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Several people reported that the BICYCLING, TRAVEL & FITNESS EXPO went very well this past weekend. There were handy shuttle buses from three of the "Dales", a benefit of being on the same weekend as the humungous Garden show. Several shops had display areas that included recumbents, such as Calhoun, Edina Bike, and Bicycle Bills (with a nice assortment of pricy Hase Kettwiesel trikes from Germany). The test tracks were pretty nice, especially the MTB obstacle course. Carl thought that the attendance was over the target of 15,000 but had no official numbers yet. It must have been OK, since he said Michael Fredericks has committed to at least three years before reconsidering whether to continue.
We could get a club booth at the Expo next year, but probably only with some sponsorship, since an 8 x 8 booth for a club still costs $350. This compares to $650 for a 10 x 10 foot commercial booth, a good saving but still more than we have in the club kitty. Jim Black passed around a few large prints from digital pictures taken at the Bike Expo.
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Jim Thill rode this Rivendell Atlantis to his first meeting. He has just opened Hiawatha Cyclery, nearby at 42nd Ave S. and E. 54th St. He plans to emphasize commuting and touring bikes and will be the local Rivendell dealer. The shop will be open 12 to 8 except Sundays. But you might call first since it is likely to be a bit irregular at first. Jim got a little bike shop experience working at Freewheel before deciding to take the big plunge. Good luck, Jim!
Ivo Max (sp?) also introduced himself as a new guy. He is a fairly recent arrival in this area from the Netherlands.
At the Expo, Mark noted a new custom frame builder in the area, Anderson Custom Bicycle, He doesn't do recumbents, but builds a wide variety of interesting uprights. Mark also found a South Minneapolis based powder coating outfit DERO Their main product is bike parking racks but they do bikes for $90 a frame.
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