Introductions - Stuck in State College, PA

Ladies and Gentlemen of Bikeforums,

I've lurked around on Bikeforums for a long time. Thought I'd join the family finally. ;)

I've ridden off road since I was 18 although cycling did not become my primary sport until I started working at a shop after college. Now that I'm 32, I've become more of a roadie. I probably ride about a hundred miles a week provided I don't substitute any sort of kayaking and trail running in lieu of my daily ride. I ride an antique S-Works off-road (I still love this bike and refuse to upgrade it) and I just ordered an '06 Buenos Aires to replace my Cannondale which recently cracked. :mad:

Oh, when I'm not riding I pretend to be a philosophy graduate student. Don't ask me how that's going. :(

Cheers! :beer:

I just noticed that I am a "senior member" even though I just introduced myself. Hilarious.

Welcome to the Forums! I am a Penn State grad, and former member of their cycling team. I'm envious of the great road riding that you have in Happy Valley! I usually try to make it back there at least once a year to do a century. If you hang out in the Road Cycling forum, say hi to Grasschopper, and ask him about being from "central PA". But once again, welcome!

Welcome to the Forums! I am a Penn State grad, and former member of their cycling team. I'm envious of the great road riding that you have in Happy Valley! I usually try to make it back there at least once a year to do a century. If you hang out in the Road Cycling forum, say hi to Grasschopper, and ask him about being from "central PA". But once again, welcome!

Seems like there are more than a few nittany lions posting on the road forums!!

Seems like there are more than a few nittany lions posting on the road forums!!

We're everywhere!!! <insert evil laugh here>

A former Blair county, now Bucks county resident checking in and saying hi, :)

welcome!

i could think of some not-so-fun places to be stuck besides Happy Valley! i was there a looooooonnnnng time ago...

(hint: when i was there, tickets to games at Beaver Stadium were $2)

:-)

p.s. i'm an Ohio State University fan now... it's time for Joe Paterno to go!

Hey, don't be dissin' Pappa Joe like that! :mad:

Hi Stacey, Linux Author!

I agree that it's time for joe to step down. The only reason we did well last year was because joe relinquished control of the offense.

Go ahead and ban him, Stacey! :fight: You know you want to!!!

(Just kidding, of course...)

Welcome to the forum. I am new myself as well. I live in New Hudson Michigan.

By the way.... So far the Wolverines are handing it to the Nittany Lions. 10 - 3 with 10 to go in the third quarter. Heh..Heh...Heh...

I'm surprised we hung in there as long as we did. Michigan's defensive line is pretty impressive.

What's your basketball team going to look like this year? I think I'm going to pick up season tickets. After about six years, we finally have a few players worth watching.

You wouldn't know the Sagan's, would you? I bought my BMW from them, they were nice people, but sold me a junk car and told me it was perfectly fine. Partly my fault, I know, but still, I was 15.

I really couldn't tell you. I am not a basketball fan at all. I know we have been pretty bad for a decade or so. Football and Hockey are my big sports. I do know that U of M season tickets for anything are priced SKY HIGH! I believe they want over $500 from me for alumni season football tickets. (6 home games - $80+ per game) Back when I started there in 1985 student season tickets were $50. That's why I watch so many games from home now.


Our basketball season tickets are only $50 for students. Basketball was my sport growing up so I prefer to see it live if possible. It's fun to watch all the big10 teams roll through even if your own team is mediocre.

Hockey's a great sport. I originally grew up in Fargo, ND so I'm a UND fighitng Sioux fan.

You wouldn't know the Sagan's, would you? I bought my BMW from them, they were nice people, but sold me a junk car and told me it was perfectly fine. Partly my fault, I know, but still, I was 15.

Sagan's? Nope. I'll run away from them if they try to sell me an motorized thingamabobs though!

You you work at wheelworks huh?

What is the deal with this BS between you guys and The Bicycle Shop?

And why are you "stuck" here? I love riding both MTB and Roadie around these parts. Tons of good rides on or off road.

You you work at wheelworks huh?

What is the deal with this BS between you guys and The Bicycle Shop?

And why are you "stuck" here? I love riding both MTB and Roadie around these parts. Tons of good rides on or off road.

I don't work at wheelworks. When I graduated from college 10 yrs ago I was a manager at a shop in Minneapolis for a few years before I came back to graduate school. I didn't know there was a beef between MNWW and the Bicycle Shop.

I like riding around here too, and I just got into whitewater kayaking which is a fun scene in PA. The main reason I say "stuck" is that my department has completely melted down due to petty politics within the university. My Ph.D. committee is now spread across 4 different states which means I am advising myself on my dissertation. The other reason I say "stuck" is that the snowboarding here really sucks beyond all belief. I want to get my degree and move back to the rocky mountains before I miss any more good riding years.

Oh ok I got it. I thought you were saying you worked at a shop now...my bad.

The snowboarding sucks here? You don't like our vertical sheet of ice? LOL I grew up here and learned to snowboard on that POS...the good news is if you can ride at Tussy you can ride about any place. :D

Yea there is some turf war or something going on between MNWW (together with Freeze Thaw) and The Bicycle Shop. It really started when the MNWW guys left TBS and were bad mouthing them but I think it has escalated in the last couple of weeks or something...I have heard rumblings.

Oh ok I got it. I thought you were saying you worked at a shop now...my bad.

The snowboarding sucks here? You don't like our vertical sheet of ice? LOL I grew up here and learned to snowboard on that POS...the good news is if you can ride at Tussy you can ride about any place. :D

Yea there is some turf war or something going on between MNWW (together with Freeze Thaw) and The Bicycle Shop. It really started when the MNWW guys left TBS and were bad mouthing them but I think it has escalated in the last couple of weeks or something...I have heard rumblings.
Do you ride with anyone around here? I've never ridden on any of the bike shop rides but I have thought about i

There are people I like at both MNWW and TBS. There are also those I don't like and won't work with. I think that MNWW likes to assume the posture of the high-end shop which is run by serious cyclists for serious cyclists which is a little annoying. Sounds like a petty small town thing. I like to stop in and talk to Eddie every once in a while. I wish he had a larger store.

PS my lemond is going to be ready next week sometime

I ride the Sunday AM ride with the TBS from time to time and I have done the monday CPR ride which is Eric's (the new owner of TBS) racing team from B&E. I was doing the Tuesday MTB ride TBS does as well. I am good friends with Grant at TBS and friends with Jerry and pretty much wont deal with anyone else. I wont even go into MNWW anymore...they put on a stuck up routine when I tried to order something from them...they wanted full retail and weren't moving on the price...so I got it elseware and haven't gone back.

I generally ride solo as my schedule is so wacked out (full time job plus wife and kid) plus being a very avid clydesdale I find it hard to fine someone of my riding ability. Everyone that rides as much as me drops me like a rock as they are all 40 lbs lighter and fast and people of my....stature just aren't in good shape...I swear I am the only serious fat guy cyclist in State College (man I want to loose 40 lbs...you would think 3k+ per year would do something).

If you want to hook up some time just drop me a line.

Welcome to the forum. I am new myself as well. I live in New Hudson Michigan.

By the way.... So far the Wolverines are handing it to the Nittany Lions. 10 - 3 with 10 to go in the third quarter. Heh..Heh...Heh...

I do have to say you have an impressive stadium there in Michigan. I visited an acquaintence of mine in Ann Arbor about a year ago, and I was able to visit the scene of the crime. :p :D

...and I was able to visit the scene of the crime. :p :D
Man is that an understatement. We got FOOOOKED. :D

I ride the Sunday AM ride with the TBS from time to time and I have done the monday CPR ride which is Eric's (the new owner of TBS) racing team from B&E. I was doing the Tuesday MTB ride TBS does as well. I am good friends with Grant at TBS and friends with Jerry and pretty much wont deal with anyone else. I wont even go into MNWW anymore...they put on a stuck up routine when I tried to order something from them...they wanted full retail and weren't moving on the price...so I got it elseware and haven't gone back.

I generally ride solo as my schedule is so wacked out (full time job plus wife and kid) plus being a very avid clydesdale I find it hard to fine someone of my riding ability. Everyone that rides as much as me drops me like a rock as they are all 40 lbs lighter and fast and people of my....stature just aren't in good shape...I swear I am the only serious fat guy cyclist in State College (man I want to loose 40 lbs...you would think 3k+ per year would do something).

If you want to hook up some time just drop me a line.

I'm 225 lbs. myself. Not exactly as trim and in shape as I was in my 20s. I'll ride whatever, I just won't ride it very quickly. On top of that I haven't been on a road bike since early july, just some short rides on my mtb. Anyway, my new bike is finally coming in sometime next week. If everything checks out I'll PM you. I need to try to get a few rides in before the snow starts to fly.

I really like Jerry and Grant. They are excellent at what they do. Eric strikes me as a business man, which is exactly what you have to be as owner of a specialty retail store.

In end I didn't like any of the specialized road bikes at my price point and I couldn't bring myself to buy another Cannondale after they refused to warranty my last frame. I ended up buying a Lemond on closeout, but not from MNWW because, as you pointed out, their prices are way, way too high. Keeping everything at or near retail is part of creating that high-end, snobby aura I guess. From a business standpoint that is really going to hurt them over time because a smart shop knows that your bread and butter comes from providing service and products to the customers that are riding/buying under $700 bikes. You need to have a store and staff that everyone can relate to.

Hey there...

My wife grew up in State College... went to Penn State, graduated in '96, and promptly got the heck out! I think she knows who Grasschopper is... or at least recognized him from a yearbook pic...

jeff

I'm 225 lbs. myself. Not exactly as trim and in shape as I was in my 20s. I'll ride whatever, I just won't ride it very quickly. On top of that I haven't been on a road bike since early july, just some short rides on my mtb. Anyway, my new bike is finally coming in sometime next week. If everything checks out I'll PM you. I need to try to get a few rides in before the snow starts to fly.

I really like Jerry and Grant. They are excellent at what they do. Eric strikes me as a business man, which is exactly what you have to be as owner of a specialty retail store.

In end I didn't like any of the specialized road bikes at my price point and I couldn't bring myself to buy another Cannondale after they refused to warranty my last frame. I ended up buying a Lemond on closeout, but not from MNWW because, as you pointed out, their prices are way, way too high. Keeping everything at or near retail is part of creating that high-end, snobby aura I guess. From a business standpoint that is really going to hurt them over time because a smart shop knows that your bread and butter comes from providing service and products to the customers that are riding/buying under $700 bikes. You need to have a store and staff that everyone can relate to.
Hmm sounds like you and I may be two peas in a cycling pod, lets get together for a ride for sure. I am tiping the scales right around 220 myself...I love to climb but due to weight I am not all the fast at it because of the extra weight.

Let me know.