Tom and the Electric Bike…

By Darren Ohl, Service Manager-Hutch’s Eugene

Electric bikes: What are they for? Do they work and how much do they cost?

A steam powered bike?

Well the first question is easy enough. They’re for riding. They are for that person who has trouble making up to their house at the top of Chambers. Or maybe for your mother who remembers the long bike rides in Willamette Valley, but she has trouble keeping up with you on your weekend ride. Maybe they are for people who perhaps thought they could no longer go for a bike ride at all.

 

Tom walked in…

 

I recently met Tom (named changed for privacy) at Hutch’s who had come in looking for an electric bike.

He suffered some medical complications that had taken away his ability to ride a normal bike and wanted to see if the electric bike Hutch’s carried would work for him.

Hutch’s carries Giant’s current version of an electric bike, called the Twist Freedom DX.

It’s a heck of a name.

The Holiday Cheer

By Darren Ohl, Service Manager-Hutch’s Eugene

I met Mark D[last name withheld for privacy] shortly after I came to work at Hutch’s Bicycles. Mark is a decidedly independent man with some other wise quite impeding disabilities that make something as simple as living on his own quite difficult. In spite of these challenges Mark not only succeeds where others might expect him to fail, he lives a life that I believe to be an excellent example for us all to follow. His only mode of transportation is by bicycle because of his disabilities. Instead of looking at this as a limitation; he has embraced it and developed quite a passion for bicycles. Currently his favorite (and only) mode of transportation is a Blue Cannondale F7. Recently he upgraded some of his components on his bikes and now he’s happier than ever. The most astounding thing is how much Mark understands the tiniest details in these intricate parts that makeup a somewhat complicated mountain bike.
As a show of appreciation for his years of supporting Hutch’s we chose to help Mark a little bit and donate some additional upgrades which included changing out his 8 speed components for nine speed. Now he’s shifting as smooth and quick as ever!

Why? Well in this business we feel that appreciation can sometimes come in small doses and a good lesson from Bill Hutchinson himself was that when you are interested in your customers, they will be interested in you; so when you appreciate your customers, they to will appreciate you.

Turkey Consumption?

By Darren Ohl, Service Manager-Hutch’s Eugene

My girlfriend is a vegan. I am not. However I respect her choices (obviously) so this Thanksgiving I am

Thanksbicycling

showing that I am thankful for my girlfriend by cooking her (and our two roommates) an all vegan Thanksgiving meal.

All the stuffing and mashed potatoes and corn and green beans and tofu you could eat. And with probably just a little too much food in our stomaches and perhaps a little bit more free time than we’ve been used to lately we all sat around the kitchen table and talked and laughed.

I grew up on welfare in the Middle-West, so when I have days like Thursday I really feel like I’ve gotten somewhere, like I’ve done something. As I look forward to Christmas (this year my girlfriend and I have said we’ll save our money instead of buying presents) I think about the coming year and I get excited. There are going to be so many great things coming our way in 2009. The first African-American president will be sworn in to office. My first winter in 6 years could mean some snow fall (whether I have to drive to the mountains to see it or not!) and of course the upcoming year at Hutch’s as the shop manager.

The greatest anticipation for the simplest pleasures...

So what are you looking forward to this year? Have any totally rad plans? A cool trip coming up? Let us know, send us an email or simply reply to this blog and let us know.

Keep an eye out for a contest regarding those questions sometime in December.

Happy Holidays from the Hutch’s bike nerds!

People Will Always Need a Bicycle.

Xtra Cycles are rad!!

By Darren Ohl, Service Manager-Hutch’s Eugene
“People will always need a bicycle… This business is recession proof.”
Howard Larlee owns probably one of the most successful bicycle shops in the country, Orange Cycle. I spent the last five years working for him in Orlando, FL. Howard would often make that commentary about selling bicycles. In Howard I found a lot of simple iterations that seemed to describe so well the state of the world and life in general. I learned to listen when he had commentary like this. Howard is a tall slender man, white and gray hair, glasses. He has a keen intellect for business and the people involved. His wife once told me that he could have just as easily been a diplomat. Instead he opened a bicycle shop.

Five months ago my girlfriend and I packed our belongings into her car and drove across the country. She is here attending Grad school at the U of O. I’m here working at Hutch’s.

California Sunshine? part two

The coastal village of Half Moon Bay is our base for the last three days of our stay. All the rides can be accessed by bike, so it isn’t necessary to get in the car if you don’t wish. Restaurants abound in town, however Palo Alto is only a half-hour away and Santa Cruz is just an hour. The Half Moon Bay Lodge provides breakfast and has an excellent outdoor spa tub overlooking the golf course behind the property–really nice when you don’t find California sunshine in January.

California Sunshine?

Each winter we take a trip to the Bay Area in search of better weather and new roads to ride. Leaving Eugene at five in the morning will get us across the Golden Gate and to our hotel by one o’clock that afternoon. On the bikes by two, we are shortly over the Bridge and around the Marin headlands, to Sausolito and back before it gets too dark.

We stay in the Marina District as we can just park the car (for free at the hotel!) and then walk or ride for the rest of our stay. Our favorite place for breakfast is Rose’s Cafe, which makes an apple-cinnamon french toast that is like starting your day with Mom’s homemade pie. Across the street is also City Cycle, a small high-end custom bike shop–it doesn’t get much more convenient than that.

The next morning we’re back over the Bridge. A nice long loop around Mt Tamalpais, the route taking us along the coast, over the Panoramic Highway, though the cool towns of Mill Valley and Sausolito, before our return trip with an awesome view of San Fransisco. Ask the front desk for a slightly latter check-out time as it easy to get delayed on this ride. We finish our stay in San Fransisco with a quick lunch, coffee and a little more exploring before heading down Highway One to Half Moon Bay. The part I enjoy the most is watching people live their everyday life right in this densely populated urban area.

Who We Are.

Hutch’s Bicycle Store was founded by Earl Hutchinson in 1927 in Eugene, Oregon. Earl was famous for keeping the conversation going as he walked the customer out the door to their car with their purchase. Sure he was providing great customer service, but more than anything he enjoyed the company of his customers.

Billy Hutchinson grew up learning these lessons from his father. Born the same year that Hutch’s was opened, Billy worked side by side with his father until he decided, as an adult, that he would stay on to keep his father’s hard work a reality. Hutch’s changed as the times changed and it grew as the bicycle industry grew. Leading that charge from small town repair shop to a nationally recognized bicycle recreation store, the lessons of the father were never forgotten. Treat each person the best that you can. If you fail in a particular instance, do it better next time.

I started at Hutch’s in 1981 and have literally been told thousands of times of the kindness of the Hutchinson family and what that meant to them over the years. Sixty year old men remembering that when they were ten, Earl had let them buy a bike a few dollars a month so they could work their paper route, travel to school and ride with their friends. A bike was and is a powerfully emotional tool. The connection a person feels to their bicycle is strong and this is who we are; bicycle riders.

This blog will chronicle the people that made Hutch’s what it is today and the people that will make Hutch’s what it will be in the future. It was them, it is us and it has always been you. Please feel free to contribute to the story of Hutch’s bicycle store. This is your store and we want everyone to know your experiences as they are added to this blog.

contact us

our phone: (541) 345-7521

email: hutchslen@clearwire.net

our address: 960 charnelton
eugene, oregon 97401

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