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Issue: 17
May 13, 2009
In This Issue
Hundreds of students take the Bay Bike To School Challenge!
5 Questions: Doug Charnock
TOSRV Recap
TechTalk: More Tire and Tube Q&A
New Products: Nantucket Bike Baskets
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May is National Bike Month!
 
Scott Cowan picture Greetings! 
 
TOSRV (Tour of the Scioto River Valley) was a lot of fun last weekend. It was great seeing all of you out on the road! Now that I'm back home, I gotta say - every Century Cycles store is busier than ever!

MEDINA: It's tandem-mania! Selling more tandem bikes than ever has helped make this location #1 in sales in the first quarter. They are also proud to be a supporter of (and the start location for!) the Medina County Bike Club's Ride of Silence on May 20 at 7pm. It's a noble cause and especially important to the Medina crew, when long-time customer Sal Biondo was killed by a car while riding his bike in Medina county. Check the Century Cycles blog for more details in the coming days.

PENINSULA: This Century Cycles store hosted our biggest-ever Night Ride on the Towpath Trail on April 25 - over 175 people rode the first one of 2009! Join us for our next Night Ride this Saturday, May 16. And the staff in Peninsula are already busy renting lots of bikes to local folks and Cuyahoga Valley National Park visitors who come from all over the world. (Hint: Check out the world map on the ceiling for exactly where.)

ROCKY RIVER: When 1,215 students registered for Bay Bike To School Challenge sponsored by Century Cycles and Chipotle, I knew the challenge would actually fall to the River staff to support this great cause to get kids on their bikes. They have risen to the challenge, doing everything from creating the Golden Sprocket Award to wrenching on bikes at the Bay Village Safety Fair to distributing hundreds and hundreds of t-shirts, water bottles and other prizes.

Stop in your hometown Century Cycles store soon - we'd love to hear what YOU are up to!

Cheers,

Scott Cowan, Owner
Century Cycles
Bay Bike to School Challenge
Hundreds of students take the Bay Bike To School Challenge!

If you find yourself in Bay Village when the middle and high schools' bells ring, try not to get run over by the bicycles! A whopping 1,215 students registered for the three-week program this year and almost 900 have been biking to school every day in this lakefront community. Century Cycles is proud to partner with Bay Village schools and Chipotle to encourage 5th through 12th graders to bike to school. Like their parents and other residents, we are inspired by the students - by their commitment to make this world a better place, one bike ride at a time. The program lasts until May 22. Stay tuned for more details on what an impact it had!

Event photos:
Doug Charnock
5 Questions: Doug Charnock

Doug was one of our very first customers in the Medina store, and he was in the store so often, that we figured we may as well hire him! He has been working at Century Cycles since 1997. He is now the Sales Manager in the Peninsula store, and he also lives in Peninsula. He is so plugged into the local gossip that his co-workers refer to him as the unofficial "Mayor of Peninsula." He also serves as one of Century Cycles' staff photographers; look for him with his camera at most of our events!

The Northeast Ohio winters aren't that big a deal to Doug, as he spent some time in Northern Minnesota while earning his college degree in Parks, Recreation, & Interpretation.

Q. What's your favorite thing about working at Century Cycles?

A. The ability of my co-workers to bring me out of a bad mood. It's a great group of people, and we really just have a good time together!

Q. How many bicycles do you own?

A. I have five bikes - two road bikes, two mountain bikes, and of course, a Surly Cross-Check, which I mainly use on the Towpath Trail.

Q. What is your favorite trail or ride?

A. The mountain bike loop at Mohican State Park. There is this one section there that goes through some trees with smooth, swoopy curves that is my favorite bit of trail of all time, and I look forward to that section during the whole ride. It makes the other 24 miles of hell all worth while!

Q. What advice do you wish you could give to every customer?

A. There is some basic advice that I DO give to every customer, such as wear a helmet, and keep your tires inflated well. What I wish I COULD say to every customer is to not take cycling too seriously. I'm passionate about it and it "Defines my life" as much as the next guy. But I see too many people who worry too much that they are not getting fast enough; they set their goals too high. You need to set realistic goals, and just enjoy being where you are; that is, on your bike.

Q. What three words describe how you feel while riding a bike?

A. "Post. Ride. Beer."


You can read the rest of our interview with Doug on our blog.


Scott Cowan at TOSRV 2009
TOSRV Recap

The Tour of the Scioto River Valley is Ohio's unofficial opening event for the organized ride season, and the traditional first event of the Century Cycles World Tour! This past weekend (May 9-10) brought some uncharacteristically pleasant weather for the 48th Annual TOSRV ride!

Scott and Brent were on hand at the expo in Columbus to take care of the last-minute gear needs of the riders, as well as providing mechanical support along the route. This was our 12th consecutive year of providing support for TOSRV! You can check out some photos that Brent snapped during the event on our web site!
Pile of Tires
TechTalk: More Tire and Tube Q&A

We've received several random questions about tires and tubes recently, so we decided to combine them to make this month's TechTalk column!

Click here to go to our blog to read the answers to these questions:
  • Why are there two kinds of valves on bicycle inner tubes?
  • Should I rotate (i.e. swap) my front and rear tires occasionally so that they wear evenly?
  • When installing a tire on a wheel, is there a trick to getting that last little bit of tire over the edge of the rim? Why are they so hard to put on, and how can I avoid pulling my hair out in frustration every time?
  • Do skinnier tires roll faster than fatter tires?
Nantucket Bike Basket Co.
New Products: Nantucket Bike Baskets

The Nantucket Bike Basket Company has created a collection of hand-woven baskets, designed in the tradition of the bike baskets used on historic Nantucket Island in Massachusetts since the early 1900's. All come with two sturdy leather straps for easy attachment to almost any handlebar.

Check out the models we have in stock here.
Define your life. Ride a bike.
 
Our Stores:
1079 N. Court St. (Rt 42, K-Mart Plaza)
Medina, OH  44256
Phone: 330-722-7119
 

1621 Main St. (Rt 303)
Peninsula, OH  44264
Phone: 330-657-2209
 

19955 Detroit Rd. (between Wagar and Wooster Roads)
Rocky River, OH  44116
Phone: 440-356-5705

www.centurycycles.com

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