January Newsletter

Take 5, January 9th, 2025

Slow News.  

Hi Neighbors! 

In true ‘slow is forever’ fashion, my laptop sat untouched for the first week of the year, and I spent more time rolling around the city and sipping on iced lattes than I did looking at a screen. I hope all of you got a similarly wonderful break from the world of commitments and computers. As we ease into the new year, I find myself excited for the routine of each week, each month, and each season to act as an opportunity for us all to get together, share company, and ride our bikes. Below is a calendar for January. 

This month’s Night Moves is being coined “To the Bach and Back” or “Bach and Hot Choc” or another funny joke that I didn’t understand the reference of (Editor’s note: Rolling Fugue). We will be listening to classical music and drinking hot chocolate at the beach. Dress warm, bring your light and a friend, and get ready to have a classically good time! Thursday, January 9th.  Meet 7:15, Roll 7:30

This month’s rotating mechanic class is all the basics of brakes. Not much else to say. Come if you want to learn about your brakes! 

Thursday, January 16th. 7:15pm

This month’s Day Grooves is probably happening, but I’m flying home from Japan the day before and am giving myself an out in case my flight is delayed by 12 hours or I’m too jet lagged to have any desire to spin my wheels. But, I’m committed to the girls and the gays and want nothing more than to hoot and holler with you on a sunday morning. This month’s ride will be slightly earlier. We’ll roll at 10 and be back to the shop around 11, and perhaps end the ride with a cup of coffee and a delicious baked good. REMINDER: This is a ride for women, for queer people, and for quiet allies. Emphasis on the quiet. 

Sunday, January 26th. Meet 9:45, Roll 10:00

Sign up for classes on the website, show up to rides at your whim, and send us suggestions for what you want to learn and where you want to ride!!!

Starting in February, we will be introducing a QUARTERLY TRAILSIDE FIRST AID CLASS. This class will have a sliding scale of $10 to $20 (BUT EMAIL US IF THIS IS PROHIBITIVE OF YOU JOINING) and will be taught by a certified red-cross nurse. You’ll leave the class with your very own first aid kit, and the knowledge to patch yourself up if you take a tumble off your saddle. We’ll share more details as the class gets closer, but the sign up is open now under our rotating mechanics class listing. Pick the price that feels right for you (we’ve added a couple higher prices if you want to help folks who need it), and we’ll see you on February 20th! 

The classes have been a shining light of my Thursday evenings, but if I may complain to you all for a moment, I think we as a community need to reckon with the sanctity of an RSVP. There are 10 spots per class, and if you sign up and decide not to come (like 6 of you every time) then someone else can’t sign up. Things happen, and plans change, but just because the class is free, it doesn’t mean you should not show up because it's cold out and you don’t feel like getting on your bike. It makes me sad!! I wait upwards of 10 minutes to start the class hoping you’ll show up! I’m embarrassed when you don’t! I worry you got a flat tire on your way over! Spare me an hour of anxiety and at least send a damn email that you can’t make it, and be an adult and put the classes you sign up for in your calendars. Okay? Okay. Thank you. 

In all the real and important ways, I have absolutely nothing to complain about. The Scenic Routes store was a beacon for community in 2024, and I feel an overflowing amount of pride to have been a part of it. 2024 was the year Quercus bikes were born, the year I became an employee, the year we started our newsletter, the year we started group rides, classes, and internships. 2024 is the year that we have deemed the start of our renaissance. The world is heavy, tragic, and literally on fire. The pressure to create change and fix the problems caused by those with far more money than sense is never ended, but when I walk into the doors of 521 Balboa, I feel as though I am being held by someone that’s saying “it’s okay, we’ll all get there in the end.” 2025 has an aura of hope about it that I will be holding onto as tightly as I can.  Our doors are always open for you if the hope is feeling a little farfetched in your mind. 

Thank you for being here. For being a part of our growth, our mistakes, our experiments, and our wins. I love my job!!! I love bikes and community and wrapping bars in hot pink tape. I love Scenic Routes, and Scenic Routes loves YOU!

-Ayla