September’s Newsletter
September has been….busy! But as always in a good way! New professional projects for Rob, New life in Europe for Amanda and a New Job for Paul… Most of the team had their hands full, and we’re always giving ourselves a pat on the back for creating content on top of all that. We hope the back to school/work hasn’t been too hard on anyone, but if you don’t feel like going out today, just remember that all the SSS good vibes are only a few clicks away! So keep it up, and we’ll see you in the streetzzz
An excellent month for the podcast, with probably two of my (Paul) favorite episodes ever. First was episode 63 with our 2022-23 buyer’s guide. We had so much fun preparing it, recording it and even talking about it afterwards. If you’re a beginner or have a friend that wants to build his first bike, this might be an easy answer. Just link this episode and voilà! You don’t have to re-explain everything all over again.
We laughed so much during this show, you can be sure we’re re-doing it next year!
Episode 65 was with no other than Jake Lanich a.k.a. @brothalanich! From his first experience on a fixed-gear to the “Tark Tuesday” he organizes every week, we got to know it all! Plus! You’re going to love hearing Rob to his best level of fanboying!
This month’s Patreon Special Episode goes hand in hand with one of this month blog-post. If you ever wanted to hear what @Kangtheframebuilder has to say, he is in this week’s video interview!
As always, every bit of extra content we produce is available from tier one of our Patreon subscription. Thank you to everyone supporting us into this amazing adventure! We love you!
News on Slowspinsociety.com
This article that I was just referring to is here! Deep into the mind of this crazy frame builder and enjoy some shots of his last creation. Not that much choice for you this month if you’re an aluminum or carbon lover. Because that second write-up is also about thin steel pipes. The bike check of Jun’s excellent Samson with this pair of Araya trispoke is online, and you should definitely check it out!
What do I have to say about last month? Well, I guess I’ve been busy for all the good reasons, and I am excited to reveal more things that everyone can get involve with. SSS.com is before all, a community, and I want everyone to be able to interact more with what’s happening here! But I’ll let you read how were the last few weeks for Amanda, so you might get a better idea of our definition of “busy”:
Alright, so I’m currently writing this text with a yummy bowl of pasta in front of me that I just cooked up real quick at 22:30 at night in my new apartment in Hamburg. *caramelized onions, sun dried tomatoes, pesto, mushrooms, and grated cheese yuuummm*
So, you might be wondering why am I cooking so late? Well I just came back from a swim training with the new crew I work for (RadRace) for my first ever triathlon, which I will be racing in two weeks in Girona, Spain. You read that right, T R I A T H L O N.
What in the world??? Misses fixed gear is going to be racing a triathlon?? Why??? And how the f*k did I get here?
Well, for starters, ever since I finished high school (which was a very long time ago) I always had the dream of living abroad on my own. Although throughout the years, I’ve travelled to many countries on my own for a couple of weeks, sometimes a month or so, I never settled down somewhere for a long time, which is something I’ve always wanted to do. More specifically, I grew up with a passion for speaking different languages, which lead me to study German for the past five years, and I always wanted to move to Germany and experience the culture… And to, you know, actually use the language.
However, unfortunately because of the pandemic, during my university studies I was never able to go study and live abroad and to fulfill this dream of mine. But after finishing my bachelors degree in May, I told myself I was going to do it, to finally go live abroad, and to make the dream I’ve had for so long, turn into a reality.
Although I had this vision of living abroad, I didn’t want to let go of what I was most passionate about in the present moment. I didn’t want to let go of the one world that spoke to me the most, which is, the world of cycling. Therefore, I decided to take it with me. After trying to find different possible options and opportunities of living abroad all while working in the bike world, I was fortunate to get in touch with RadRace at the perfect moment and to be welcomed with open arms by their crew in Hamburg, Germany.
So after many stressful weeks of trying to find an apartment in Hamburg, getting a working permit, a German credit card, bank number, insurance, etc…I booked a last minute flight, and headed to Europe. Before moving to Hamburg I spent a little time in Paris, road around in the city, and experienced how much of a nightmare it is to ride brakeless in the streets of Paris (in my opinion). Once my Paris experience was over, I managed to get all my luggage safe and sound to my apartment in Hamburg (two bikes, one very big luggage and an over stuffed duffle bag).
A week after settling into my new apartment, I headed out to a gravel race in the west of Germany near Köln called Grinduro. Although this isn’t a UCI race, nor a “very competitive” race, surprisingly won first place in my category 20-29 and 6th place overall, placing right behind four pro-cyclists. It is crazy to think that exactly one year ago, the same gravel event was hosted in my home town in Quebec, Canada, and one year later, I am racing it in Germany, a place I always wanted to live in and also race in.
Looking back at all the dreams I had in mind just a couple of years ago; from wanting to build my first fixed gear, to wanting to become a bike mechanic, to winning fixed gear crits and gravel races, and to now working for a company that I have admired for a while. I am so grateful to be where I am now, and I can’t wait for what is yet to come. Last but not least, I have to give a big thank you to Paul and Rob for supporting me throughout everything. Their energy, support, and care has helped me through the entire process and I couldn’t be happier to be working with such a great team. Merci!
And to finish it off, a little B&W pic to hit the “nostalgia spot”
Thank you to this month Patrons :
ILikeTrackBikes, Marius_five, Diego M, Patrick K, Joey R, Saiybon, Connor.D, Sack10, Robin, F. Garcia, Kai, Tamás.S, Michael.F, Robert.C, Mathieu.H, Benoit.P, Florian.R, Honza.H, Jorge.P, Michael.W, Jorge.K , A.Danger, Matěj.k , David.H, Corentin.M, Maurits, Ben.W, Edward.W, Matt.P, Alexis, K C, Brad.D, Kruucks, Sheldon.S, ClarkeStreet, ChaosRides and Alexander.C !
Thank you for supporting us and the Slow Spin Society project.
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