Peacock Groove Cycles

[steve garro]

Steve,
that is just one reason like going to your blog. FISH!! I love fishing. I love being able to ride my bike a meager 10 miles out of the city, and it's fishing time. Peace, quiet and largemouth Bass!! But really, I love seeing about the lives and other passions that these creative , passionate people who build bikes do after the torch is down. It is all about what you do in your life that inspires frame building, at least to me. It is the culture that I live every day.
erik

right on! I agree with you totally. fishing is my "time out" even more then riding. we will cast lines together some day, my friend. - Garro.

[liberacefanboy]

@spopero:
I most likely did make you a malt. I worked everyweekend there. I remember I used to work almost 30 hours a week and get my biweekly paycheck for about 271 bucks. Ahhhh minimum wage...
Winter up here? I would not say that I get fluctuations for orders sos much, as to when it gets nice up here everybody wants their bike. I get calls from people who I tell that their bike will be done in September, they call me in April all :"Where is it?!?! I don't want to miss the weather!"
After I tell them that they just ordered it two weeks ago they usually calm down.
On the winter note?
I love, love building bikes while the snow flies... I don't know why, but it just seems very romantic.
@tootall:
the corner store is still there, with it's sodabar!
and guess what, coffee is still a dime and still horrible. But, that place rocks. It is a real slice of home. I wish more places were like this.Fuck a starbucks. And the land of lakes misses you. We love good people up here.
@garro:
we will cast lines, and I will tell inappropriate jokes. The fish won't mind.They are fish, after all ....
Now I have to run, I am going to the Lords of Acid / My Life With the Thrill Kill Cult concert!!Thrill Kill is headed by a guy who is know as :" Groovyman". that just way out there man.....

[WadePatton]

wtf? you're up there where walleye is king and you're talking 'bout largemouth, while i've got nightcrawlers in the fridge ready for my next shot at trolling for wallies down here in bassville. effin' other side of the fence yo.

never seen a live 'gator gar, but have read much about them-and saw a show on 'em recently. i eat most everything i catch nowadays, but i'd make an exception for the 'gators. i got the tackle, bring 'em on.

pretty much fish (without ice) 9-10 months per year. we float/wade/walk streams for smallies and redeyes, fish all night for cats, bounce spoons in tailraces, and just now starting lake fishing for walleye. steve and i have threatened to go fishing together for a few years now.

cool to learn more about you, glad you're on the upswing and participating here. i do miss the daily banter we had back on that forum back then.

rock on with it.

[Darkitect]

FISHMASTERS!!!

BTW, I am comin' home for a spell this Aug., 11-21 to be specific. You need to meet my daughter plus we should have a beer or twelve.

[liberacefanboy]

@Wade:
I know! I have never, believe it or not, caught a walleye. I have fished in lakes with them, but never caught one. I love bass, there is just something about them that I really like. I like pike too, such an aggressive fish !! The variety we have up here is pretty good. Now, if we can keep those fucking Asian carp out of here.....and hopefully the snakehead will not make it up here.They just destroy the ecosystem. Catch 'em, kill em' .
I am very glad that this forum exists , I do miss the "builder community" we had a while back. I am happy that you are "getting to know more " about me. I am enjoying being on here more, but this summer has been the one of nightmares! Crazy deadlines, shows to promote, painter issues, new space, launching a new line, water jet stuff, and fishing...no wonder I have not fished since last year.....
@darkitect :
FISHAMASTERS !! That show was hoolarious. This is what people used t owatch before the 'net took off....basic cable and the public channel.I linked the intro for you guys to enjoy, or not, but remember this was like a cross between Wanye's World and a fishing show.

erik

[Archibald]

Man, I have to keep an eye on what's going on in Smoked Out!

Eric, you are 100% original & you rock hard, but don't be calling me at 2 in the morning!

[WadePatton]

the vid reminds me of "outdoors with tk and mike" from many years ago. they were pioneers in the deer-hunting parody video world--back with _all_ video was vhs or beta. i have a copy around here somewhere.

i miss the somewhat serious public/cable tv outdoors shows. they killed a legendary long-running local show here and put an over-produced, pussy-assed, softer than mr. effin' rogers neighborhood with pretty-hosts-whacked-out-on-paxil show in the place of it. effers.

and then you've got the 1/2 info-mercial type outdoors stuff. a product can be promoted w/o being offensively stupid about it atmo. (note to vs. network)

hey, speaking of flying carp (automatic resetting aquatic targets-if i could have my way with 'em), found out last night that _alligator gar_ have made it to asia somehow. they showed one that was effin big around as a 5 gallon bucket. paybacks are hell no?

and what really killed off the 'gator gar around here was hydro-electric.

we've got no pike or perch down here. wallies, sauger, and muskie-but the muskie are in just a few waters. still mostly caught by mistake atmo. they say after you land one or two of those bad boys that you get a stare and morph into captain quint.

[CyclesNoir]

The neighbor kid (well he's about 25, but at my age that's still a kid) down the block is one serious bike mechanic. Got most of a marketing degree, but over 10 years shop experience - know's his shizzle!

Paul likes to come by when I'm out in the shop building. Talks bikes (if I wasn't working, I'd grab a glass of wine). Get's his pro deals at work, but occassionally I help him with a hard to source item or two.

So the other day he's going on about the three bikes he wants to own before he dies. The first is a Pinarello. The second I don't remember, so it must not of registered much with me. But the third was Peacock Groove. I knew he was cool, but P.G. iced it for me. And I thought you'd like to hear about being put on a pedestal with Pinarello.

Peace.

[WadePatton]

that's cool as chit. erik rocks it. and the neighbor kid is cool too. except for the marketing part.

[liberacefanboy]

@archibald :
I never called you.. .well, whiskey just wanted to talk to you. I just dialed for him. I was so, surprised that you answered, I was going to leave a message. I will call you later than two know. I get what you are saying.
@wade:
yeah I love campy shows like that. I really think a lot of people take things too seriously in life. some people should just have a drink and relax.
The alligator gar got such a bad rap, people way back thought they were people eaters and they really did a number on the population! They used to be as far north as Minnesota!!
I have seen a couple of snapping turtles up here the size of Bringheli alignment table....huge. That son a bitch looked at me and said:" You want to give me that lkast beer, right?"
I never thought I would see a turtle swim with a beer, but that one did. No really, that SOB was huge. I really like being in the middle of nature and just looking around, seein the beauty of it all.Hopefully we can save these places.
@cycles noir :
I read your bio and Smoked Out, I like it. It is like a modern twist, carpet fiber, but still holding onto traditional labor skills ( lots of hand filling ) to make your bikes. Well fuckin A, not many can say that. Although , Ozwald still builds a mean ass bike.
My self?
Bring the tools! I love power, air, and whatever kind of tools. Right tool, right job. My favorite tool is my imagination.
Thanks for the little story about that guy who wants a Groove, things like that mean a lot to me.
Being put in the same category as a dude like Pinerello, well shit that is just crazy. I am just some podunk from MN running from turtles who want my beer.
@ Wade :
you know it!!
back to braze land......

[Archibald]

@archibald :
I never called you.. .well, whiskey just wanted to talk to you. I just dialed for him. I was so, surprised that you answered, I was going to leave a message. I will call you later than two know. I get what you are saying.
.

Hey man, I'm here 24/7. That's 24 hours a week, 7-months a year....

[liberacefanboy]

Ha! Don, I like those hours.
I would of responded sooner, but a tandem fell on my head at the shop the other day. For real, tandem is unhurt, I must not be as hardheaded as I thought.
erik

[WadePatton]

dude, store tandems _low_. well, maybe you thought of that by now. you're still here and appear to be lucid, so your head must not have dented much.

i like ringing up my west-coast bros late--cuz it's two-hours earlier there, they don't seem to mind, and they don't call me out on the forums for it-yet. (my turn is coming)

[liberacefanboy]

Wade,
at 5'5" or so, I don't have to store things down too low. Everything is always out of my reach anyways, but really that shit hurt. I still can't sleep on the left side of my head.It is getting better, but I hope I do not become a character from John Waters movie : A Dirty Shame. See it, love it, laugh at it. But it aint for everybody, so you have been warned.
As for calling peeps late, sometimes I forget what time it is, and just call. It provides for a good story but only months later.
erik

[Too Tall]

Erik, sorry I'm so late to TWEET your Smoked Out. It's done my brother. Follow velocipedesalon on twitter.
Hey!!! Check the bottom of this thread for the IMPRESSIVE linkbacks. Check you webserver. I'm motivated.

[conorb]

Hey Erik,

I apologize for being late to the party but we originally met in San Jose a few years back during NAHBS (maybe you remember, maybe you don't). Anyway I've always appreciated your balls out style and having enough substance to back it up.

No questions really. Well, yeah, ah, maybe one...nope I got nothing right now, but I just wanted to chime in and say "howdy."

So, there ya go - Howdy.

Conor

[liberacefanboy]

@too tall :
I still don't really know about the birds and tweeting are you are referring to. Kind of kidding.
But you are right, the linkbacks are impressive. (I just learned what a linkback is ) I am very proud and honored to be part of Smoked Out!
@Conor:
heck yeah I remember you guys . You were so quiet and nice I thought that you were a murderer or sumpthin'.Thanks for the compliment, it is funny because Mr. Goodrich and I were talking about that very topic this morning. Flash is nothing with out the frame built correctly, sound and safe. But, then I will stylize the fuck out of it.Make it look like a monster Rapala lure or something.Liberace it.
And I love your name: VENDETTA .Shit is epic.
And a HOWDY back at ya!!
erik

[Darkitect]

Erik,

It was great to see you, thanks for giving me the tour. The time between our get-to-gethers is far too long and way less than romantic.

I like your bikes and I like your shop, you are a groovy little f**ker. Maybe you can say the same 'bout my shit when I ever decide to get busy.

Peace and be careful who's 'dropout' your 'polishing' unless it can REALLY benefit you....

Fish on, Dave.

[liberacefanboy]

OH MY GOSH. It has been a while.At the slight request, er flogging, I am back here to give an update.
UPDATE!!:
Things have been crazy here at the shop. We moved. And, it was a horrible , yet sometimes awesome experience.
I will sum up:
We have been needing a little more room here to grow at the Groove, and I have been looking around for a while, and not much was/ is out there that was suiting what we needed. Until a new space opened up at the Ivy Building, which we were currently in.
The other reason I wanted to move is that we had an unreasonable neighbor, whom I will refer to as Pigvomit, because that is what she makes me think of whenever I had to deal with her. Pigvomit always wanted pure silence, and would even ask me not to come in, because they ( her class ) would be lying on the floor and meditating. Yes, they were above me. I just think that is a lot to ask in a building that is zoned for industrial. So we moved.... Right around the corner. Literally.
But, the space needed work. A lot of painting, floor epoxy....scrap the ceiling.....level out areas of the floor....dust on the pipes... strange hooks in the ceiling....Silverfish the size of big dogs....well, most of that is true. Lots of work, a tremendous effort. Almost 500 man hours and over 2500 bucks in paint alone dressed up the space.When I would take people to see the space, they only saw what it looked like now. Many told me it was a waste of time. Some of the people who told me it was a waste of time, now see it, and some even ask me if they can rent a "corner".They saw what it was, but not what it could be. They lacked vision.
Now I had to get all this done, and it kept me from blogging, Saloning, Facebooking, and riding too. But- I knew that the juice would be worth the squeeze. And it has. We moved from a one door 912 square foot room to a multi door, garage door 4900 square foot facility. This is awesome, and going to get even better.Powder coating booth coming in the next 6 or so months, and a paint booth is in the long term goals.
What also happend was that in the last month, a friend of 30 years died, and this really bums me out. I was supposed to go fishing with him in the first month of October, but delays at the new shop kept me from going up north. This really made me reflect on things in my life, and things in the business . We can work to make things better I was always thinking.
My nephew also passed away a few weeks ago too, and this was very hard on the family. He was 9, and had more than a couple of health issues. But- make no doubt about it, he was loved and was a very special person.I saw my father cry that day, and I never had before in my 36 years on this Earth. All in all, it has been up and down, but things are getting back to " noramal" ... whatever that is.
So, Dave thanks for the visit and yep we are workin hard and getting caught up.So, if you guys and gals are interested, we have some pics of said shop on our blog and the facebook....take a look and have a great weekend, stay safe,
erik
The Riddle Of Steel
and Peacock Groove on the facebook.....

[edoz]

Wow, I'm envious of all you guys building these badass workspaces. I hope it serves you well.