Founder's Letter: Summer 2007
Dear Bike Friday owners, Friends of Bike Friday and Mission supporters, I hope this spring is finding you healthy and optimistic. (Spring in the North, in Oregon anyway. You are not forgotten Australia!)
Spring for Cyclists can be the best time of year. A time of milder temperatures and a promise of of rides to come. Over the last year our mission here at Bike Friday has continued to change focus to global climate change abatement, but I want to assure you we are cyclists at heart and that we are not changing our stripes. We live to ride, and we love the spring time for that reason here in the North.
This founder's letter is a chance to give you a peek at what we are thinking and doing here in this one small business. What seems to be making us unique is our continued direct connection to you our customers and clients in many countries around the world. What are you all interested in? Besides your love of cycling? We want to share with you things we are working on and talking about here. Which ones would you like to hear more about? As an optimist, these subjects are close to my heart and the direction of this business, because they do seem to offer positive movement in our world. Green Gear Cycling is driven from its solutions oriented roots.
• Health: Especially as it relates to and is determined by exercise and the food you eat. My focus is about how we get around in the world. It looks to me like the more we get away from oil for our personal transport, instead of being restricted and under privileged by walking and cycling more, we become fitter and healthier. And, the extra thinking time makes us smarter! Go figure. Not a bad combination to look forward to in my 56th year. Eating locally produced food has also reminded me of the superior taste of vegetables that haven't had to travel 2000 miles to my table.
• Lean: It seems that the world has discovered the Toyota manufacturing production process that we have adapted and worked with for almost two decades. I think the Lean approach has implications everywhere from how your bicycle is custom made specifically for you, to how you think about the organization of your house. We are all aware of what Toyota has done now, and I think they have a lot more to teach us.
• Self Reliance: The feeling of many people that they are not responsible for their lives seems endemic, especially in the U.S. They live on credit and feel somehow that there is someone else responsible for their well being. Sadly, we have met many folks recently who do not feel in charge of or responsible for their life, yet it is one of the most important things that makes us human.
• Children: I've found that as our company has grown, we have added more families with children. The growing family has always been one of my prime movers for design. Starting with my original Burley trailer design for my precious small daughter Hanna in the 70's, we expanded it to include her intrepid sister Fraeda. We then added the Family Tandem of the 90's for baby sister Sarah, now a 15 year old soccer star. I think our children are our motivation for future improvement. Mine certainly are for me.
• Global Climate Change and Oil: These issues have become fixed in our focus. Whether motivated by addiction or greed, oil reliance is clearly not good for any of us. I am seeing more and more that dependence on oil is no longer a necessity either. I think more and more people are learning that life and nature are not at their best when fueled by only one energy type. Now that our business and home are on wind energy, and the daily commute is by Bike Friday, we are thinking about how we can be of help you, or learn from you to share ideas with all.
• Life and Organization. Clearly it is not hard wired into us to get along in large groups. Being alive and getting along with each other toward life's goal of improvement takes training and life experience. Things we are equipped for.
• Reading/Internet: It might surprise you that this issue makes the list. I find that it's the immense amount of great answers and examples that are currently available that makes me the most optimistic. It strikes me that answers are easy and easier to find now, and there are many great answers out there. The hard part is finding the right questions. With search engines like Google and others it seems to me we may even get better at asking the right questions in the right way. I have much confidence that the answers will be there when we ask correctly. Here are some books we are reading that some of you might like. “Natural Capitalism”, “Inside the Mind of Toyota”, “The Better World Handbook”, “How to Live Well without owning a Car”, “A Pattern Language”, “What Happy People Know”, “Lives per Gallon”, “The 17 Traditions”.
So let me know what you would like to know about the evolution and the talk at a little bike maker in Oregon, Planet Earth. You're welcome to email me at alan@bikefriday.com
Best in Cycling,
Alan Scholz
Co-founder
