Winner #2 - Random Holiday Giveaway

Thank you to those of you who participated in the second holiday giveaway this year. The winner of the second round is:

Congratulations Bike Nut! Drop me an email (endlessvelolove {at} gmail.com) with your mailing info and I'll get the bike light off to you ASAP.

Happy Holidays to all. I hope you're enjoying the season!

A Heart to Heart

First, I just want to say thanks to those of you who have participated thus far in the giveaways. Giveaway #2 is still up and running, so if you'd like a chance to win, please get your responses in soon (You'll have until Monday morning - Dec. 15 - to get your name in the hat pull).

On that note, I have decided to end the giveaways with that second round. There doesn't quite seem to be the interest that there has in the past (and that's completely okay) but I still want to do something with the items I had ready to go. I'm debating what to do, but I'll either donate them to a local bicycle group that can give the items to those less fortunate, or I may store them for a bit and decide what to do after we're through the holidays. Either way, the items will find a way into the hands of someone who will use them and/or enjoy them.

*Image found here

If this blog is still up and functioning, I may simply do one-at-a-time giveaways over the next year. It's difficult to say at this point.

Which brings me to my next point for this post: The blog itself. The last several months I have been debating whether or not to continue the blog. It's not the first time I've questioned why I continue to write here, and if the blog continues to exist, I'm sure it won't be the last, but I have seriously pondered walking away. I have been writing here about bicycles and related topics for the last nearly seven years and it's difficult to think about giving up on it.

I started writing as a way to document my own experiences and to use this platform more as a journal type of spot and it has remained a great location for me to get out my frustrations, ideas, and it has grown into a place to get input from others who may or may not agree with my thoughts.

Right now, I think it's possible that I am clinging to a lost form of communication (It's a bit sad when even blogging seems antiquated). I know that many prefer to get information via Twitter, and while I have an account, I frankly don't use it as much as I should. Twitter is an easy way to get small tidbits of information out without having to sit and think more thoroughly, edit, attach photos, edit the photos as needed, and so on. However, as someone who doesn't sit at a desk a good chunk of the day, it's a bit more challenging to use it regularly.

Even with that, there are so many different ways that people are communicating. Twitter is a big one, Facebook, Tumblr, Instagram, Google+, and on the list could go. It's challenging to keep up with all of the different possible forms of communication in this day.

I wish that I had the time to be active on all of these sites, but the reality is, it can be challenging to choose even one and remain a valid participant. It is really why I have clung more to blogging over the years. It simply made sense to me to have one location to share ideas and then link to the thought via other outlets on the web. I don't know how valid much of this has been, but it's been a lot of fun for me to get feedback from others and to talk with people via e-mail about various happenings with bicycles in their own lives. I wouldn't trade that for anything.

From the beginning, I never sought out a means to be a superstar blogger. I never worried about how many people were reading or whether or not I hit a list of the web's greatest. I know I'm not the best writer and I have never pretended to be. There are those who have found a way to remain relevant, funny and insightful, and I enjoy reading their blogs (and will continue to do so) as well, regardless of what takes place here.

Perhaps in my passiveness with blogging it has prevented me from remaining of interest to others. It's difficult to say as I know there is an ebb and flow to many things in life.

Much of my motivation with the blog has been simply to share my experiences and to get thoughts from others who may have their own opinions. It can be challenging to continue when I'm not sure I should further spout the thoughts in my head or the things that take place every day on a bike. We all have our own experiences and perhaps this space is simply no longer needed or even a source of information -- or perhaps there are just better places to get the information.

While I could go on about reasons for thinking perhaps it's time to give up the blog, there is no point in further boring anyone who does read here. I suppose I have simply reached a juncture at which I must make a decision whether to continue on in this same manner, to move on to other possibilities, or to give up on any/all of it, and I thought it was only fair to share this with those of you who have remained and/or continue to offer your responses.

If I do choose to continue blogging, I know that posts will be sporadic for quite some time. Our family is preparing for yet another move (It's a local move, but it's time to move out of our rental... and, hopefully, we can stay settled a bit longer this time, as moving is getting quite old). With this impending move comes a substantial amount of renovation which is going to keep us busy for some time. I'm expecting long days of labor for many months, so I am already aware that posts will likely be more sparse than even the norm for this space if the blog continues on.

As always, your thoughts are welcome on any/all of this. Perhaps there is a better way to communicate and I should seek it out, or maybe you think blogs are still relevant? While your ideas may or may not influence my decision, I am always open to opinions so feel free to comment here or even drop me an e-mail if that is more comfortable for you.

Thank you to all who have continued to support my sometimes crazy and more often than not erratic posts, and particularly I am grateful to those who have offered your own thoughts along the way. We will see where this journey takes us, but no matter what I am grateful to have had the opportunity to chat with some really amazing individuals along the way. I will keep you posted! {Ha! No pun intended} :O)

Winner #1 - Random Holiday Giveaway

The winner of the first random holiday giveaway is...

Congratulations, Corny! Please drop me an email at endlessvelolove {at} gmail.com with your full mailing information and I will get your gift off to you as soon as possible. Thanks to those who participated and don't forget to enter giveaway #2!

I look forward to more giveaways this holiday season.

Happy Holiday's Random Giveaway #2 - Anonymous Gifting

Before we get started with giveaway #2, a quick reminder that you have until Wednesday, December 3 @ 1:00pm MST to enter giveaway #1, so go and check that one out too!

The holiday season seems to bring out the best in many people. One of the things I enjoy the most this time of year is hearing or reading stories of inspiration or recollections of a moment when a person went out of his/her way to help out someone in need or to make someones day a little more special. The list of tales is quite long and often I am amazed at humanity and our ability to do the right thing when it is most needed, or simply to bring a smile to someones face without expecting anything in return. Stories of mysterious or anonymous gift-givers appear frequently in December and it truly warms my heart.

Personally, there are a lot of stories that have touched me, but there is one in particular that makes me smile (and tear up a bit) each time I watch it.

I encourage you to watch the video, if you haven't seen it, because it really is one of those instances in which no one was expecting to have exactly what they asked for sitting at their destination.

I cannot think of much that is more rewarding than giving without expecting something in return. Some of my favorite memories involve giving a gift to someone I knew was in need and never revealing who the "mystery Santa" was that provided the gift. It's a great feeling, certainly! I always wish that we could all keep the spirit of giving and generosity alive throughout the year.

For this giveaway, I'd love to hear about a time (or more than one, if you choose) that you gave something to a person in need. Did the person know that you were the gift-giver? What was his/her reaction? If you've never had a memorable gift-giving moment with someone, I encourage you to go out and do so and post your response here. It could be something simple like paying for coffee for the person behind you in line, donating to a local organization, or even offering kindness to someone such as opening a door for a person with his/her hands full. There are really so many opportunities every day that I will leave that up to you to decide.

The gift for this round of giveaways is a MonkeyLectric M204 light set.

If you missed my post (or just want more information) about the MonkeyLectric lights, you can find it here. I have really enjoyed using this light so much already this season, and I'm sure I will continue to. Hopefully, one of you will enjoy your own wheel light set very soon.

All entries for this giveaway must be time/date marked no later than Monday, December 15, 2014 at 10:00am MST. Your reply will serve as the date/time stamp, so please check to make sure your response goes through (There have been some issues with Blogger sending comments into a black hole, never to be seen again). I highly recommend copying your response before clicking the reply button. If you don't see that your "comment will be visible after approval," then it probably didn't go through. I'd prefer to delete duplicates than have someone miss out, so please don't be afraid to send something twice if you're unsure. I will do my best to be quick with approving comments/replies to help facilitate the process as best I can.

The winner will be announced no later than Wednesday, December 17, 2014, so check back here to see if you're the winner.

Happy Holiday's Random Giveaway #1 - Holiday Traditions

Yippee! The first giveaway is ready to go, and I hope you're ready to participate in some of the fun. If you didn't get a chance to read the rules quite yet, please do go here and check them out before posting your response. If you're ready to proceed, please keep reading.

Growing up, I was a ridiculously enthusiastic lover of animals (some things don't change). My love of animals was so great that I often came home with stray cats, frogs I'd found nearby that I thought needed shelter, wounded birds, and so on. It became a bit much, I think, for my parents but they tolerated my need to "protect" the animals from harm. I'm certain it was a little frustrating because some of the animals ended up being pets of neighbors.

Although I don't go to quite the extremes I did as a child, I still find it difficult not to help animals that are lost, injured or homeless. This time of year particularly, I am always grateful for the fur-family and all of the joy they bring into our lives. We have a small shoot each year with the pups just before the holiday season begins and we send the photos out to friends and family.

A small selection of family photos from the holiday season through the years.

At first, the holiday tradition started as a means to give to our local animal shelter, but it's become a fun (and sometimes challenging because the four-legged kids don't always cooperate) way to have a timeline of sorts of the entire family. We enjoy some of the photos more than others, but it's fun to see the changes through the years.

For this particular giveaway, I am wondering what one of your favorite holiday traditions is to do or participate in this time of year? Is there that one thing you look forward to doing each year, or maybe it's the one thing you dread, but still end up appreciating in retrospect?

Bonus Entry: 
A few years ago, Sam and I rode our bikes to the grocery store to pick up a couple of items and came across a wounded animal. If you can tell me the type of animal Sam and I rescued that day in your response, you'll get an extra entry into this giveaway. If you know what I named the animal, you'll receive two extra entries.

The gift for this giveaway will be Caz Nicklin's The Girls' Bicycle Handbook in paperback form.

Men, please don't feel you need to shy away from entering this giveaway. I'm sure there are plenty of females in your lives who would appreciate this book, or perhaps you know someone who is teetering on the edge of giving in to riding a bike? Maybe you yourself would like to give this book the once over? This book is full of bright photos and pulls together a reasonable list of how to's for anyone looking for information or who may be a bit shy asking for help.

All entries for this giveaway must be time/date marked no later than Wednesday, December 3, 2014 at 1:00pm MST. Your reply will serve as the date/time stamp, so please check to make sure your response goes through (There have been some issues with Blogger sending comments into a black hole, never to be seen again). I highly recommend copying your response before clicking the reply button. If you don't see that your "comment will be visible after approval," then it probably didn't go through. I'd prefer to delete duplicates than have someone miss out, so please don't be afraid to send something twice if you're unsure. I will do my best to be quick with approving comments/replies to help facilitate the process as best I can.

The winner will be announced no later than Thursday, December 4, 2014, so check back here to see if you're the winner.

I look forward to reading about your favorite holiday traditions!

Happy Holiday's Random Giveaway Contest - 2014 Edition

We have arrived in December! This year has flown by quicker than any I've experienced to date. I'm honestly not sure where all of the time went, but here we are, right in the thick of the holiday season. With that, I am very excited to get started with the random giveaway contest this year, so I thought that now would be a good time to lay out the ground rules for any and all who would like to participate.

*Image found here

First and foremost, this is not meant to be anything stressful or difficult. I want to be able to have the opportunity to share a little something this time of year, and hopefully everyone will have a good time just participating.

Additionally, I know there are many different people who read here that also celebrate a variety of holidays this time of year. Please know that I do my best to keep things as general as I can, but I will apologize in advance if an occasionally-Christmas-specific item pops up. If it does, please feel free to insert your own preferred holiday instead, as I in no way mean to offend or upset anyone.

In the past, I have randomly posted a question or asked for an opinion on a random day and provided a time cut-off for entries. It may be something simple or it could be slightly more complicated. As an example, perhaps I would ask for your favorite holiday song or it may have nothing to do with the holiday season and I'd ask for your favorite bike tale. Really, I've left the possibilities quite open (because sometimes it's nice to have a simple task, and other times it's fun to dig in a little more), so who knows what thought may cross my mind.

As you may notice (if you played the last round a few years ago), the overriding rules have remained pretty much the same. In case you missed the last iteration or need a refresher, here they are again for your review.

These are the things you should know for each giveaway (though exact rules may vary from giveaway to giveaway, these will remain the same, unless otherwise noted in the specific contest):

1) Entrants must have a mailing address within the U.S. to win, but anyone is welcome to share and participate in the individual contests just for fun. Also, if you are outside of the U.S. and are willing to pay the shipping costs of the item, I am happy to send it off to you (or I will pay the costs of shipping in the U.S. and you would pay the difference). If this should apply to you during the game, we'll have an email chat and you can let me know what you've decided. Otherwise, another name will be randomly selected to win the giveaway item.

2) Anyone may enter. As with prior contests though, entry is limited to humans, and my family members are ineligible, though friends... and enemies... are welcome to play along. As stated in the past, I truly hope I don't have enemies, and if I do, please don't identify yourself. I prefer to live in my fantasy world in which we all get along. You may re-gift the item (I'll honestly never know the difference), or if you want me to send the item to a friend instead of you, that's acceptable as well (see rule #1 above if this is applicable).

3) Having the ability to post anonymously on the blog is great - but, for a contest or giveaway, not so much. Because of this, if you are someone who generally posts anonymously, please do include your name (or a nickname, if you prefer to not tell others your real name) with your answer/entry so that I can add you to the entries. If you don't provide a name in some fashion, I won't be able to put your name in the "hat pull" so to speak.

4) Participants may only enter each contest once, but may enter any and all contests.

5) Any taxes, fees, and so on for reporting purposes and other reasons are the responsibility of the winner (Check with your professionals, which is certainly not me. You don't even want to know about the tax bill we received recently because of my mistake three years ago. Needless to say, I am not a tax professional, and probably shouldn't even be doing our own taxes - but I digress).

6) Shipping of each prize will be paid by Endless Velo Love (except as indicated in rule #1, if applicable to you).

7) Please read each contest requirements carefully, as they will likely vary.

8) All winners will be chosen by a random name generator selection process online... which also means that it is possible to win more than once. However, I am placing a limit of two wins for any single person throughout the contest (we have to keep this somewhat fair and spread the love around...you know, to all three of my readers). I don't think anyone was a winner more than once with the last round, but it is possible. 

9) If a prize isn't claimed in a reasonable amount of time, or in the time frame given after the winner is announced, and/or if I am unable to reach the winner, I will move on to the #2 participant or possibly do a new giveaway (completely at my discretion). 

10) Though I'm not a very good rule follower myself, participants must abide by all rules for each contest, or the entry will not be included in the selection process.

For anyone who may be wondering about the random selection process, I don't want any means of interfering with the selection, so I use an online random generation process by putting all names into a list like this:

A sample list of entries for any given giveaway
*Generated at random.org

Then, I hit the "randomize" button toward the bottom of the page and it provides me a ranking for each entry like this:

This is a sample of what might turn out given the list above. In this case, Bernie would be the winner of the giveaway.

It makes things really easy for me so that I don't have to pick favorites from a bunch. Whomever is listed as #1 gets that specific gift. If s/he doesn't respond by the time cutoff, then I move down the list to the #2 person (or do a new giveaway) and so on. If the prize isn't claimed, it goes back into the prize pool and someone else can win it at a later time.

Time is of the essence, both with entering the giveaways and with responding if you are a winner, so please do check in often. Generally speaking, only a few folks have entered each contest in the past, so there are decent odds that you will win something.  I do my best to provide a reasonable amount of time for entries and responses for those who've won; however, having said that, I may allow shorter or longer periods of time for entry, depending on the giveaway, what I have going on in life, and so on... so, as stated early on, please do read each giveaway carefully to know how long you have to enter and check back soon after the end point to see if you've won.

There haven't been an exact number of giveaways set quite yet, so it could end up being just a few or it may turn into more. There may be more than one giveaway in a day, or they may end up being several days apart. Regardless of when they show up here, I hope that you'll participate in the giveaways.

So, what's going to be given away exactly? That's still a bit up in the air, but in the past giveaway items such as a year subscription to a bicycling magazine of your choice, bicycle decor, small personal items, and other such sundries were up for grabs. Generally speaking, all of the giveaways will more than likely have something to do with riding a bike.

I'm excited to get going, so the first giveaway could go up at any time. If you have questions, please feel free to ask away. Otherwise, I'll look forward to hearing from you all soon in the form of your entry. Happy Holidays!!

Rivendell Bicycle Works San Francisco Pop-Up Location (June 1-9)

Every couple of weeks (or so), I get the standard release e-mail's from RBW (aka Rivendell) that are sent to those who have subscribed to their updates. I enjoy reading them (and they are far from "standard" for most bike shops) - even if I'm not looking for any parts/bikes in particular. I simply find them amusing in and of themselves (if you haven't subscribed, I think it's worthwhile - plus you get a heads up on discounted items... bonus!). In one of the more recent e-mail's there was talk about an SF pop-up location coming in June, and since we're almost there now, it seems only fitting to spread the word to those who aren't aware and will be in the area (or can make a trip out) to see this temporary location. Additionally, to those who can make it by this pop-up spot, there is word of coupons being given out - that's right, coupons - and some other items I'll get to shortly. Mental note:  Hmm... wonder if I can plan a trip out conveniently in the next week or so.

*Image from RBW

Anyone who reads here regularly knows how much I love my Rivendell bicycles. They are the lifeblood of my riding, and some days I wonder how I ever got along without them. I love that they are easy to ride, comfortable, and work for just about any type of riding (and really, any type of riding unless I'm trying to race - and beat - someone on a lightweight road bike). It's hard not to want to share about an event for a company and product that I've truly enjoyed. If you've wanted to check them out in person, this may just be the time to do so.

Although I hate to do it, I'm going to start with the bad news (all good things must have a small bit of bad, I suppose)... there will be no test rides available at this location, except the 71cm Homer, which will require at least a 100cm PBH (which, I suppose, leaves me out - bummer - but thankfully, I have my own, in a hobbit size, of course). Riv has stated that it would just be too difficult to deal with what they hope will be a lot of foot traffic (you are, however, welcome to visit their usual spot in Walnut Creek if you'd like to test a bike out, but they will likely be low on stock/staff there since they'll be bringing much of it to this new location; and while I've never tried it myself, I hear the distance is an easy BART ride from the city). The only other possible hiccup looks to be parking for cars (bike parking should be ample). Which, I think just about ends the bad news. Everything else seems pretty exciting, at least as far as I'm concerned.

For starters, where is this pop-up anyway? It will be located in the Mission District, near Shotwell and three blocks from the 24th and Mission BART Station.
Exact address: 3156 24th Street, San Francisco, CA (the space is run by Asterisk Magazine, if you are familiar with the area).
Days/Hours: June 1-9, from 12PM-7PM.

What exactly is going to happen in this location? Well, opening day, Saturday, June 1, sounds to be exciting! It is rumored that there may just be a give-away that day (at 5PM)... but don't tell anyone I gave away a secret (okay, it's not really a secret - but it seems like something that should be). If you can't make it out for opening day, never fear! There will be lots more to see (both that day and the other 8 days), such as discounted items available only to those there in person, free schwag, and a "super-have-to-be-there-to-get-it-super-deal." They will have bicycles to see and touch, bags, handlebars, small items for sale, brochures, discounted posters, and an espresso machine to keep you caffeinated, too.

*Image from RBW

If all goes well with this pop-up, Riv may extend their stay a bit (but definitely don't count on it, as you don't want to miss out on the deals and giveaway). When asked if RBW would be opening a permanent location in San Francisco, Grant states, "Probably not right away, but we're looking into an Alamo store, and if that isn't a money pit, if we can work out some bugs in it, we'd look at other locations. The tough part is staffing it. We don't want regular people." No regular people, eh, Mr. Petersen? I'm pretty irregular, and I've always wanted to work in a bike shop. :O) The commute might be a bit rough from Colorado, and I'm basically mechanically inept, but I laugh and smile a lot... and love bicycles!

But enough of my sad attempt to solicit a job... Hopefully, many, many people will make it out to support this exciting adventure for Rivendell, and maybe even win something super cool. Help spread the word... especially if you're in the San Francisco area. I hope to join you there - if I can wiggle my way into a super-cheap flight out to Cali.