Week One

Opening day was a bit of a mad rush with the press and TV people taking an interest in a ‘bunch of cyclists’ opening a coffee shop. Some good support and a lot of interest from all forms of cycling followed during the week and a great many people have returned for more coffee and particularly the pineapple cake. Soup has been more popular than porridge, and baguettes have been more popular than sandwiches. We are down to our last five sachets of hot chocolate so i can assume that mocha and hot chocolate are popular too. A steady increase in the number of people through the door at all times of day as the week progressed is sure to be a good sign and we are hoping that more will follow and make it a habit.
The official toolkit arrived in the later part of the week and my tools and what is left of my ‘stock’ from my toolbox has been returned. Mike will be nailing it all to the wall next week so Moffs doesn’t sneak it off to South Africa with him.
As well as Blanqey’s TT bike being built, we have had Moffs gorgeous Wilier Chrono to build this week. At long last I have convinced him that the japanese fishing rod/reel manufacturers also make a pretty good electronic gear set and as such the first of a pair of these speed weapons has been born. The shakedown test run for both bikes was yesterday afternoon and there is a picture somewhere that I shall try to get bloged before too long. Today, unfortunately, due to a slight oversight in the need for shoes with cleats the Wilier machine stayed on the back of the car for the large part of the TT course as we only drove the bit to Gorey to take a few holiday snaps from that end of the rock.
Ryan and Ben were in the shop yesterday afternoon and doing a fine job of cleaning the bikes and vacuuming the floors. We have been thinking about letting them earn some pocket-money by cleaning bikes on a saturday afternoon so if there are any takers for next week then please book in soon.
This afternoon we watched the opening TT from the Paris – Nice with a few friends and Big Maggys achieved exactly what we set out for it to do. Somewhere for like-minded people to enjoy a brew, a chat and to watch some top athletes participate in the common sport. During the week we intend to show as much as possible of the race so feel free to pop in and spectate with the rest of us.
Maggy & Steve Benton are back on the rock tomorrow evening for a flying visit to sort a few things out for our charity ride in July. We will be completing 1245 miles in 11 days in aid of UK Youth. Watch this space for more details and also of the ‘training’ rides we are intending to do into France in the coming months – the more the merrier.
Thats all for now folks, so thank you again for all your support during the last week and as we have said before, your comments and critique are always welcome as Big Maggys was created for all of us to enjoy.

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• March 7, 2010
• BY Ian Williams
• IN