Project List: Week of 6 January 2014

January 13, 2014

in Journal Notes

Paw print in ice - photo - Rob Vandermark

Paw print in the ice. Something about this expresses freedom and entrapment all at once – often how I feel. Wouldn’t trade it for the world.

Here’s some of the work I’m trying to do between bailing water and sliding on ice.

  • Time Marker:  First week of the year.  It already feels like we’ve been in 2014 for about four months.
  • Time Marker:  Seven flooded this week – more precisely my office and nearby environs – from broken pipes in the business above my computer.
  • Business Development:  Talked with a struggling bike builder about possible acquisition.  I feel like I’ve had more of these conversations in the past year than the previous four years combined.  It’s an interesting time.  Each business that searches for a bridge has very different challenges, perspectives, and perceptions of what’s happening in the industry.  Seven has been so fortunate.
  • Time Marker:  The season has begun at Ride Studio Cafe.  We had a very big and busy weekend!  My voice – and feet – were trashed by Sunday evening.
  • New Hire:  Bradford started today at Seven Cycles.  We’re very excited to have him on board.  He is one of six people that we’re working on hiring for 2014.

  • Cross training:  Three of Seven’s finishers are training to be true framebuilders.  It’s a long process – that we started early last year – and I’m glad to see we’re on it in earnest.
  • Event:  Honey Bikes has its 2014 calendar of events and rides planned out.  The first big event is happening in a few weeks.  Darn, I am definitely not ready!
  • Project Forty-Eight:  Worked on on a navigation system along with a gear harness setup.  First draft on both.
  • Business Development:  Working on the Year In Review meeting for Ride Studio Cafe; getting ready for our annual meeting in two weeks.  So much to cover.  So many great outcomes in 2013.  RSC Year in review preparations.
  • Project Stone:  Discussed a new potential project for an alloy not used in the bike industry before.  An unlikely project to come to market – but sometimes those are the most important projects.  I’m estimating that this project will probably have a three year time horizon.

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