Monthly Archives: December 2010

5 Reasons to Make it a Bike for Christmas!

Just like the good old days 🙂

#1: A new bike will ride better than what you’re riding. Or what your buddies might be riding now. I’ve got a top-of-the-line road bike from 2003, and a 2010 TREK Madone 6-series. I am faster, more comfortable and more confident on my new Madone. The difference is more than even I expected it to be.

#2: There may never be a better time to buy one! People ask “When will this bike go on sale?” The answer is today. We’ve got hundreds of TREK bikes on sale, including every single 2010 & earlier model, with additional savings tacked on for this week only. You don’t have to compromise with a lesser brand or a shop that doesn’t offer the care & pride & 30 years of the same owner/management that Chain Reaction does. If you want a new bike (and who doesn’t?) this is the time, and Chain Reaction is the place!

Winter days like this shouldn't be missed!

#3: Be ready for that unexpectedly-great day to ride!  Winter in California means great days to ride! Look at the picture on the right; that’s from a ride I did with my son last week.

When people think it’s going to be gray and wet (like it is right now while I’m writing this), a great day is right around the corner. Even in a “wet” year we have more nice days than bad. You’ll miss a lot of great rides if you wait until Spring.

#4: Bikes are one of the few things you can buy that make you better looking, healthier and live longer. Cars, video games, big-screen TVs… don’t think so!

#5: Biking is forever. We’ve got a customer who’s 87 years old and still rides 130 miles/week. I asked him how he does it, what’s his secret. Simple, he said. Just don’t stop. Keep on riding and you’ll remain active, and maybe you’ll be putting your kids in the retirement home, not the other way around.

Yes, it’s totally self-serving of me to say all this, because putting people on bikes, and acting like it’s still “our” bike long after we’ve sold it, is how my brother Steve and I have kept a roof over our heads and put our kids through school these past 30 years.

We believe in cycling. We believe it can make a difference in your life, and even make the world a bit better place. This week, make it a Bike for Christmas. Just like it was 40, OK 50 years ago for some of us, when we woke up and saw that bike under the tree that Santa brought. –Mike Jacoubowsky, partner, Chain Reaction Bicycles

Mike & Steve Jacoubowsky & Joey & Manny & Andrew & Greg & Karen & Ed & Kevin & Becky & Danny & Patrick & Burt & Todd & Charlie & Don & Roger & Tom & Chris & Ron & Richard & Jesus & Adam & Stephen & Frank & Jim & Amy & Adam & Andy all wish you a great holiday season and a lifetime of fun riding!

(This was sent out to our customers on our e-list earlier today. Anyone can sign up for our latest news & sales.)

35 degrees and I felt good!

It must be one of those “opposite days” because I sure felt a lot better this morning that I should have. Maybe it was just the comparison to Tuesday’s ride in the drizzle & muck, when the climb up Kings was dreadfully-slow and my heart rate much faster than normal (very typical just before a cold sets in, which thankfully went through my system very quickly). Some of the improvement simply came from better equipment, since I could ride my “nice” bike this morning (My 6-series Trek Madone), which almost feels like cheating sometimes. As ethical a person as I am, I have no issues getting whatever advantage I can from nicer equipment.

Todd on west-side Old LaHonda

I had reason to both look forward to and dread riding this morning; looking forward because it’s supposed to be the last chance to ride in dry weather for the next millenia (two weeks, anyway). Dreading because it was supposed to be cold. And it was cold, and I did have my usual noisy lungs, but I still felt really good climbing, even though we went through the park. 35 degrees at the low point (a couple miles into the ride, just before hitting Kings), 39 along Skyline, 41 degrees on west-side Old LaHonda. That should have felt cold, but it didn’t. It felt nice out there.

Who showed up? Too many for me to get right. Marcos, Kevin, Eric, Ludo, John, Todd, darn, trying to remember the younger guy (that means under-30) who works at the hospital and knows Greg in our Redwood City store (sp;oke to Greg; it’s Jarret), but he was there too. 8 besides me, so I’m missing one. B0b!!! Think I have them all now.

I gotta figure out what made this morning’s ride go so well, package it up and sell it!  –Mike–