parcel delivered today... and the tracking email to say "you can track your parcel...." arrived after the parcel.

@Mσᶎ now on the one hand you could say that is being efficient!

Spent an hour this afternoon getting my audax bike ready for winter. Fortunately nothing really to do this time around. That'll be my ride for the next 3 or 4 months.

Now all I need to dfo is get on the bloomin' thing

fun. i just put my mountain bike out yesterday

now that my road bike is indoors, i am also looking for a new handlebar

I like it when there's nothing much to do, I think I just need to order a chain as a spare, but I need to double check because I thought I had a spare somewhere.

My hands are still numb from the hose water though

gose water?

i need to stock up on brakepads

corrected!

only have 2 sets left which wont get me through winter

oh hose water

the trouble is, it is dark in this room, I can see the screen but not the keyboard. So I make mistakes. Frequently

I really need to get into the habit of proof-reading everything before I hit return

or a light.

My next laptop, I'm gonna get one of those backlit keyboards

they're nice.

bleh. now im out of chains.

So...the lady that babysits my kids runs the registers at the shop I used to work at. Nothing quite like having LBS parts delivered.

If I ever opened a shop of mine own. I'd totally pay some kid to ride around town and deliver parts for me.

@ChrisinAK yeah, get yourself known....

I toyed with the idea of opening a bike-cum-coffee shop a while back, btw.

Send myself on a mechanics course, but put the idea on the back burner

So when I just sat down to place the order for my spares, I thought to myself "what will I probably need by the end of the winter?" and, as well as the chain, I ordered a couple of 25mm Conti 4-season tyres, also that derailleur adjuster I've been promising myself for a long time

So spent a bit more than intended. But not planning any more purchases for a while

I've thought about that as well since I roast my own coffee.....sadly Fairbanks only supports 2.5 bicycle shops and we currently have 3.5. I am waiting to maybe buy one, or have one close.

One of my local bike shops is working on opening a cafe in their bike shop...

I think its a good idea to attract cyclists. Coffee and cake. And a tv in the corner, showing cycle races etc.

Certainly around our way, something that was also a "coffee stop" would work

Their cafe may also have a couple taps of beer...

@freiheit one of my buddies goes out with a group who basically (a) ride to a specific pub, (b) drink, (c) ride back. So that could work. I must admit I never fancied it though, I like to keep to two separate

The better shop in anchorage (in my opinion) has a keg in back. After they close the owner unlocks the keg and they bs and build bikes.

@PeteH I like to do that sometimes, too. But if it's a mid-ride beer, it's gotta be something fairly light. There's a great brewpub that's 20-25 miles of great cycling away that usually has a berlinerweisse on during summer. Perfect mid-ride beer with some food. :)