The Cowboy

Late Saturday afternoon an old cowboy came into the shop. He was a real cowboy. He had bowlegs, broken misshaped fingers, hat, boots, big truck, and the kind of handlebar moustache only a real cowboy could have. He saw me looking at his fingers and he just said, "years of team ropin'." He had a cowboy demeanor too, blunt, to the point, and pragmatic. "I ain't buyin' no more diesel. Show me what you got." I showed him my last Sun Rover in a box. "What does it do?" I wanted to tell him it was a bicycle, what do you mean what does it do, please don't waste my time. "Can you put 'er together right now?" I told him no, I was just real busy. He said if I could put it together he would buy it. "OK", I said. "I'll put it together." He grew cold and began to back away. "Hold on there partner," I said, in my best cowboy vernacular. "I told you I would build it. Do we have a deal?" I stuck out my hand and looked him in the eye. He hesitated, and then shook my hand. An hour and a half later he paid for his bike. "I ain't buyin' no more diesel," he said again, and he rode away, into the sunset.

Bicycle of the Month

The Bicycle of the Month is the Redline Conquest Sport. This bicycle can do it all: Road, Cyclocross, Touring, and Commuting. It has braze-ons for front and rear racks, in-line brake levers on the tops, room for full fenders and big tires, and clipless pedals, all for only $699. "Ver-sa-til-i-ty Mon" (read that quote again in your best Jamaican accent)!