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Almost-Daily Diary http://www.chainreactionblogs.com/diary/2017/09/25/said-good-bye-to-los-altos-today/ Export date: Fri Apr 19 11:41:43 2024 / +0000 GMT |
Said good-bye to Los Altos today... It was a day in three parts, and definitely didn't save the "best" for last. It began with Kevin and I providing ride support for the annual Foster City Community bike ride, like we've done the past quite-a-few-years. Basically it involves inflating a whole lot of flat tires. I mean tons of 'em. As if nobody has a pump with a gauge at home, even though everyone claims they do. We bring a bunch of floor pumps, but nobody seems to know how to use them, even though they claim they have one. So yeah, we get quite a workout! Actually this year Kevin seemed to have gotten a bit smarter about things and was often putting bikes in the stand to take care of some adjustments, leaving me to pump the tires. Kid's getting smarter! Get home about 11:30, get dressed and go out for a quick ride 'cuz Kevin's got a train to catch at 3:20 to see a girlfriend near Berkeley. Has to be something short & pretty hard, just like last week. I'm really missing a longer ride!!! Next week, Pescadero or bust. Today it was Old LaHonda, West Old LaHonda (yes, you can squeeze past the barriers when they're not working on weekends), then back up to Skyline, north all the way to 92 and back via Canada. A surprisingly-tough ride with Kevin pushing the pace most of the way. And then Becky, Karen (my wife) and I headed down to the Los Altos store for its final hour. More like 90 minutes, as it stayed pretty busy for a while. I figured they could use the help and it wouldn't seem right not being there for the end. It was a bit emotional at times, with regular customers coming in to say good-bye, and Amy, former store manager, flying in from New York, a complete (and emotional) surprise for my brother Steve. One of the staff (CJ) set up a grill after everything was over and served burgers as we discussed the good times and the... actually, just the good times. Many to remember. Some will be heading up to Redwood City after we get the remaining inventory moved up.  And tonight, it's been all about running down the various places people would find information about the Los Altos store and making sure things were updated to show it's no longer in operation. That's an emotional thing in itself, and something I want to get out of the way quickly not just so customers don't head down there thinking they can buy a bike, but also because it's a bit painful and I'd rather not have to do it down the road. Just get it over with. So yeah, kind of a big day, with many more still to come, as we have to make room to absorb what's left. Have to admit we did much better on the closeout apparel than I thought we would. |
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Post date: 2017-09-25 02:02:52 Post date GMT: 2017-09-25 09:02:52 Post modified date: 2017-09-25 02:03:21 Post modified date GMT: 2017-09-25 09:03:21 |
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