"What do you think this is, Candyland?"

Sometimes you just hear things that make you raise an eyebrow. Sure, maybe the context would help explain things, but sometimes it's just funnier to speculate. Here are a few of my favorite lines I've heard around the shop:

"Sometimes we're back here talking to each other, but sometimes we're talking to ourselves."

"I'm an ultra-endurance vegan."

"Yeah, who doesn't have a friend in intensive care?"

"Real men ride them big bikes. Now, where them big bikes at?"

"Nobody interviews the finance guy!"*

The new staff profiles are up. Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to guess which staff member utttered each incriminating statement above. The winner gets... a sense of satisfaction. (Hey, this isn't trivia night at Wonderland -- I'm not handing out free Miller High Life.)

*Note: Okay, that last one would be easy if Mike, the finance guy, would let me interview him. But he's somewhat shy. You won't see his profile pic on the staff page, so that was kind of a tricky one.

Meet Ibti!

Although she is a relatively new cyclist, Ibti is set to embark on an ambitious, year-long adventure--she will be bicyling through the United States to learn the secrets of sustainable farming. In the meantime, she'll be hanging out at Capitol Hill Bikes and learning the secrets of bicycle repair, maintenance, and everything she'll need for her trip. Perhaps she'll offer some of her newly-found bicycle wisdom on this blog. Once she's on the road, we'll keep you posted on her progress with a link to her blog, http://www.abikeablefeast.blogspot.com/.

Welcome to the other side of the counter

Greetings, cycling fans. The word on the street is that the staff here are so immersed in our work whenever you stop by the shop that you don't feel you have a sense of who we are. When you swing by to pick up your beloved Jamis or Bianchi with its newly adjusted brakes or sparkling clean derailleur, you often wonder "who was that masked man (or, rather, man covered in axle grease)?" Welcome to the other side of the counter....

When things aren't so busy, I like to hang out with the mechanics. This rainy Thursday I was learning about brake lines and pestering them with questions for the staff biographies. (Don't click over to the website and look for them, I haven't put the new stuff up yet.) Ben, Bernie, and Todd were good sports, working away while calling out responses as I went through my list of questions, including "If you were a Muppet, which one would you be?" (FYI, they are Beaker, Fozzy Bear, and Animal, respectively.) They're a nice group, certainly less gruff and sarcastic than I'm used to in bike shops. And I don't think it's because of the fresh zucchini bread I brought in this morning (but that couldn't have hurt).

I'm hoping to have some good stories soon, so check back. And with any luck, maybe I can talk a few of the guys and gals here into blogging a bit....