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Leaning hard into a decreasing radius turn on my ancient Schwinn Paramount, I ponder the effectiveness of thirty year-old sew-up glue.  A failed tire can kill you. Changing one can, too. Bitter experience has taught me to regard  every decision about tires, however insignificant, as a matter of life or death.

Birthdays are dangerous for impulse buyers. My most recent one found me shivering in the alcove entryway at Elliott Bay Bicycles in downtown Seattle, waiting for them to open. A bitter February wind was blowing in off the Sound. An empty sixteen ounce malt liquor can rattled around at my feet. When Bob Freeman rode up on his classic Schwinn Paramount to open the store, he seemed surprised to see me huddled there by the front door. “It’s not mine,” I said when he glanced down at the empty can. “I haven’t had a drink in over a year,” I continued, sounding exactly like the kind of righteous jerk I was afraid of becoming when I quit. “Stumbling around in a hopeless fog of sobriety is no picnic,” I added, hoping to lighten the mood, as he unlocked the door.

In its own independent and disorderly way, Berkeley is a great bike town.

I’ve heard it said that no two snowflakes that land on planet Earth are alike. There’s also a theory that if one atom in the universe were to occupy the same space/time the whole cosmos would implode.  The same goes for your retail store, which is your brand! It’s what the alien nation calls DFD or ‘Death From Duplication’ for those of us that are acronym challenged.

I’ve followed professional wrestling for several decades. It’s the best integrated marketing on the planet and their longevity and strong financials are proof.  Ok, go ahead make fun of me because I know all about Ravishing Rick Rude and his signature move “The Rude Awakening”. Actually there’s a business model and competitive strategic approach I’ve implemented with several of my clients based on this piledriver’esque move. But I digress…..