Mills Brothers Bicycle Company

[innc]

Thanks for asking,

my computer broke for about a week, I finally found out last wednesday that I have the time off from my "real job" to come to Austin. I work in a hospital, and you have to find someone to take your place if you aren't going to be there.
A project i was working on with some local Eagle Scouts fell completly through . Now we are going to take some overgrown property and bush hog it and turn it into a camping area. I'm pushing for a mt bike trail too. And bicycle merit badge starts next month.
Two of the local framebuilders have folded. Well one for sure, one is just off the grid. The one that i can't contact has done my painting in the past, so all of a sudden I'm running around screaming and pulling out my hair looking for a painter. Found some redneck Harley ridin good ole boys that have just opened a shop. If the guy that does the paint does as good a job on my frame I won't need Viagra for a month. I told him i liked $250 to $300 for a price range, and he said he would do it for $225, I love the effect paint fumes has on the human brain.
Talked to Dale Brown at Cycles de Oro just today, the weekend of May 21, my birthday, is going to be the Classic Renezvous Weekend in Greensboro, check it out. Lots of good stuff going on, and I know where Nattie Green Brewery is.
Talked to another guy trying to start building down in Charlotte. in fact two guys, I just haven't talked to one of them. They have a Bringheli jig, and are working on the main tubes of thier first frame. I'll see them this week, and one wants a ride to austin. I run into these guys all the time, maybe i should start a school, them that can't do teach.
Now, for the first time this year, I have nothing to do. The frame is gone to the painter, so that is out of my hands. I have time off from work. Parts are ordered. Gosh, maybe I'll go get a pizza. Actually a pizza and an Alamo beer would be great. One of my ancestors died at the Alamo, William Mills. He had moved from Tennessee to Austin's colony, then went to the Alamo where he failed to duck. He was argumentative.

later
dave

[e-RICHIE]

[X] like the pizza idea atmo.

[innc]

I think i missed the "brain dump " after NAHBS , or maybe I just take a little longer taking a dump nowdays. What a great time. Wade doesn't have a beer mug in front of his face like in his picture. The New Builders Row was huge. I loved it. On one end was a totally cool bamboo, on the other was a mind bending carbon, in between was big bikes, little bikes, track, road, mt, touring, italians, english, and all points of the US. 14 tables of nothing but bikes. I enjoyed seeing my old instructor, Ron Sutphin from UBI. he said they have about 8 builders in each steel framebuilding class, two classes a year, two campus', plus tig classes, and titanium. a rough count was almost two hundred new builders since I went there in '98. There were no new builders tables at Indy, six or seven at Richmond (one of which won best track this year, congrats!) So if the numbers keep doubling there should be 28 journeyman framebuilders at Sacramento. Hmmm.

I enjoyed talking to Dave Kirk for a few, not because he is a great builder, but because he is a Lotus guy. I got the hots for Lotus cars watching the Belgian and German Grand Prix's. I was at Hockenheim when Jim Clark got killed. Lotus are very cool.

I figured out that atmo is a text message abbreviation, not Sach's nickname. Now I feel a whole lot smarter.

a lot of talk about marketing after the show. I don't care. I didn't go to NAHBS for marketing, all I want to do is build bikes. if I have to sell bikes to get the money to build more, then OK, I'll do that. NAHBS gives me feedback, I learn. And in a way it's like going to a bike race. If you race, it's no big deal, but if don't race ( "I'm not into that" " I'm not in shape" yada yada) then it's always a big deal. So I go to the show and put my bike on the line and most people like it. Or they go "Oh crap! " and keep walking. no big deal. It was expensive, but not as expensive as hell. I went down with a guy who shared expenses. A new builder from Charlotte, Geoff Adams. He went to the seminars and should be finished with his first frame by now.

I was stressed out before, no painter, no time off, I didn't know till the week before that i could actually go.

Next, Dale Brown is doing a show in May,in Greensboro, and since he sold me my first racing bike I'll go. No big deal, I've been to NAHBS, and I've been smoked out.

later
dave