The commute from home to my day job is about 8-1/2 miles. It is filled with a few perilous moments, many of these are sort of predictable, like when you know some tricky turns are coming up on a bobsled course. You just prepare as best as you can. It's the unscripted events that can throw you, literally.

I gauge how dangerous my trip is by how many times I have to raise my voice to avoid being sideswiped, hit or otherwise killed. Generally, its 2 per trip.

One of the most dangerous parts of my return trip is what I like to call "The 2nd Avenue Chute". It's a bit of a white knuckle approach, similar to what pilots must experience when landing at a tough runway (except I don't have 180 people on board). The thing is, I know its coming, and I know the 2 ways it can play out. Even now, 6 hours or so away from my evening commute, I am visualizing it.

It starts out good enough...a great run in a bike lane down 2nd Ave. Many people use this bike lane to check their i-phones and make truck deliveries, but this is to be expected and is no better/worse than the rest of the bike lanes in Manhattan.

Essentially, 2nd Ave forks at Houston street, and if you want to take the left fork and continue south on Chrystie Street, you have to edge you way into traffic to get lined up in the bike lane that is in the middle of the street. The pictures below don't do it justice, as its usually choked with cars, trucks and busses.

How it can play out is this:

1. If I hit a red light 3-4 blocks north of the fork, I can then move in front of the stopped traffic and position myself for a 2 block mad sprint to the finish line. 
2.  If I am "lucky", and don't hit any red lights, I am forced to merge live across 3 lanes of angry traffic.

Complicating matters is that vehicles approaching this fork are generally beginning to realize that they need to get to the other fork than the one that they're in, causing lots of unannounced and skittish lane changes.  

"Wow, you can sit at home and trash a business anonymously in your artisan pajamas, destroy what someone has worked so hard for. A passion your bitter life will never know...are you living a 5-star life, my friend? Can I follow you around and review you?"

We have had great reviews over the years, but this culture of one-way reviewing bugs the hell out of me. Site like Yelp, that give all of the control to the snarky user and no protection for the small business owner...its no wonder that no one wants to advertise with them and they are sinking like a rock. As a small business owner, why would I want to fund a company that doesnt have my best interests and protection at heart? (and that's exactly what I tell them when they call to peddle their wares).

Dd you get that one..."peddle/pedal". That's free.

As of this writing, we have 80 5-star reviews, of which Yelp has decided to hide 68 and show 12. No other business that I have come across has such a similar black-out ratio.

It all started a few years ago, right when I started. I actually choose to advertise on Yelp for an intro 3 month period because I didn't know any better. When the 3 month period ended, I didn't continue and was met by some hard-sell tactics from my account rep. The day I finally refused, my reviews went from 18 5-star reviews down to 2, and we've been blacklisted ever since.

Yelp claims their filtering algorithm is purely automated, out of human influence, and looks for suspicious reviews. Yeah, I hired 68 people to write my reviews. I have been able to copy them all to my website, however. See them ALL here.

I have heard of lawsuits where Yelp has approached businesses to advertise and make good reviews show up, and bad ones go away. It's a digital shakedown, and they have tried that crap with me a number of times. You can guess my response.

Here's the rub...many people (although fewer every week) take Yelp very seriously and use it to make shopping /eating decisions. I am thusly forced to keep my hat in the ring and include a like to our Yelp site on my website. I would recommend Google Places, as that site takes reviews from a number of feeds and paints a more honest picture.

Rant:Over (return)

The following is a email/letter I wrote to the editor's of Bicycling Magazine, after they used the term "ghetto" in one of their pieces:

To Whom it May Concern,

The use of the term "ghetto" in you Wrenching Resolutions (Jan/Feb 2012) is insensitive at best.  The term has many racial overtones that people (like me) find offensive.  I find it is generally a term used by folks detached from any kind of urban reality.

So, a bike looks "ghetto"....what is that really implying? What does a "ghetto" bike look like in the first place, and who rides a "ghetto" bike? Do you guys review "ghetto"  bikes or aim advertising at "ghetto" readers?

Please consider the implications of this term in the future.

Not to long ago, I had the unfortunate mishap of hitting a woman in a wheelchair. Before you berate me, hear me out.

(I've had a few people suggest I remove this post.  Not sure why. Its an actual depuiction of an event.  It's not condescending, rude, racist, sexist or otherwise offensive.  All people make poor decisions, even people in wheelchairs)

I was minding my own business (the best stories start that way), riding to my shop  in the late afternoon. I had just turned onto Hoyt Street, which is the final approach to my destination. I was naturally observing all applicable traffic laws, and was probably traveling between 12-15 mph.

Always observant, I noticed some low lying movement between to parked cars up ahead and on my left.  Instinctively, I started feathering my brakes like a duelist with an itchy trigger finger.

Part of me couldn't quite believe she was about to do what I think she is.  As a commuter and former messenger, we are trained to expect the stupidest from cars/people.  What made it more bizarre is that there was a perfectly nice crosswalk about 40 feet upstream.

She was looking straight across the street and seemed intent on crossing the street illegally,  I went into evasive action mode.  I couldnt go around her as I knew there were cars bearing down on my right.  I jammed my brakes evenly, making sure I didnt flip over the bars.  I got my feet out of my clipless pedals anticipating having to exit the bike. I laid down a skid that any hipster would be proud of, bleeding off enough speed to hit het at only 5mph or so,

Even at that speed, the impact wasnt insignificant.  i basically broad-sided her with enough impact for me to expect that I bent my front rim.  The piece of equipment she was using was substantial and motorized, and  I literally bounced off of her into traffic.

She stayed upright, as did I.  I immediately laid down my bike and ran up to her to see if she was OK..She met me with a fusilade of curses, telling me I had no right being in the street.  I pointed out that I was traveling with traffic, under the speed limit, in the bike lane. She said she always crossed there, and cars always stopped for her.

I told her she was lucky I WASNT a car, and that she really should be crosing at the crosswalk a few yards up-river.  This logic didnt seem to effect her...and now a crowd was gathering.  People started screaming at me, calling me reckless.  I sought out the most logical-looking person and tried to plead my case about how she shouldnt have been crossing here, and how she is lucky she was just hit by a bike and not a delivery truck..  The crowd seemed to think that since she always crossed there, it was her right  to continue to do so.

At this point I sensed an escalation in the tension in the air...I once more asked the woman if she was OK....she cursed me up and down, which I took as a yes.  I got on my bike, and continued on my way.

Left to their own devices, 718 Cyclery employees Alfred and Ben devise a way to grind coffee beans with the tools at hand

I built up some new wheels this weekend for my commuter bike.  I used Phil Wood hubs, DT Swiss KT 540 Rims (recommended by "Angerhan") and DT Swiss Champion spokes.  I went with a 36-hole count front and rear, and used straight gauge spokes for the rougher conditions we experience here in NYC.

I've got to say that I feel spoiled spoiled as a commuter in our city.  Sure, the relationship with motorists, pedestriana and teh police is uneasy, but as that all peels away, you are left with views like these.

Hard to describe these last 2 weeks...words that come to mind are "whirlwind" and "exhaustion". October was supposed to have us working in the old shop while I built out the new place. The switchover was supposed to happen the weekend of the 29th.

After paying my last month's rent on Oct 1, our situation in our old shop became "unworkable" (putting it nicely), and we decided to rip the band-aid off and make the leap to the new space.

New Space Build-out Gallery

There were many apparent disadvantages to such an abrupt move (including but not limited to insurance, utilities, customers bikes, inventory, credit card machine, internet...). There were 2 advantages, which outweighed all of the negative. The first is that we actually had a place to go, as I took delivery of the new shop October 1st. the second is that the crew and I were able to rally around and build up our new situation, as opposed to being scattered for a month.

Anyway, we seem to have landed on our feet and have built out the space that I had imagined. We currently have a full slate of repairs and collaborative builds, and have held 2 classes so far. To say that we are embracing our new neighborhood is an understatement. Gowanus is such a vibrant place, filled with businesses and individuals who share our ideas about working with one's hands and craftsmanship.

Come on by to visit anytime, and be sure to come by November 5th from 7pm on for our launch Party.

In between my son's football game and 2 collaborative builds, I managed to get into the new shop space.  I most brought materials and equipment over to stage for an all out blitz on Monday

Taking possession of the new space today for a month of build-out. here are some early sketches

There are a few squirrelly ways to determine rim ERD (Effective rim diameter)..here is one I stumbled across.

Step 1: Determine the length from the base of the screw slop of a nipple to the top of the rim. That may be a slightly tough measurement to get, but you can certainly fashion a tool.  I like this method as it measures from a seated nipple, as opposed to other ERD methods that rely of measuring spokes as they come together at an imaginary center of the wheel. Those methods have variables in how much the nipple is threaded on the spoke to start.

Step 2: Get a cloth or other flexible tape and measure around the outside of the rim edge.

Step 3: Subtract twice the measurement from Step 1...that will give you the rim's ERD

Went by the new shop to take some measurements of our potential signage.  Probably going with a flat sign and one that hangs out "old timey-like", as opposed to the awning I had at shop location #1

(can you tell I'm an architect?)

This is Part 2 of my series of how not to get digitally screwed as a small business. See Part 1 here.

Disclaimer: Many people take yelp very seriously in terms of recommending business, so I am forced to play the game. The game being I have a yelp badge on my site telling people about our reviews, but inadvertently giving yelp free advertising.

I have a tough time with Yelp! (referred in my post as "yelp"..i will not attach an exclamation point after each use of the word), I wont deny it. We have (as of this writing) over 70 Five-Star reviews, yet yelp filters these all out and only shows 7. Repeated calls and forum posts always lead to a singular answer...."The algorythm".

Yelp employs an algorithm to try and discover and weed out what it considers fraudulent reviews. This is a noble cause, but many (many) business like myself get caught up in the mess.

Yelp Reviews

Actual Filtered Yelp Reviews

Yelp views first time posters with great suspicion...how come only one post? They were probably hired by the business to plant a review, or maybe they're his brother-in-law, the algorithm thinks.

As of this writing, we have 64 "filtered" reviews. Does yelp really think those 64 reviews are all shills, or that I have that many brother-in laws? (Full disclosure, I have 1 brother-in-law who is an office in the navy). No other shop, or any business for that matter, has such a "filtered" percentage (9% shown) that I have found. Am i being singled out for yapping about my frustrations with yelp...do they think my reviews are too good to be actually true? I am not a conspiracy guy, i just get pissed when things aren't fair. These reviews actually allow me to compete with bigger shops, but when they are hidden away they do me no good.

Also, the message it sends yelpers is that, "sure, review something.....maybe we'll even allow it to be seen and used".

I have read about a few lawsuits where yelp will swoop in with an offer to advertise, offering to "make things better" in terms of negative reviews disappearing and unfiltered reviews magically reappearing...the great digital shakedown.

I would have been more skeptical, but I witnessed yelp's wrath firsthand a few years ago. Right when I opened my business 2008/9, yelp had approached me to advertise. I went along, paid for 6 months, and then decided that it wasnt really worth it. My sales rep was upset, and tried some hard sell tactics to keep me on board. I didn't relent, and terminated my agreement. That day, I went from 18 Five-Star reviews down to Two.

Fast forward 3 years....we have over 70 Five-Star reviews, but only 7 show up. Sure enough, as it like clockwork, I get a call from a yelp sales rep, offering me a "sweet" deal if i advertise. She didn't explicitly say that things would get better if I signed on, but from all that I have read I assumed that's what she was promising between the lines.

I am so frustrated with yelp, that I told her I would not advertise. I just couldn't consciously advertise (pay) with a company who I have such a disagreement with.

In the end, I know that the reviews are (probably) yelp's property. I feel like they're mine, that I've earned them, but that argument falls on deaf ears at yelp's HQ. I do copy/paste all of them for my website and my records. You can view them here

Running a small business, successful or not, seems to attract the attention of Groupon and its clones (Living Social, etc).  At first I listened to their pitches (slightly flattered), and ran some numbers on my own.  The results were so distressing that I walked away within a few minutes.  The diagram above shown is the typical "deal" that comes my way. The above deal would lose me $13 on every tranaction.  I'm no Warren Buffet, but that just doesnt add up.

I work way to hard, and have asked way too much of my family, to sign up for a deal that LOSES me money every time someone uses one of these coupons.

Read aboput a Portland cafe owner who lost $10,000 on a Groupon Deal

Above, here is a similar "deal" offer from yelp.com. Again, here's how it works. Someone pays $10, and can march into my store and buy $20 worth of stuff. Of that $10 that the person paid Yelp, Yelp gets $5 and I get $5, if I'm lucky. So, I've got $5 in my pocket, and someone walks in and buys $20 worth of stuff. That stuff cost me roughly $10 wholesale, so I LOSE $5 ON EACH TRANSACTION!

Andrew of NYC Velo wrote a great letter to an industry magazine afew mionths back, explaining how sites like Groupon devalue what we do as brick-and-mortar shops. He says that these deals make shops look desperate; that they need to resort to cute deals to lure people into the shop.

Couldnt agree more...excellent, honest work "lures" people in, and keeps them coming back. That's the secret. You get that by bringing on the best staff you can find, and by caring way too much about each customer.

The sales reps from these sites often ask me to devalue/reduce my labor charges. Absolutely not; that's the reason we're here and that's what separates us from the mega-online warehouses. Our rates are honest and fair. Sure, you could reduce the price on this piece of merchandise or that, but our labor ability and skill is what separates us from the masses (of online stores).

When I get calls from these reps these days, I do the calculations (shown above) for them. I then ask, "unless you are providing something different, I have to say no"

It saves everyone alot of time. They always counter that:

1. It brings in new customers
2. People spend more that the coupon in the store
3. People sometimes forget to redeem the coupons in the first place

This all seems like a fool's gold/shortcut to doing things the right way.

There are quite a few articles out there about Groupon/etc destroying businesses (alot of these articles are based on Portland businesses)...it only took me 5 minutes to draw the sketch above to realize I would get screwed. I think the allure of future earning cloud he judgements of operating costs today, this week and this month. Also, a coupon printed on a crappy printer wont get you customers, hard work will.

There are many "Groupon Horror" articles out there...here's the most succient one I've found

Well, the architect that's still in me couldn't resist...here's a 3D sketch, comparing our new space to our existing one. Our current digs are shown in green, while our new place, including basement, is in blue (it's over 5x the space!)

Our move was really based on 2 things. First, our current space has been inadequate since about March. Secondly, our landlord probably wasnt going to renew our lease. In hindsight, I kind of forced us into this space without any real understanding of storage space or the volume of work we'd attract. If my guys hear me say "its a good problem to have" one more time they'll run me out of town.