I remember way back....

It's been awhile since I've posted anything on any net type thing other than a facebook update. The Minnesota Spring has been quite kind and kept Carrie and I on our bikes and saddled up at the bar or music venue. The Volvo is running strong and spending much time typing about radness has seemed trivial.

I got a call earlier this afternoon that mentor and friend that started my journey in the bike biz passed away this morning.

Greg Dunbar gave me a shot at Deluxe about 12 years ago. I was just some punk ass who spent nearly every afternoon and dollar I'd made working in the kitchen at Ag Hall on the fairgrounds at Deluxe; hair down to the middle of my back, Dead Kennedys and Bouncing Souls cds in my messenger bag, a gem of a Specialized Stumpjumper that was sitting dormant far too often as I learned about road and 'cross, cobbling together some miscellaneous shit as bikes really took hold in my life. The whole Deluxe crew, Greg, Tom, Pat, Gom, A, Sean, and Paul(sometimes even Lieutenant Stading) helped me learn and grow a lot for the year I worked there, the final year the shop was around. Greg was the one who's bench was right across from mine and was always there to tell me my brake pads were too low, I could cut the housing smoother, my write up sucked, good job on that sale, and ask if I was getting paid to play foosball.

There are a couple of things I've maintained over the course of the past few years. I certainly wasn't taught everything I needed to know about bike fixing and the bike biz at Deluxe, but I was taught how to learn what I needed to be to be successful in the future. The other is that if I wouldn't have had my first bike shop job at Deluxe, I honestly believe things would have turned out differently for me. I grew a lot as a mechanic and a man at Honker Hangar and mostly at Cycle Works, but it was the setup at Deluxe that allowed me to continue moving on the path I've been on that has treated me so well.

Greg, thank you.


I've been rough on these, I ought to get them touched up.



"...you taught me my first barre chords" Hot Water Music-Moonpies for Misfits