Comments on: It's a cold world out there.

By: Frank Brigandi

Frank Brigandi — Sat, 03 Dec 2005 18:46:00 +0000

Good luck trying to please everybody. People will mostly try to e insulting if they don;t get what you are trying to do. If you don’t carry Trek, I guess that means that you are not a bike shop, ha! I despise that mindset, I go the ther direction entirely, why carry trek when you can cary something else that is so much better? Right? Everyone who has come into my shop looking for Trek I sell them a Jamis. Good luck, looks like nice shop.

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Fri, 02 Dec 2005 22:10:00 +0000

Sure, I understand “the shop” exchanges goods and services for cash.

I was trying to reinforce the point that “the keeper of the shop” is pretty conscious about how the business is run. Things happen at “The shop” that go beyond the keeper just trying to make a buck, ideas are exchanged, freindships are made, and a sense of community is reinforced.

So in that sense I think the “keeper” has done something very different. You take away that sense of community and you have “Pottersville”

Besides I hear she can ride a bike pretty damn well.

Patrick W.

By: Molly Cameron

Molly Cameron — Fri, 02 Dec 2005 02:11:00 +0000

“There’s this concept about how if you’re succesfull, you’re being “male”, and I’ve always equated it with the punk thing of if you’re trying to earn a living, you’re being “capitalist”. Both these arguments stem from the idea
that power is always corrupt and that it’s not possible for anybody to have any kind of power without being an asshole with it. That’s a really pessimistic idea. It allows the oppressor to define what success is…..Why can’t we take over the word success and have different forms of success that are about doing the things that make us really happy without sacrificing ourselves? Why is sacrificing yourself the highest rule of the day in Western society?It’s sick! We can try to create alternative models for
economic systems.”

Kathleen Hanna from an
interview in 1998. The complete interview is in the book WE Owe You
Nothing.

Thanks a ton to Elizabeth W. for the quote. I lost faith in Kathleen Hannah a while back but, I can still find inspiration from things said a decade ago.

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Thu, 01 Dec 2005 17:53:00 +0000

I hate to break it to you, but you’re living in a “capitalist run” society.

Don’t confuse what Molly’s doing with something other than capitalism. It’s great that she’s small and local and she’s got her niche, but she’s trading goods and services for money, just like in any other business.

Now if Molly was, for example, taking a bunch of money from each of you, pooling it, deciding what each one of you needed and giving that to you, that would be something other than capitalism. But until she runs her business like that, she’s not really doing anything fundamentally different than anybody else.

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Thu, 01 Dec 2005 06:14:00 +0000

Saw a play last night based on “It’s a Wonderful Life”, reading this made me think about that part after the angel (Clarence) shows Bailey what life would have been like if he was never born. He returns to his town which old man Potter has taken over and basically turned into a sleazy, capitalist run hell hole.

If it weren’t for local shops like yours we’d be doomed to chain bike shops. (I’m talking big mega bike shops here). Your shop, or “the shop” as it’s often referred to transcends this capitalist arguement.

Think about how different all our lives would be if Veloshop was some huge mega-chain bike shop.

Throw elbows
~Patrick W.

By: Myra Maines

Myra Maines — Wed, 30 Nov 2005 03:50:00 +0000

Hey Molly,

You doin’ both cross races this wknd? Salem/Eugene. Should be muddy.

Myra

By: Scrappy Doo

Scrappy Doo — Tue, 29 Nov 2005 23:45:00 +0000

This post has been removed by a blog administrator.

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Tue, 29 Nov 2005 16:29:00 +0000

dude, nick. Get your own blog! so what kind of parts do you need?

(We’re sending you a wheel set.)

J-rock

By: Dean

Dean — Mon, 28 Nov 2005 23:19:00 +0000

Those bikes aren’t very vanilla if you ask me.

I bet I could get my orbea down below 8 lbs, all I need is a one time use plastic cassette and chainring and some “pliers required” downtube shifters. Then I’m gonna race cross on it.
Can I borrow someone’s mastercard?

By: Nicholas Brandt-Sorenson III

Nicholas Brandt-Sorenson III — Mon, 28 Nov 2005 05:58:00 +0000

what a bunch of 1st world crybabies.

Bottom line: i need a rig to race on this coming season.