Back when the OAC blog started the whole thing was about getting out on the bike every day, and how easy that was if you use the bike as your basic mode of transport when you leave the house. While a few things have changed here over the years and we have grown, the bike, Rambler, is still the main way I get around town. Hundreds of pictures of myself riding around, and the pictures of me have tapered off a bit this year. Today I made the time to shoot some while I was out. Same loop around town and same basic errands, life is that way sometimes. None the less, it is a hell of a lot more fun picking up odds and ends at Target and the food stores by bike.
Starting this morning we will have Ramblers at The MOB Shop in Ojai, CA available for test rides over the coming week. Right now there is a Size 51 Rambler ready to roll as a test vehicle for anybody interested. This evening we will be heading over to partake in the Slow is Fast event promoting Dan Malloy’s book and movie release. These events are always an awesome party with food, beverage and music. I highly recommend bending the schedule to be there. We will be bringing a size 57 and 63 for test rides tonight, and the 57 will be staying at the shop for at least a week. We are looking forward to adding our friends at the MOB to our select list of retail outlets.
Hopefully we will meet some existing fans tonight and make some new ones.
Last week the plan was to head north and get the Ramblers rolling out to vendors and customers with a stop in the SF bay area on the way up. Well, that was the plan, things slipped a little with the powder coating schedule, and I ended up working out a plan b solution. Packed and ready to go on Friday I headed up late in the morning.
The old Golf TDI does pretty good for these trips getting 45 mpg and just enough room to squeeze a 63cm bike on the inside. I had made it to Gilroy when the message came in that the frames would be ready closer to the end of the upcoming week instead of Monday as planned. That was a bit of a bummer deal, as I had already left home, and with Aly pushing into the end of her 6th month of pregnancy it is not really feasible for me to leave her at home with the three-year old and the dog for more than one week at a time. I pressed on to Oakland working out a plan b for the trip as I rolled north.
I am lucky beyond imagination to have an internet friend, turned customer, turned good friend with a place to stay in Oakland, and cool house mates, with a stream of interesting people passing through every time I am up there. The cherries on top are a room with a view and fresh eggs every morning.
Jason has been helping with everything from backend web site stuff to schlepping bikes around on the last Seattle trip and now our pedal powered sales missions through San Francisco, Alameda and Oakland. While I could have probably done this alone it would have been harder, way more $$$ out-of-pocket and not nearly as fun. Thank you, and the whole family at the compound.
With traffic and parking being what it is in the Bay Area the decision was pretty obvious to do as much as possible via Rambler. I may not be the first, but based on impression, there are not many sales reps, or owners, making the rounds via bike, particularly the one they are promoting. I can not imagine selling something that I did not use as much as my Rambler, perfect city transport. Loaded with forks in the panniers as color samples and sales gear in the Docena we hit the City for a few days in a row. With stops at Stones, Mojo, Huckleberry, Citizen Chain and a bunch more we had a ton of interest, but no bites on retail placement. The upside was all the incredible mechanics, fans customers in waiting and new direct customers that we were able to meet, share time with and get out on test rides. The overall level of stoke was high, new friends were made, and we were able to get the word out there about our product. I know this is going to be big, really big, but getting the word out is taking time on the street. Fringe benefit was all the nerd photo ops like a real Rambler wagon from the 1960′s and the 650b street address.
We made it out to Point Reyes Station to meet long time internet friend Mike at Black Mtn Cycles, rode a little and scored some berries
We met some builders, saw some well thought out cargo bikes, and were able to explore a bit
The exhibit above is on the pier at the Exploratorium, and was fabricated by Jeff at Monkey Like Shiny. As a kid, never in a million years would I have guessed that my path would lead me to a bicycle company of my own staying with friends that have friends designing and making wicked cool museum exhibits and the Red Bull trophies for things like the America’s Cup youth races. Very stoked to have met Jeff.
On the last day I made one more round of follow-up visits around SF, it was great finally having the fog pull back for a bit, and then it was time to head home.
Thank you to everybody who helped make this trip a success, even if it was no remotely near the original plan. The San Francisco Bay area is our largest market at the moment, even with Portland and Seattle making the push, The East Bay will have the most Ramblers rolling in the coming weeks.
Pick a Color July 09 2013, 0 Comments
I am northbound this afternoon for final QC on this round of 50 Ramblers. These are exciting times, delays are almost all in the rear view mirror. By Monday the final color selection matrix will be submitted and color is going on.
What does that mean for you? If you are planning on a Rambler this Summer and have a strong color preference this is the time to act. There are 50 bikes in this run, and with 7 sizes, there are between 6 and 8 frame sets per size. There are currently 3 colors: US Blue, Sunflower and Orange Soda(second from left). The red may come back if there is demand, and it looks like there is. All that means that there will likely be 2 bikes per color in a given size. Once they go, it is either second choice on color or wait till winter or spring for the next round. This is the double-edged sword of color options, it differentiates the Rambler from other bikes in this market, but it also means there are limited supplies of each.
The best way to get what you want? Hop over to the storefront and get your deposit in place.
This trip is going to be a fast one, then a second trip North later in the month. Keep an eye on the Instagram and Facebook feeds for updates, local rides etc.
