Birthday at AC

Had a great Friday, first, it was Kris's birthday, and what did he spend his birthday morning doing? Baking an apple pie that we all ate! Thanks man... Then Dean Bentley came over and did an amazing photo shoot w/ us. It was also his birthday on Monday, happy birthday guys! Then we had pie, then some gelato from Noci, then pie with gelato... We got some cool bikes in to build for you guys and some to build for us to test. Our new Service Center is almost complete, the website is coming along and a lot more, so stay tuned. I'm getting more free time to get back to the good stuff like riding and doing this...

Kris showed up late on his birthday, but it's cool as he brought in this 20lb (no joke) cast iron pan full of the best apple pie I've ever had. Kris is one of the best mechanics around, but his baking may even be better!


Close up action shot of the pie. Most of the apples are from the shop tree, so even better! Beautiful!


Dean Shot a lot of Pegoretti's today, our plan is to make a couple beautiful prints as well, more on that later. Thank you Dean, can't wait to see the finished product...


Pegoretti Marcelo in que


Then, after a lot of shooting and building bikes, we gorged ourselves on the pie that kris spent his birthday morning baking, did I say thanks yet? Thanks (oh, and check out the portions! Love riding bikes!)


Zack had a tough day as well getting all our crumbs off the floor, thanks dude...


and thank you all for reading

The New Year

No, it's not January 1st, but it is the start to a new year for a lot of cyclists or at least the ones living off the snow belt. This was my first week of real training for next season hence the New Year. And of course with this being our New Year we also received our first new weather in the form of rain and colder temps. Personally I love this time of year, it's been getting a tad boring wearing shorts and short sleeves for the past six months you know? Reminds me of starting training in Seattle except here it's about 20 degrees warmer... Anyhow, I'm pretty psyched to start training for real again after a few years away from any type of structure. We have only three years (two for some) of time left with our Jr. Team and I'm looking forward to doing some quality racing with them while I still can. So, stay tuned for reports on that training and racing and of course all the new bikes and wheels and other random parts we'll be testing/thrashing. Until then, enjoy the New Year...

Ride Scenery

Here we go again, but (again) I just can't get over the place we get to ride here and just wanted to share a few pics from the ride this morning. Seriously, you've got to come here and ride! Bring everyone, San Francisco is about 15min away for the non riders among the fam...

From this one spot on Hwy 1 heading North towards Stinson Beach I took the four following pictures. This one is straight down to the beach. There were a bunch of seals swimming around which means there are most likely a few Great Whites somewhere out there...


Then this one, looking south towards Muir Beach.


And then the 3rd shot, looking up at the top of the ridge. I love seeing this view every time I take the hard right hander in the road and see the barren hill w/ the little bunch of dead trees on top, even better in the fog!


And of course had to get the bike in here with the Pacific behind the bluff to the left of the shot. Did some low cadence work today and the Pinarello felt super fast even at 40-60rpm...


Right before you get to Stinson Beach you hang a hard right and head up this hill. This is our common interval hill and where I did the low cadence work today. In about 20min depending on how fast you are, you will come to Pantoll Ranger Station. If you hang a left there you have another 8min to Rock Springs parking lot, go right there and there is another 10min to the top of West Peak. The view is very much worth the climb, oh, as is the descent!

Custom 56cm Pinarello Dogma available now...

Custom Orange Silver & White 56cm Pinarello Dogma

We just got this one of a kind Pinarello Dogma in today. My photography skills are not doing this justice as the lighting is not all that great but the orange looks amazing on this bike! It's not a super bright orange, but a bit more subdued, and looks amazing w/ the white frame and silver graphics. This was a show bike for the trade show and we snapped it up as soon as we saw it. So basically this is a "My Way" paint up-charge, but we are only charging the normal $5500 stock price. And think about it, you can have it now, no six month to six year normal "My Way" wait time! This is a 56cm and we would prefer to sell this as a complete bike as again, you won't find another one and we have some very good ideas on a final build... There you have it, give contact us with any questions you may have!

O.K, really bad lighting on this pic, but it looks amazing and will be even better built up with what we have in mind...

Shop Ride

Joao and I riding the dirt path that leads into Samuel P. Taylor

Wednesdays ride, 7:00am at Above Category, 50ish miles Z2-3 as flat a ride as we have...
Come join us for 3hrs! Through the towns, up Whites Hill, up Golf Course hill, Nicasio Res, back on Sir Francis Drake, hope to see you here...

We'll be here, the bridge just inside Samuel P. Taylor Park...


And here, a couple miles of dirt path...


And then the concrete path in the middle of nowhere for a few miles, basically just a beautiful Marin ride...

Brooks; more than saddles

Have to be honest here, we really have not sold too many Brooks saddles in the five years that Above Category has been around. Not that we don't think they are great, if not some of the best saddles made. Thing is, they don't really go with the bikes we build. Sure, it may be nice on a Pegoretti Luigino, or a Cielo, but that is more the exception rather than the norm. I feel the part of the saddle that you sit on is too far up from the rails and as such you have to lower the post quite a bit and unless you have legs the length of Andre the giant that is not the look we are really going for. Now, all that being said, I am really looking forward to building a Moots VaMoots w/ Brown King and a dark brown Brooks saddle and tape which I'm really hoping will be exactly what I am looking for!

And yes, Brooks does do tape. And even better, they have re-done it. It is now much flatter so it does not look ribbed across your bars and comes in a lot of custom pleasing shades now. We will definitely be sourcing some of that as well. But what we want to talk about and show you is this:

The new backpack, the last one you'll ever need

Brooks leather bags and backpacks. These are absolutely gorgeous. Hand made and very practical. And beautiful. We'll be carrying a few select models here soon and encourage you to come and see them in person and see what we are talking about. We will also be offering them online as soon as we get that site up... Until then, give us a call if you are not that close to us and we'll get one sent out right away.

The front of the back pack reminds me of an Army issue parachute, minus the reserve...


My next task here is to design a city bike around this bag and basket. No joke, it's going to happen soon and it will rock. This is the Camden Tote Bag and the Hoxton Wire Basket.


The do anything, take anywhere duffel bag, Brooks style. This is the Hampstead Holdall. It can be worn over the shoulder or attached toe the rear rack of a bike, or become the last carry-on piece of baggage you'll ever need again. This is my number one favorite piece...


The Barbican Leather Shoulder Bag in black


And in Brown...

So, you'll be seeing a bit more Brooks in the shop soon and we are very excited for it. Maybe even a saddle here and there if the bicycle calls for it? For more information or to purchase, give us a shout!

Friday night picture

Pegoretti Big Leg Emma. My bike, about time it gets built. We'll start with a call to Spectrum Powderworks on Monday for a matching fork and stem. Have a wonderful weekend!