Pacific Coast Cycles

Well, here I am at my favorite coffee shop, Jitters Coffee Pub in Oceanside. See my pic? I did my level best to get today’s trail find in there. I have neglected this page for quite a while, so here is a disjointed sketch of an update: I have retired. If you were in the shop after September you saw that things were not going along as normal. I did have someone who wanted to buy the shop but that fell through due to nothing untoward about PCC. It was solid until the end. ... I left the bicycle business after having been in it since 1971; having my own shop since1977. I ran the shop much differently from the norm. That is, I never bounced a check and I left with honor, not owing anybody money. You may assume that is normal but some notable shop closings resulted in suppliers taking huge baths. Word was that when a flamboyant bike shop near Home Despot closed, it left a $200,000 debt. That’s right, *two hundred thousand dollars*!!! And, that’s at wholesale!!! Something to think about - that was business that was stolen from other shops in the same market. A huge chain of bike shops more recently closed and left suppliers debts that dwarf 200K. I’m not complaining. I know I am fortunate to have spent my working life doing something I love. I am, however, going somewhere with this. Bike shops have much more to weather than fair competition. If you spend money on new bike stuff, bike shops deserve a shot at your business. I may post here from time to time. But I will close this chapter with this: Thanks to all who did business at PCC over the years! HAVE GOOD RIDES

Been a while since I posted, but I've got big news. I'm retiring at the end of October and the shop will be closing. If you will be in the area feel free to come by and look through my forty three year accumulation of Bikes - New, Used and Classic. Parts, Accessories, Wheels, Tires, Jerseys, Racks, lights.... New Bikes by Surley- LHT (5), Crosscheck (5), Ogre (1), ECR (1), Midnight Special (1), LHT Frame (1), Crosscheck Frame (2), Steamroller Frame (1). New Bikes by Masi, Haro, Godzilla, Soma, Ritche P29 Used and Classic bikes by Felt, Freschi, Masi, Scatante, SR, Motobecane, Le Juene, Schwinn Paramount Tandem, Santana Tandem, Windsor Pro. October 2-9. On Saturday 10-6 there will be parking lot sale where we'll be liquidating; Store fixtures/Display Cases File Cabinets/Boxes Track Lights/Spare Bulbs Desk/Office Furniture Cash Register Stereo with CD Player Bicycle Art/Posters/Signs And of course Bikes/Bike Parts Pacific Coast Cycles. 2004 S. Coast Hwy Oceanside. Corner of Coast Hwy. and Vista Way.

Rode over to coffee this morning in this seat. It is the stock seat that comes on a Surly Long Jaul Trucker. It is a very passable seat. It is not a Brooks but it’s very good! For those who don’t know, the shop has been open only from 12-5 Tue-Sat. Cheers, Chuck

Been a while since I posted, but I've got big news. I'm retiring at the end of October and the shop will be closing. If you will be in the area feel free to come by and look through my forty three year accumulation of Bikes - New, Used and Classic. Parts, Accessories, Wheels, Tires, Jerseys, Racks, lights.... New Bikes by Surley- LHT (5), Crosscheck (5), Ogre (1), ECR (1), Midnight Special (1), LHT Frame (1), Crosscheck Frame (2), Steamroller Frame (1). New Bikes by Masi, Haro, Godzilla, Soma, Ritche P29 Used and Classic bikes by Felt, Freschi, Masi, Scatante, SR, Motobecane, Le Juene, Schwinn Paramount Tandem, Santana Tandem, Windsor Pro. October 2-9. On Saturday 10-6 there will be parking lot sale where we'll be liquidating; Store fixtures/Display Cases File Cabinets/Boxes Track Lights/Spare Bulbs Desk/Office Furniture Cash Register Stereo with CD Player Bicycle Art/Posters/Signs And of course Bikes/Bike Parts Pacific Coast Cycles. 2004 S. Coast Hwy Oceanside. Corner of Coast Hwy. and Vista Way.

A man was walking down the street when he was accosted by a Particularly dirty and shabby-looking homeless man who asked him for a couple of dollars for dinner. The man took out his wallet, extracted ten dollars and asked, "If I give you this money, will you buy some beer with it instead of dinner?" "No, I had to stop drinking years ago," the homeless man replied.... "Will you spend this on bike parts instead of food?" the man asked. "Are you NUTS!" replied the homeless man. "I haven't had a bike in 20 years!" "Well," said the man, "I'm not going to give you money. Instead, I'm going to take you home for a shower and a terrific dinner cooked by my wife." The homeless man was astounded. "Won't your wife be furious with you for doing that? The man replied, "That's okay. It's important for her to see what a man looks like after he has given up drinking and bikes." See more

I don’t expect to find sin on bike rides, but this morning there was sin in the street!

Facebook tries to get business page owners to boost their (our) posts. That is, for a fee, Facebook will send it to more people. I used my phone camera to take a pic of this amusing abbreviation of a previous post. Decorum requires that I disclose the unlikely nature of me making this kind of career change. :)

I am installing brass fenders onto a custom made frame. I used this method of attaching the fender stays on one of my bikes. I think it is very clean looking and it is simple. This wire wrap is an idea I came up with while trying to make a cleaner looking attachment. It is based on the method and materials used for tying and soldering spokes - old as the hills but a new application. What do you think?

Most wheels I build are put on a bike and ridden right away. This pair is an exception. These wheels are sweet sixteen and are finally going to see service. My friend Steve had them built in 2003, planning to put them on a different bike. That did not materialize, but we are putting them onto his new custom made mixte. I was surprised how long ago these wheels were built. It’s good to see they will finally see some miles. :)

Is this modern art?

Yet Trump and Republicans in Congress call any regulation "socialism." [Cartoon: Adam Zyglis]

Headline: Rowan Miculka, eleven year old grandson of bike shop guy installs spokes into a wheel. My grandson, Rowan spent some time with me at the shop today. He wanted to help so I coached him and he laced up a wheel. He grasped concepts as well as anyone I have coached. I’m so happy to get to spend some time with him. Also, granddaughter Piper was here doing some vacuuming. Thanks to both of them!