuring a fresh new design, every time you open it up you’re bound to find something new and exciting.  But don’t worry, it’s still full of the great values that you expect from Performance, just in a new (and more useful) format.

We have streamlined our page layout and included bold new photos that show the products in action:

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