Happy Pancake Season!- September. 28, 2025
Fall weather has arrived in Tucson and with it pancake season! Toby pulled out the pancake making kit for our last breakfast by bike and made some great ones. Skyler’s tortoise pancake foreshadows new things to come.
Empty Water Tank Shenanigans- September. 22, 2025
Our Craters and Cones trip last weekend had just the right amount of adventure. Enough adventure to keep us on our toes, test our team building and problems solving skills, give us some moments of doubts and require some on the fly adjustments, but not enough to really get us down.
Here we are having fun in the empty water tank. 8 miles down the trail, Abraham would lead us to water!
GoodBye Shop Truck – September. 16, 2025
Last week I found a buyer for my trusty shop truck of the past 15 years. As the new owner drove off in it, I felt a little sentimental. The bikeshophub stickers had become a part of the paint job fused in by the Arizona sun.
And BTW, I’m also selling my Subaru Outback. Check it out on Facebook Marketplace if you happen to be looking.
The American Southwest Film Release – September. 10, 2025
Last weekend I took my family out to this newly released nature film, The American Southwest. Combining the challenging story of the Colorado River woven with jaw-dropping animal life scenes, this film beautifully captures the highs and lows of our corner of the world.
Commuter Refresh, Thanks Ellie! – September. 04, 2025
With the cycling season nearly upon us it was more then past time for a refresh of my trusty commuter. Fresh tires, chain, brake pad and a new rear rim and my Bombtrack is ready for some fall Tucson cycling.
Sad to See Summit Hut Go – August. 28, 2025
A few weeks ago we heard the news that Tucson’s local outdoor retailer, Summit Hut, was shutting down. After 55 years of playing a central role int the outdoor scene here, it was quite a shocker to learn that they were winding things down.
The owner explained in an Instagram post the challenges that lead to the decision:
“But the past few years brought a combination of pressures too great to overcome. Rising costs, brands selling direct, new big-box competition, the push for lower prices, shifts toward online shopping, and a changing customer base all played a part. Summit Hut ended up in a tough spot—too big to run super lean, but too small to compete with national chains. We looked at every possible option, but in the end it just wasn’t sustainable.”
Considering that we are in a similar space, this news of course lead to some reflection about our own opportunities and challenges. And one small opportunity was picking up some store fixtures (no mannequins for Campfire). We’re also looking into if anyone is working on plans to keep Tucson’s screening of the Banff film festival going.
Fun with 3-D Printers – August. 22, 2025
Pictured here are a couple of items that my son Jackson 3D printed. He bought a 3-D printer over a year ago and after some trials and tribulations with getting it running smoothly, he’s been starting to make some fun stuff with it.
The sword handle, that Jake mounted to the crescent wrench, came out really nicely, though it didn’t completely work as the blade that was supposed to extend out of it was fused together. Jake figured out this excellent way to repurpose it for bike mechanic knighthood.
Jackson also made a tool for the shop, a stopper for working on disc brake calipers. He’s got a few more tools to make for us as well. We’ve been brainstorming other things he might make for Campfire. Specialty brackets for mounting lights on racks could be a promising direction. Do you have any ideas for Jackson?
EV – August. 16, 2025
Last week I became the owner of an electric car. I’ve been interested in electric vehicles since watching the 2006 documentary Who Killed the Electric Car? I was convinced enough to buy myself a t-shirt with “Ask Me About Plug-In Hybrids” printed across it, hoping to spark conversations about the potential for an evolution to electric vehicle. Then I watched with intrigue as the electric vehicle market sprang to life.
It took awhile but cost and practicality finally converged for me to justify purchasing this 2019 Kia Niro EV. I made the decision in less then a week after realizing that a 30% tax credit on used electric cars would be expiring early, at the end of September, due to the Big, Beautiful Bill. So I did a rushed version of my usual research and grabbed this great little car from Brian over at Tucson Future Classics.
Here I am picking up my new ride, using the Bike Friday All-Packa that we have at the shop since I didn’t yet have a bike rack installed.
Breakfast & Hugs – August. 10, 2025
After our July hiatus, we’re back at it with breakfast by bike. Its always is so fun that our summer rides have some of our biggest turnouts. With not much going on in Tucson, those who are hunkered are ready for some socializing and adventure.
What is Jake Doing? – August. 04, 2025
In this week’s episode of What is Jake Doing, we watch as Jake closes in on the chair base with the bolt cutters. What exactly was he doing and how did it go? You’ll have to come down to the shop and ask Jake.
Cargo Bikes of Paris – July. 28, 2025
Surviving and thriving through Tucson summers is all about escapes to pools and mountains. But it can also be about finding things to entertain yourself indoors. We’ve gotten to know Tucson’s museums well through our many Tucson summers. So we were excited to learn about a new one that opened last October, Rolling Thru Time. We were very impressed by this massive collection of automobiles, tractors, fire trucks and all sorts of memorabilia including plenty of Schwinns, all with bits and pieces of Tucson’s past weaved in.
Rollin Through Time – A New Tucson Museum – July. 21, 2025
Wrapping up my Tidbits while on summer vacation series, I’m sharing the best of the cargo bikes I spotted while in Paris. We were lucky enough to conclude our vacation with 3 days of rambling around the city of love. It was grand to see how bicycle friendly a city Paris has become evidenced by all the great bicycle infrastructure and of course plenty of cool cargo bikes.
Visiting Alpkit’s Kingston Shop – July. 14, 2025
After our adventure in Scotland, we’ve been touring around London. We happened to book a spot right next to AlpKit a British brand with its roots in Bikepacking bags. Alpkit has grown into a comprehensive bikepacking brand with their own line of bikes, Sonder, that produces clothing, camping gear and bikepacking bags sold through their 10 UK shops and ecommerce site. Looking around their shop, I was impressed by their repair area, routes area and community projects. There was plenty to be inspired by. Thanks Ruben for showing me around!
The Isle of Muck – July. 07, 2025
I’m off on our big summer trip, this one a big one to Scotland, London and Paris. My wife Melanie’s mom Pippa, who is from England, is with us and the kids and I are meeting much of her family for the first time along the way. We began on the Isle of Muck a remote island in the west of Scotland.
It is a wonderful, rugged place persisting on wool, fishing and tourism among other thing. Pippa’s sister Jenny is married to the owner of the island Lawrence MacCewan (now deceased). It was wonderful to experience this tight knit community for a short bit while they worked through the days challenges, shared stories and made the most of the very long summer days. We are pictured here at the high point of the island.