Good grief, we're so close to opening customers are already trying to get around the construction fence out front! I'd like to thank all of our wonderful Seattle customers for waiting so patiently while we've been putting this beautiful new space together. While you might miss the “underground” ambiance of the old warehouse space, or the hilarious – if sometimes disturbing – antics of the regulars down at the boat launch, you'll have a wonderful time in the new shop. With a near-perfect double short americano in hand, I've already had some wonderfully relaxing mornings watching the increasingly large volume of bicycle traffic up and down Ballard Avenue in front of our gigantic glass front. In a few days, you'll be able to check out the new models from Linus or Civia – and of course Workcycles – out front, or take your coffee and wander towards the other end of the shop to take a look at some of the cool new parts and accessories populating all this new wall space.

So thanks again for waiting for us, Seattle, and in just a few days we'll be back in action; ready to tune your bikes, satisfy your practical bike cravings, and get you all wired on some great coffee.

If you've talked with any of us here at Dutch Bike in the past year, you've probably heard us talk about “the move.” While we're staying in the same area, we're moving the Seattle shop onto historic Ballard Avenue: the main street of one of Seattle's most interesting and vibrant neighborhoods. Ballard Ave perfectly balances the nightlife, boutiques, and restaurants we enjoy with the hardware, sheet metal, machining, and other light industrial businesses that keeps the neighborhood lively and living. Of course, because we could never forget our roots down by the boat launch in “scenic industrial Ballard,” we feel right at home in a building between a machine shop and 58 year old Ballard Hardware and Supply.

The building into which we're moving was for the first part of the century home to Kolstrand Manufacturing Co., a famous name in the Northwest marine industry. The Graham-Baba designed rebuild has maintained the old brick shell with even the remnants of the original “Kolstrand Mfg. Co.” paint intact while creating a polished and eminently usable retail and restaurant space inside.

Our designer and builder – David Lipe of 16D – has similarly reused much of the original wood and materials in the interior construction, including some beautiful and humorous touches that you'll just have to drop by to experience. Inside the shop we've also commissioned a mural by Ed Fotheringham, our friend responsible for our “flower girl” and “keg mover” posters.

In addition to Alex – the newest addition to the bike shop – we've got several great baristas (baristi for the language purists) warming up for the cafe component of the new shop. Your eyes do not deceive: the new Dutch Bike Seattle shop will be Seattle's first fully implemented bicycle cafe! We'll be brewing excellent and powerful coffee from local roaster Lighthouse, starting at six AM so you can start even your earliest morning rides with a bang. David has been updating the Flickr stream with the array of delicious snacks Julie has been designing for the shop, and the pictures will make you hungrier than anything I could write here. You'll also find made-to-order sandwiches, pastries from lauded local bakery Macrina, and some tasty – and surprisingly filling – cookies.

The finishing touches are going on the construction as I write this, and our grand opening is still on schedule for July 24^th. We'll be fully operational- tuning, repairing, upgrading, renting, and of course selling bicycles, and rolling out an expanded array of interesting accessories. With two expert mechanics our turnaround time for tune-ups and other in-depth maintenance will be close to the same you'd expect from your coffee orders. In fact, if you're ordering anything more complicated than an americano while you get your flat fixed, maybe we'll race you!

...So once again we spring-less Chicagoans have skipped right through from winter into summer, and as the temperatures jump from frigid to boiling, we find ourselves in season for beautiful weekends and wonderful bike rides.  As Memorial Day draws near, I look forward not only to channeling my inner Dade County fashion sense and releasing my vast assortment of white linen clothing onto the bike lanes and pathways of Chicago (not really), but also to the amazing event that is Bike the Drive.  

We want to see every Chicagoland Dutch Bike riding down Lake Shore Drive this Sunday.  It doesn’t matter if you’ve got an heirloom omafiets or a brand new Workcycles Transport.  If you ride like the Dutch, you should ride with us.  Is your bike less “Holland” and more “anywhere else?”  Don’t worry, we won’t discriminate.  Come ride with us too.  It’ll be fun.   If you are coming down from the North Side, up from the South Side, or in from the West Side, feel free to meet up at Dutch Bike Co. for some coffee and morning sundries.  I’ll be in the shop around 5:00am listening to some James Brown and getting properly caffeinated.  We’ll head out for the ride at 6:00am. We’ll cruise down to the ride start in Classic Dutch Style with a Bakfiets full of supplies.  So please join Will, the Brehmen brothers and myself for a great ride.  Just go to www.bikethedrive.org for all the information and registration.  Or come by the shop and pick up a coupon for discounted registration.

Need to rent a bike for Bike The Drive?  Give us a call at 312-265-0175 and we’ll set you up with special pricing for the big ride on Sunday.  Pick it up on Saturday night before we close up or come by on Sunday morning.  So let me know if you need a bike.  And call me if you want some more info on where to meet. 

Hope to see you there,

Vince

Dutch Bike Co.
651 W Armitage Ave
Chicago IL 60614

Chicago 1 Year Anniversary Celebration — Tonight

Join us at our Chicago shop for a Belgian beer tasting tonight, Saturday evening, 6-9 PM, with Don Feinberg and Wendy Littlefield of Vanberg & Dewulf, the Belgian beer experts and founders of Brewery Ommegang, the first Belgian style brewery in the USA. Also, join us during regular hours in the shop,  for a weekend of sales specials on bikes and accessories.

line ¹ |līn|

We are pleased to exhibit the artworks of Tully Satre ("say-ter") this month, through January 30th, 2009.  Mr. Satre is a student at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. Are these post-modern tapestry designs, tartans, a painterly algebraic expression or obsession? You decide. The meticulous attention to line will surely tickle you. Show hours are TU - SA, 11 AM - 6 PM and SU, noon - 5 PM (closed Mondays)

Ah, what a super opening party. We're still buzzing, and not just because there's some beer left in the keg. Thanks to the 100 or so who came out to celebrate throughout the course of a very long evening. Also, thanks to those of you who brought their kids along for the ride — literally. I enjoyed their zeal for two-wheeled transport. Tim and Anne from Carfreedays have already posted some superb reportage and fine pic's. Nice job with the rear curtain sync Tim. I've managed to post a few pic's I had a chance to snap, while I wasn't running around blabbing, adjusting seat posts, perfecting my Birdy trade show folding demo or stuffing brats and chips into my mouth. I have no better way of describing the joy that people generated through the multiple Conference Bike expeditions to Ballard Avenue than to point you at the image of a laughing Val piloting one of the two notorious CoBi's. Thanks Val, you are a the Admiral of the Fleet. We are already looking forward to our next event this spring.

Some of you may have been wondering when it was finally going to happen, when we officially open the doors of our retail space. Well, tonight is the night we celebrate that great moment. Of course we'll be at the Seattle Bike Expo this morning and a bit into the afternoon, but this evening after the show, we'll be throwing down some BBQ, hoisting some beers and toasting our staff, friends and family who helped us get this far. It also happens to be founder David Schmidt's birthday as well as longtime friend Gaylene Meyer's birthday, so a cheers to them, or two, or more, will be in order. I've got a bottle of champagne for that. For all of you lucky enough to be reading this blog post this morning or afternoon, well, you're invited too. So come on down to our shop this evening at 6PM and join us.