Swift Industries from Seattle

Swift Industries is a two person project from Seattle. They produce panniers, hip pouches, and various soft goods for bicyclists. They hand stitch each one, one at a time, and sell them through their website. Each bag is fully customizable, extremely rugged, and thoughtfully designed.

 

 
I recently obtained a set of Swift Industries famous Roll Top panniers, and have been vigorously testing them. Swift Industries are producing the upcoming CETMA cargo box-bag, so a quality-check is in order. 

I leave them outside when it rains, and cram them full to stress the stitching. I yank the zipper hard every time I open and close the pocket.  So far, they show NO sign of wear. They're perfect.  

 

These panniers are incredible. For anyone considering a bike bag purchase, I fully recommend Swift Industries. 

I ran out of space again. So I'm moving. Again.

This weekend I will move into a brick warehouse which sits on the border of an industrial area in Eugene, near tire warehouses and storage facilities. There are various manufacturing and other "industrial" shops nearby, and the train tracks are close.  This doesn't really mean anything, but I like the sound of trains, so that'll be cool. 

The building used to house a mining equipment manufacturer. There are TWO operating ten-ton cranes which run on tracks on the ceiling. Everything inside and out looks very old and something from a movie set.  And it's HUGE.

The structure is large enough to play tennis in, if you wanted to do that. If you needed a place to park a half-dozen RVs, you could do that here. If it were breezy, you could fly a kite inside. It's big. I share the building with a frame builder and bike painter. 

On Friday, Feb 13th, we had an open house.

EVERYONE showed up.  Food was barbequed, a keg of local beer quickly emptied, music blasted, and video projected. Dogs ran around and mini-bikes were raced in circles.

 

 

I found an enormous tree stump down the road and hauled it back for a game of "stump". 

The party went full-speed all night. A fine open-house, indeed.
Thank you to everyone in the Eugene area that showed up to
make the move warm and official. 

More big news coming very soon. 

Been a While

It's 11:00 pm.  I am about to do something absolutely insane. For the next one half hour, I will attempt to NOT think or write about racks or cargo bikes.  

From now until 11:30pm I will instead share three morsels of extremely personal information with you. These three sweet bits of information have never been disclosed to my website audience before. Many of my closest friends don't even know this stuff. If you're reading this, consider yourself privileged.  

And by all means, don't tell ANYone!





#1. I wear bowling shoes.





Bowling shoes are good for cycling. Their stiff soles, light weight, and fashion-backward style have had me hooked for a long time. A couple weeks ago I bought the pair of Brunswicks pictured above. The other night as I was leaving the shop, I turned off the lights, looked down, and discovered to my delight that the shoes I'd purchased were "Cosmic Bowling" shoes, and glowed a blue-green color in the dark! Nobody knows this except my wife and two other people and you.


#2. I used to be on TV a lot.





For a brief period in 2002, I worked part-time as a background extra in various television and motion picture productions. I had a dumb haircut and this was apparently useful to casting agents who sought a dorky "wild card" for parts. It occasionally paid well. Messenger work is better.  

The game show pictured above WAS called Russian Roulette. It's no longer on the air (really!). Contestants stood on a round stage and answered bullshit trivia questions until someone got an answer wrong. When that happened, they pulled a lever and one trap door opened under a contestant's feet, sending them through the floor to be promptly escorted off the property by security guards. Every time someone was eliminated, I couldn't help to laugh. It was pretty awesome.

Also:  I have a difficult time paying attention to things.  The camera kept catching me staring off into space.  This game show could have been called Guess Which Contestant Has ADD.

  

This shot is from a sitcom called Just Shoot Me. I stood in the background and pretended to talk.  

This is from The People's Book of World Records. I'll let the picture speak for itself.  





#3. I host a radio show with my wife.





Every Friday morning from 11-noon, my wife and I host our own radio show here in Eugene, Oregon. It's on KWVA FM. We play themed shows featuring strange/bizarre/novelty/bubblegum schmaltz, often from 1960's era France or America. Our show is called The Lane and Cara Variety Hour. You can hear it online if you wish. Go to kwvaradio.org and click the "Listen Now" thing at the top of the screen. Every Friday from 11-noon PST.

So there it is. Three secrets in thirty minutes. Now back to thinking about racks and cargo bikes.

So long, old friend.

Yeah, believe it. It's my wallet.



Well, it was.

As part of my "purging/focusing" resolution of 2008, the beauty above has been given the boot. Years of accumulated flotsom had me feeling weighted down and stressed. I know this information doesn't mean anything to you, but perhaps you like the picture.

Two cool facts:

1. On several occasions this wallet became so completely lodged in my rear pocket that the extraction of it required the aid of pliers. I know this sounds like an exaggeration but it's not.

2. I made this wallet many years ago from the durable material of an old lawn chair.

"You look tired."

I heard this a lot in 2007. A LOT. It came from co-workers, close friends, and complete strangers. On a near-daily basis, my wife pleaded with me to get more sleep and take it easy, but '07 never seemed to grant me that luxury.

I'm a night-owl AND early-bird, constantly caffeinated and in high-gear. Always late and frequently without time to eat--or crap. Perpetually preoccupied and distracted and absorbed, simultaneously. Three jobs, an overloaded personal life, and a BILLION new beckoning distractions on the horizon. I aim to change all that this year.

In 2008, I'm catching my breath to focus. I'm zeroing in, organizing, and discarding the deadwood. Late last December, I quit my job as bike-messenger/office guy at CAT, and can now proudly say I make CETMAracks full-time. One Less Care.

Look for frequent changes around here. There are price changes happening near March, and a shift to get CETMAracks into more bike shops near you. As always, contact me if you want CETMAracks at your favorite shop.


And may you truly have a relaxing and focused 2008.

I'll keep this short as it's 2:15 in the morning and I've got work to do tomorrow.

1. I recently quit my job to pursue other things. Namely, expanding CETMAracks, ramping up, shifting gears, moving on...

2. Big CETMAracks buzz lately! I'm constantly amazed that these racks have gained such popularity with almost zero advertising from my end. Sincere thanks to everyone out there spreading the word on blogs, forums, etc... I'm truly grateful.

3. Lean Manufacturing. I'm doing things that way. Look it up.

Who did it?

Who did it? Who added this site to StumbleUpon?

Contact me, prove it, and I'll send you a rack on the house. I owe you one.

Know what this is?

If you've ever been a messenger in SF you should recognize the rare gem pictured below. It's up for grabs.

While practically a collector's item at this point, I really have no use for it. It's a little beat up but still in good shape. All pages are intact. It's nearly three years old.

Just tell me exactly what makes this little yellow book significant to SF mess history, and I'll send it to you. Don't forget to give me your address...



...or call me on the phone, dude!

You could carry a PIZZA on that!!

There's a new pizza place in Seattle that uses CETMAracks to deliver their pizzas.



They're called Snoose Junction Pizzaria. Here is their phone number so you can have them deliver a pizza to you. When your pizza shows up, point to the delivery person's bike and say, HEY! A CETMARACK!!:

(206)-789-2305

The next time your belly's grumblin' for pizza, call Snoose.




Also, their logo looks like the Freight Baggage logo.

Le Tour de Simpson

A sneek-peek of this year's Tour de Simpson trophy.

Good-bye...

Hello, friend. Hey, come over here. No, closer. Here, sit down...comfy? How's it going, buddy? That's good. Hey, I need to tell you something.

I'm afraid I have some news that may upset you. What I'm about to tell you might come as a shock, but trust me, it's nothing you can't handle. You and I are a team, and together we'll work through this. It's probably best that you're sitting....

Ready?...uh...welp...how should I say this...


...The 6-rail died last weekend.


I know it's difficult to imagine, but true. Hey, times change, as I like to say, and all good things must come to an end. We had a real blast, but now the 6-rail is gone. It's been discontinued. They're not being made anymore. No more 6-rails.

But there's a silver lining to every cloud, ya know. When one door slams shut, another always seems to open just in time. When life deals you a lemon, make an enema out of it!

The GOOD news is...

...5-rail!!





This curvy new 5-rail measures the same as the 6-rail, but is made of cro-moly 4130 tubing. It uses less materials than the 6-rail, and is a full POUND lighter! It comes with an optional powder-coat, and here's the best part....it costs the same as the 6-rail!

$80!

So there it is. I know you're upset. Go ahead and cry if you need to. Don't be embarrassed. But remember to look at the bright side. Grieve, face forward, and welcome the future of the 5-rail.

5-rail!

Times change.

I'm going to make this quick because it's late and I want to sleep.

1. 5-rail is $80. I should probably charge more.

2. 6-rail is discontinued. Special requests are welcome.

3. Five deer spotted in the back yard last night. They did not eat our arugula.

2007 NACCC trophy sneak-peek.

Each year, there's an event held in North America called the North American Cycle Courier Championships (NACCC). It's like the Bike Messenger Olympics, but with beer and more shouting. This year the NACCC will be hosted in San Francisco. You probably already knew this.

Here's the home page, liverlips.

NACCC07sf.com

Today was my first day at Pedalers Express, a cargo messenger company here in Eugene, OR.

Deadlines, rush deliveries, Nextels, City Hall drops, coffee on the run, sweatin' in the rain...





...Ahh, now I REALLY feel at home!

Turn on your television and tune in The Discovery Channel.

If it's between 8 and 9pm, there's a chance you might catch a shot of yours truly briefly rappin' about the mess biz with this guy:




The new Discovery Channel program, "Hazard Pay" features a guy following around another guy to demonstrate how hazardous it is to be a guy following around a bike messenger.

Time

Remind Me

Series Title & Description

May 02, 8:00 pm (60 minutes)

Hazard Pay Pyrotechnician TV-14 (LV) Curt Doussett puts on his very own fireworks show as a pyrotechnician. Then, Curt will deliver packages the hard way; pedaling the hilly streets of San Francisco working as a bike messenger before trying his hand at alligator wrangling.

.

Danny from Miami

Here's a video my good friend just sent me. His name is Danny from Miami, and he's not from Miami.
Thanks, buddy.

Good Will Riding

A few days ago I wrote about CAT.

The Center for Appropriate Transport functions as a real-life bike school for kids interested in bike repair, metalworking, mechanical design, journalism, bicycle manufacturing, rain-gear design and assembly, sewing, agriculture, magazine layout and design, and many other things that all relate to bikes in some way.

CAT also offers a multimedia program which provides an opportunity for students to create their own audio and video Podcasts.

Click the video below, and prepare to feel like an old fart. A HOPEFUL old fart.

Powdercoating

Do you want powder-coated CETMAracks? Let me know because I'm thinking of including it as an add option.

Seriously, Y or N?

CAT

I have to tell you about a special place in my town called The Center for Appropriate Transport (CAT).



CAT is nestled into an industrial corner of Eugene, Oregon, between the train tracks and the Willamette River. It's sort of tucked away in an ordinary brick building with small signage on the street-side wall. Never mind the dull exterior, though, inside is where the action is!

CAT functions as a "Private Alternative Education Program" registered with the Oregon Department of Education. They receive funding from the state to operate as a real-life bike school. You heard me...BIKE...SCHOOL.

"Our students are aged 12-19 and come from many backgrounds. They are at various levels of academic skills and are inclined to be hands-on learners. We are like a one room classroom in that we have a 1-6 teacher-student ratio. We run a 3-hour AM class and a 3-hour PM class. Class time is very organized and we expect a lot. Every Friday is a special projects day. On this day youth get to work on a bike building project, a sewing project or a multimedia project... to name but a few.


Our offerings include:

Bike Lab
Bicycle maintenance and repair. Bike Lab provides participants a working knowledge of the use of bicycle tools along with the principles of physics and geometry as they relate to frame design and wheel building.

Metalworking / Bicycle Frame Building
Students can learn the entire process of building a bicycle or rack, from cutting the tubes to powdercoating and assembling the finished product. Emphasis is placed on invention and entrepreneurship, safety, teamwork, and producing a marketable product.

CAD/CAM
For students interested in pursuing a career in industry, this program is designed to introduce computer aided mechanical design, drafting, and manufacturing skills.

Industrial Sewing
Design and manufacture of rain gear, custom bicycle seats, and other projects.

Skinner City Farm
This community garden project provides an agriculturally-based program which teaches students about sustainable practices. Farmers, tradespeople, ecologists and historians bring real-world experience to the curriculum.

Multimedia
This program provides real-world writing and journalism experience through the forum of Oregon Cycling Magazine. Students write articles, conduct interviews, create art and produce the final layout with computers. Their work brings them into contact with bicycle professionals from around the state and nation. Students also create a bike-themed podcast which showcases their work from the magazine alongside interviews and sketches.

GED/Academics
For those interested in earning a GED certificate, this program prepares a student to successfully pass the GED test. Individualized attention focuses on subject areas that need improvement, and whenever possible, students work together to achieve goals. For many students who learn through hands-on work, this is the most efficient way for them to achieve their academic goals.

Field Trips
Field trips are a periodic feature of our programs. We visit bicycle shops, fabrication facilities, sewing operations, art studios and related places of interest."

CAT also houses a do-it-yourself repair shop, where for $8 per hour, you can rent space and tools in one of their many fully stocked workstations.



For a buck-and-a-half, they'll advise you, answer questions, or provide mechanical assistance. And if you need something, CAT also stocks new and used bike parts. They also sell completely refurbished used bikes, so when the Mongoose gives up the ghost...


...Oh, and they MAKE bikes, too! HERE is their incredible catalog.

"Human Powered Machines was established in 1991. Our primary interest is in relieving urban congestion by building load-carrying workbikes. We also produce many types of vehicles including recumbents, utility trailers, folding bikes, hand- powered vehicles and farm machines. The production of these vehicles integrates youth apprentices whenever possible....As a part of the Center for Appropriate Transport, HPM is the apprenticeship program where teenagers can acquire the diverse skills for a career in bicycle building."

CAT's got a BIKE LIBRARY, too. (Click this...really).


So the next time you're in Eugene, head to 1st Avenue between the train tracks and the Willamette River, and visit:


The Center for Appropriate Transport
455 W. 1st Avenue
Eugene, OR 97401

A new leaf.

So it's done. I've taken a week off to settle in and unpack my world. The vegetable garden is nearly in place, the new shop is set up, and the website is updated.

CETMAracks are now made in Eugene, Oregon.

After ten hours of driving, a gallon of coffee consumed, and a nerve-shattering experience of LOSING THE BRAKES coming down the Siskiyou Pass, my wife and I made it to Eugene, Oregon, where we now live. Thank you sincerely for the kind words and wishes from all of you.

CETMAracks are now made in Eugene, Oregon.

Movin'

I'll be moving to Eugene, Oregon on Monday, April 3.



CETMAracks WILL continue to be available as usual.





Coming soon: The CETMA"brack": CETMArack/basket hybrid.
Stay tuned for an update.

Eugene until Thursday.

I'll be in Eugene, Oregon until Thursday.




Racks will be shipped when I get back.

It's 2001. Chicago.


Drill a hole clear through the top of your helmet and push a 1/4" bolt through, with the threads sticking out toward the blue sky.

Countersink the interior-side hole a little, so that the bolt head lies flush with the surface of the helmet interior. This will prevent your skull from being dented by a bolt head, dig?


Get a video camera and turn it upside-down. See that hole? Put two and two together. Stretch a bungee cord around the whole ridiculous contraption to keep it secure. Add a wide angle lens to better capture the action. And you'd better get that chin strap TIGHT!




Now get on your bike and get HOT! Scream through traffic. Take risks!! Make it look cool, and every once in a while look down at your handlebars to get a shot of the asphalt whizzing beneath you. It'll look like you're moving at light speed, and the wide-angle lens will amplify this effect. WEAVE and DODGE! Go man, GO!!! Think of Darker My Love when they're kickin' ass!!!





Make talk with folk. They'll ask what's up with the camera, so tell them EVERY messenger now must wear a camera on their helmet for "insurance purposes". Count the people that seem to believe that malarkey.






When you're done riding around like a maniac, go home and edit out the boring stuff. Compress the whole thing down to forty minutes or so, and make a bunch of copies. Give them to your friends.

The next day your neck will be sore.

Dollar-dollar bill, 'yall!

A couple years ago I was making a delivery in SOMA, and found these two dollars blowing down the street. Hey!



I was working as a messenger there, and thought it'd be an interesting experiment to put the found bills into my spokes and leave them there until someone took them. The idea was to see how many minutes they'd last--everyone knows that if you leave something laying out in the open here in the big city (especially MONEY), someone will snatch it up immediately, right?

Wrong!




The first day went by and no one took them. Then a week went by. Then a month! No matter where I locked my bike, regardless of how long I'd leave it unattended, I'd come back, and there'd be the bills, tucked into my spokes in plain sight.

People on the street would ask me about them all the time--sometimes I'd be on my way into a building after locking up, and someone would point to my wheel and say, "Hey, are those real dollars?!", and I'd say, "Yes they are, I found them and they're free to anyone that wants them...TAKE 'EM, BUDDY!", and continue into the building. But later when I'd come back out, the bills remained.

It became an ongoing sociological experiment. Other messengers got in on it, and occasionally a friend would tell me they'd witnessed someone get close to taking the dollars, but then hesitate and walk away.

The bills stayed put for a little over FIVE MONTHS, until I moved on to CETMAracks full time. I still have them. There's a lesson here, somewhere.

The Pacific Northwest--Fresh greenery, new scenery.

In April, my wife and I will be moving the CETMAracks project to Eugene, Oregon. We're gonna make a garden, spread out, ease up, and get down. Greenery, fresh air, fruit trees, damp earth, slow pace, peace and quiet, a swell library, a new leaf, a clean slate, new start, times change, and so on...