War vet wins right to keep name Cafe Roubaix after Specialized stands down

Story of a Small man business struggle to survive attack from BIG corporate Douchebag's at Specialized,  or what is in the name of Roubaix a small French Village that bike industry wants it so bad that they are willing to sue a small coffee shop!

VS.

Update: It looks like Specialized has worked out a deal to let war vet Dan Richter keep the name of Cafe Roubaix Bicycle Studio. Richter just posted this to his Facebook page:

“I had a great conversation with (Specialized founder and chairman) Mike Sinyard today, and I am happy to let everyone know that things will be working out fine.

“We thank you for your continued support. You have all been so very awesome to us!”

Here’s the story written earlier today.

Dan Richter, the war vet who was on the verge of giving up the name of his Cafe Roubaix Bicycle Studio in Cochrane after a lawsuit threat from U.S. bike giantSpecialized, looks to have won the battle.

Richter announced on his company Facebook page Monday night that he is back in discussions over the disputed use of the word Roubaix, a sign that he will be able to keep the name of his tiny store.

“We can announce that your voices have been heard,” he wrote. “We are now back in discussions with the other party. We are aware of recent announcements by third parties within the industry.”

Richter was referring to to a story by Stephen Frothingham in Bicycle Retailer and Industry News, in which Advanced Sports International, which owns the trademark on the word Roubaix and leases it to Specialized in the U.S., announced that it will give Richter permission to keep the name for his Alberta store and brand of wheels. In essence, ASI told Specialized to back off and let Richter use the word.

“We have reached out to Mr. Richter to inform him that he can continue to use the name, and we will need to license his use, which we imagine can be done easily,” Pat Cunnane, the CEO of ASI, told Bicycle Retailer and Industry News.

It isn’t a done deal yet, but it’s a positive sign for the thousands of people who expressed support for Richter since I first wrote about the issue on Saturday.

The details of the deal speak to the complicated nature of trademarks in our globalized world. ASI first registered the word Roubaix as a trademark in the U.S., hoping to cash in on the storied history of the gruelling Paris-Roubaix bike race, (the same thing that attracted Richter). ASI markets a bike named Roubaix under its Fuji brand.

For the past decade, ASI has leased the name to Specialized for its own Roubaix road bike. Specialized, however, registered the word as a trademark in Canada, leading the company’s lawyers to contact Richter and threaten him with a lawsuit if he didn’t remove the word from his store.

Cunnane, however, told Bicycle Retailer and Industry News that goes against the terms of its deal with Specialized.

“We are in the process of notifying Specialized that they did not have the authority, as part of our license agreement, to stop Daniel Richter … from using the Roubaix name,” Cunnane said.

Cunnane’s futher comments mirrored the sentiment that exploded on social mediasince the story started circulating. Cunnane says he doesn’t think sharing the name with Richter will confuse consumers.

Specialized still has not commented, other than its original email to me in which it said it was simply defending its trademark when it moved to stop Richter’s use of Roubaix.

ASI, Specialized and Richter will no doubt have to hash out an arrangement, but after the huge global response to Richter’s story, this is no doubt a positive sign for those who support the veteran of the Afghan war.

Richter thanked the thousands of people who voiced support for him over the past few days.

“We have received over 3500 emails, hundreds of phone calls and messages, how many #s and @s? Tweets? Do numbers go that high?” he wrote. “Our little studio is just barely 900 sqft and cycling fans, cyclists, Velomintus, industry leaders & big shots, pro riders, and icons have all made their voice heard. Thank you.”

Original article by Calgary Herald here:

War vet wins right to keep name Cafe Roubaix after Specialized stands down

A step Closer to Napa Valley "Vine Trail"

IMAGINE - the Napa Valley Vine Trail from Vine Trail Coalition on Vimeo.



Welcome to the Vine Trail! The Napa Valley Vine Trail Coalition is a grass-roots nonprofit with a vision to build a walking/biking trail system connecting the entire Napa Valley–and better join the Napa Valley to the rest of the active transportation world! WITH YOUR HELP we are working to design, fund, construct, and maintain 47 safe and scenic miles of level, paved, family-friendly, free-access Class I trail, stretching from the Vallejo Ferry to Calistoga.

To reed more visit Welcome to the Vine Trail! 

Dean's Blue Hole is the world's deepest known "Blue Hole" with an entrance below the sea level. It plunges 663 Feet deep (202 meters) in a bay west of Clarence Town on Long Island, Bahamas.

"Blue Hole" is a term which often is given to sinkholes filled with water, with the entrance below the water level. They can be formed in different karst processes, for example, by the rainwater soaking through fractures of limestone bedrock onto the water table. 

Sea level here has changed: for example, during the glacial age during the Pleistocene epoch (ice age), some 15,000 years ago, sea level was considerably lower. The maximum depth of most other known blue holes and sinkholes is 360 feet (110 meters), which makes the 663 feet (202 meters) depth of Dean's Blue Hole quite exceptional.

Dean's Blue Hole is roughly circular at the surface, with a diameter ranging from 82–115 feet (25 to 35 meters). After descending 66 feet (20 meters), the hole widens considerably into a cavern with a diameter of 330 feet (100 meters).

There are several freshwater water-filled sinkholes that are deeper than Dean's Blue Hole. These include the 890 feet (270 meters) Boesmansgat in South Africa, Mexico's Zacatón at 1099 feet (335 meters) and the 1286 feet (392 meters) Pozzo del Merro in Italy.

These Unique German Hostel Rooms Are Made From Camping Trailers

This unique German hostel rooms are made from camping trailers. Each trailer has diferente "theme" that cerise on the interior and exterior of the trailer.

To read more check here, however if you would like to make reservations contact them at Basecamp

Word of a Day - Perseverance

This guy, Brandon Stanton move to New York in 2010 with no money and only two suitcases and the idea of taking 10.000 photos in 6 months so he could become a famous photographer. A lot of people told him that he was delusional, however he follows his heart and  his Perseverance payed off at the end...

Watch this short video interview with Brandon Stanton, also you can follow him on Facebook.

Here is proof that Politicians are complete imbeciles

When I first read this news earlier today, first thing that had come across my mind was: "I honestly cannot believe that a Legislator would do something so dumb publicly" but then another thought formed: "...but on the other hand I guess he was honest about his opinion !!"
Todays community leaders and politicians that are " Representing Us" are so out of touch with reality that comments like this one are no longer coming as a big surprise.
Same rule applies for Bad Politicians as it is for unwanted pregnancies .... get educated on the subject before it is to late and you start regretting the final outcome!!

Local Legislator: No One Should Ever Ride Bikes In Suffolk County « CBS New York

S24O - or art of simpler bike travel

Some time ago I discovered "S24O" - Sub 24 hour Overnight camping and the concept stuck with me.  Most of us today don't have the resources or time to embark on an overland adventure or multi continent travel.  As much as we wish to be able to throw everything away and just cast off into the ocean of unknown to discover this world of ours as well as in the process of discovering our self, financial, society and sometime moral obligations are not working in our favor.  However do not despair, now there is a solution even for the rest of us mortals — there is S24O!!
First time I ever came across the terminology was by visiting Rivendell Bicycle Works website, personally I believe that Rivendell Crew has coined up the term themselves, but that has not been confirmed.
S24O allows us to satisfy our craving for open road and adventure on a smaller scale that it doesn't require large funds and endless preparations.
My Crew and My self are well experienced campers, backpackers and bike commuters so it is almost natural progression of things to try and see how this "new" concept will work for us.
Since the perfect opportunity has risen, in the form of several of our birthdays coming up, unseasonably warm and dry weather in Northern California and multiple potential location for simple locale overnight camping within reach of Bay Area Transit organisations we decided to just try it.
After several meetings at Cremá Coffee Roasting Company, pouring over local, City, County & Regional Parks our final destination was selected.  Date set,  camp reservations made, pending weather staying as dry as it is currently we are good to go.
Our intent is to utilized Public Transit to get as close as possible to our final destination, and then to ride our bikes to the camp site.  We will spend a night celebrating our birthdays, and then we will head back home the next day.
Now the Only thing left is packing this Gypsy Caravan and casting off.... Well, that is the part I will be writing about in my up coming posts.

Coffee and research material