Arleigh Jenkins

[gallery order="DESC" columns="2"] Cool thing of the day: Starbucks has some special treat thing where if you buy something in the morning, they stamp your receipt to come back after 2pm and receive any cold grande drink of your choice for $2.00.  There are some grande drinks on the Starbucks menu that are $4-5 so it was a great deal.  I pedaled home with a carmel latte (with whip creme) after work today. Swim Day : This morning I woke up, rolled out of bed to make an instant breakfast and put on a one piece speedo bathing suit.  (The suit isn't really a speedo, it's a Zoot but whatever.)  Why was it 6:20 in the morning and I was up with a tight fitting bathing suit, googles and swim cap in hand?  Oh yes, that TRIATHLON.  Swim class is full on, every Tuesday & Thursday morning.  Kim and I got there, nervous and anxious to get it over with.  Thankfully Kathy (friend and swim advisor) is a really good coach and was super good with people that have no clue what to do.  An hour later I felt worked over and it was time to go home!  Less than 48 hours and we have to do it all over again.  Tonight we might run, depends how much it cools off before bed. Random fact for the day : Working 10-5 on Monday and Tuesday kicks ass!

[gallery order="DESC" columns="2"] Had some really great rides in the past few days.  Really making up for the lack of riding for the past few months.   Friday morning Joey and I went around Davidson, stopped for some coffee and then headed back to Cool Breeze to build up his new Surly Cross Check.  Saturday I attempted to swim laps at the neighborhood pool then Sunday Kim and I woke up early to ride the Lake Norman group ride from the state park.  I can say I'm finally getting my cycling tan back! From emails and phone calls I have a few questions to answer : Cool Breeze and Trek Store Charlotte are the same company.  Two different locations but the same owners, employees and ways of doing things.  Back in November I moved from our Cool Breeze location at Exit 33 on I-77 to our store that was opening, Trek Bikes Charlotte, at Exit 18 on I-77.  The stores are only 15 miles apart. The Trek Store is a concept store. Meaning we teamed up with Trek, agreed to carry a large % of their product in that location and inreturn we can put their well known name on the side of the building.  Plus we got a lot of help from Trek corporate with things like archeticture, laying out the store, training and such. Cool Breeze is the same physical size in the terms of store size but run completely different from any bike shop I've seen.  There is a fitness studio, aka gym, on the west wing of the store.  We have a personal trainer and USA Cycling coaches on staff.  Upstairs you will find a very well laid out fit studio that people are traveling hours away to get their fitting done in.  This store carries a lot of Trek, but also a lot of Cervelo and Serotta.  The store is niche and calls itself a "Triathlon Training Center."  I hope to bring more mountain and recreation into that equation. We'll see how that goes. My role at Cool Breeze will be much like it was at the Trek Store.  Sales Manager/Leader or whatever you want to call it.  Continuing the education to the staff, training, and hopefully learning things myself along the way.

When a day starts with a cup of coffee at 8:30am that isn't finished until about 2pm, you know your day is going to be long.[gallery order="DESC" orderby="post_name"] Lack of hydration, lack of riding and a boat load of excuses made my Wednesday night race very painful.  So painful that I am feeling it 24 hours later in my calf muscles that must of been sucked dry of any water or sodium. The postives for the day were my "key throwing" face captured on camera & new kits for the shop finally arriving and looking super swizzle.   There were other things thrown in there but for now my brain is cramping and I really need to hit the hay.

At about 2-3pm today we will be driving south to Charlotte, NC from our travels in Annapolis, MD.  The trip was well rounded, good down time and many photos taken.  The goal for me right now is to return a tent at Hudson Trail Outfitters, eat sushi at Yin Yankee (before I decide not to and regret it for the month) and maybe, if time allows, visit Velo Orange to say hi to Tom and buy something I don't need! I got sweet new shoes, ate good food, and hate the fact that vacation is over for now but ready to get back to Charlotte to start "training" (not eating like crap) for my tri!  Tomorrow I race my mountain bike, even after not having looked at a bike in over a week.  Should be thrilling, grueling and maybe even a little bit of fun. But before I ramble on I need to go pack and all those good things.

Lots of photos taken up.

I'm signed up for the tri.   Or I should say Kimberlee kicked my ass into gear and signed me up!  Time to start running, and more importantly swimming! Swim cap and swimming goggles are needed...

A short, yet busy, week is slowly wrapping up.  One last day to work (today) and then I'm off Wednesdays through next Tuesday.  The purpose is to go home to Maryland, attend a wedding, and maybe get some bike riding in. (That's the goal atleast.)

There have been many changes in life recently.  All very good, nothing very major, and I'm excited to see what this summer will bring.  Hopefully more time with family, more time on the bike and continuing to push the bike industry around my region.  Starting June 29th I'll be back at the Cool Breeze location for many reasons.  A few were things that have been in the works since we opened the Trek Store 20 miles away.  Partly commuting time, lack of riding time, lack of family time but I also will be stepping into a larger purpose.  A role of high end fitting, more custom bike design and hopefully going to push the mountain bike/commuting niche in the Lake Norman area. In other news, I've changed the shops blog to something both stores can share.  Please update your shop blog URL to CoolBreezeCyclery.blogspot.com.

[gallery order="DESC" columns="4" orderby="post_name"] A couple weeks back my #1 customer at the Trek Store sent me a message that he was looking for a commuter/cyclo-cross rig. A new fancy job Uptown Charlotte was going to require and bike that could have fatter tires & a rear rack for clothes & laptop. His Madone 6.9 wasn't going to cut it so I started hunting, emailing him various options. Finally we settled on a Surly Cross Check frameset and utilizing a number of his parts from an old road bike he had taken apart 6 months back.    Due to complications with shipping from Chris King, and being that it's SUPER busy season at the store for repairs service the turn around wasn't as we had wanted for this past Thursday.  But tonight Larry will be taking home is new hot rod after a final fitting.

[gallery order="DESC" columns="2" orderby="post_name"] I've mentioned how crazy things have been as of late.  The shops been slammed, a record month and a key note month as it means we are doing a bang up job. Above is a customers bike, a Trek Project One Madone 6.9. What's so significant about this bike?  Choices and that no matter how much at the end of the week I feel I'm stretched thin.. I get to see any new customer, that has become a friend, on the bike of their dreams.  As much as I may of griped to one of you about how much is on my plate, I really love what I do and can say I believe in what I do.  Every day I am getting people on a vehicle I believe can change the world or provide a healthier life to those that are buying it. This past weekend I got to ride my bike, ride on a boat, mow the lawn and hang out with my family.  All things that I haven't really had time for.  I thank my job for giving me time off, and I thank my family for being patient for this past weekend to happen.   It seems all the planets lined up and we found pure bliss for a few days. Tomorrow I race my bike, or a demo bike I should say.

[gallery order="DESC" orderby="post_name"] Have been able to squeeze in a few good rides in the past week.  Between commuting and little loops around Mooresville/ Davidson area it's been a good week.  Working on my cycling tan, and also working on getting rid of the cycling tan while out on the boat/pool!  Hope to get in another decent loop this morning after I run errands into Charlotte.