I have to say I think music and bikes are quite the pair. Have you ever walked in to a bike shop with complete silence? It feels sort of creepy I'm waiting for the salesman to pop out of nowhere and ask me "How can I help you?". First you can help me by not scaring the living hell out of me and why does this store sound like I'm in a rubber room? I have to say I tend to think music lightens alot of situations up. So when you come here you will be welcomed first by the sweet sound of music! Then we'll scare the hell out of you with the dreaded "how can I help you?" Hope fully we won't ever use that line, cross your fingers.

We at Barry's are starting a section devoted to music. We will list our favorites and maybe comment on these albums too.

1. Lucinda Williams "Little Honey"  destined to become a classic. This album is full of top quality musicians and lyrics.

2. Kings of Leon "Only By The Night" Fantastic rock! To think this album in my opinion is the worst of all their albums really talks about how good their prior albums are. 

3. Possesed by Paul James "Possesed by Paul James" Think about sitting on a porch, 110 degrees out, 100 percent humidity and some of the most raw fiddle and guitar playing you've heard in along time. Dare you not to dance.

4. The Avett Brothers "Emotionalism" Strange voices but boy can they light up a blugrass roots crowd.

5. Junior Kimbrough, any of his albums. Blues from the Delta! Raw and gritty.

6. The Black Keys "Attack and Release" Two man band from the heart of america. Rocky, dirty, blues.

7. Cashman "Texassippi Stomp" Fine harmonica, driving guitar riffs, fantastic voice.

8. Neutral Milk Hotel "On Avery Island" Old stuff but in my opinion great music recorded all fuzzy like.

9. Cowboy Junkies "The Trinity Sessions" Released in 1988 I believe. Definitely one of the purest voices I have ever heard from a lady singer.

10. Iron and Wine, any of his. Samuel Beam is a great singer songwriter.

11. Wayne Hancock "Swing Time" How can you not listen to this? Fantastic Texas Swing.

12. Swollen Members "Black Magic" Genious lyricists, Thanks, Tom Morlock for turning me onto this. Makes me want to juke and jive.

13. Johnny Winter "Johnny Winter" I finally found the taste for Johnny and boy I'm glad I did. Fantastic guitar! Thanks Joe.

These albums have been some of my favorites lately you can check alot of them out at their mypace pages. Keep rockin' and pedalin'.

Barry

We hit the big time! We have been offered to put on a workshop at the Bismarck Sports Show in February and we accepted with no hesitation. So keep your eyes and ears open for dates and times that will be set in the near future.  So come on down, get an autograph, and support our local Sports Show in February

I just got back from a trip to Iowa we saw Willie Nelson and the Boxmasters (Billy Bob Thorntons band). I do have to say holy ____! The concert was exceptional except for the fan full of rage sitting directly behind Jess. What a jerk! I do think I saw him weeping although to, "Angels flying to close to the ground" maybe he had a soft heart after all.

We stopped at every bike shop we could and it was great to talk to the owners, mechanics and managers. I found out that repairs were busy everywhere last year. I wonder did the gas prices cause this increase in repairs or is some other pheonomenen happening? I would like to think that we all just want to feel better about who we are and so we chose to ride more this year. I guess I don't need to know why, I just hope it continues.

We will keep riding through the winter on Sundays so come on down and join us for some chilly riding. Don't forget to check out our overhaul classes they have been a huge success.

 Well look out for my next ramble I'm going to write about my opinions on full suspension vs hardtails. I hope this article will bring alot of responses to our contact page. Check back soon. I'll even talk about Treks WHY? bike from the mid 90's (remember that one Fitzi!).

Happy holidays,

Barry 

If you haven't heard already; the Tuesday and Thursday night classes filled faster than Jessy can drink a Shiner Bock(Ooooh those Texans brew a good beer) For those that feel left out of the fun; we will be starting a new Tuesday class, January 6th at 7pm. Call soon to reserve your place at the bike stand; spots are filling up. REMEMBER: the early bird catches the wrench...or something like that.

Here are some shots from the Thursday class courtesy of teachers pet, Jason.

Want to see what Giant employees get to do on their lunch break?  Go to http://expn.go.com/expn/blog/bmx and check out the talent that came to try out the park at Giant’s HQ in Newbury Park (not Oxnard, as given in the blurb above the video screen.)  This is some great riding from people like Corey Bohan, Heath Pinter, Arthur Galaviz, Trevor Dain, Ian Munro—and Chris Arriaga, Giant’s own Global Youth Product Developer.