Slow News - April Edition Hi Neighbors, Happy April! ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏

*Take 8, April 10th *

Slow News.

Hi Neighbors,

I promised Ayla I’d write the newsletter this week and it’s been like pulling teeth in fits and starts two steps forward and one back and any other cliche you can think of because, you see, I feel like writing things down makes them permanent. Like you REALLY mean them.

I’ve always been a “feel them strongly but hold them loosely” kind of opinion holder and there are just so many men on the internet with strong opinions (about bikes and otherwise) who hold them so tightly and it’s exhausting. I much prefer to talk - it’s the 25 years of bartending in me - come by the shop and I’ll tell you what I think about the New Yorker’s best book list or how to socialize a feral kitten or how bike sizing works or AI or the epidemic of isolation and loneliness. I have musings, strong and otherwise, about all kinds of things. I try to keep my really strong opinions to things in which I am an expert and I try to keep ALL my opinions held lightly. I’m ready for new information and I’m ready to adapt.

So, coming here and hyping myself up to tell you what I think about our world (big world - Palestine, the failure of the Democratic party, the epidemic of isolation and loneliness and small world - the city’s failure to fund MUNI, the foolish attempt to recall Joel Engardio, the epidemic of isolation and loneliness), fills me with misgivings.

But I do have something to say, and I promised Ayla, so here we are.

We need to stop giving our money to monsters. I know there’s no ethical consumption under capitalism but going to the Hands Off protest and then taking an Uber home and ordering Doordash is a choice. Almost every day someone brings in a part they bought on Amazon and asks us to install it and that is a choice. I believe it’s a moral choice and it has consequences. And I'm not even talking about funneling all the money into a few billionaires who are funding autocracy, though that's happening too, I’m talking about something even more important. And I’m no purist, man. I needed a stupid, proprietary thing for the shop the other day and it was $50 everywhere except for Amazon and fucking Walmart where it was $25 - I’m not a fool, I bought it from Walmart and it’s bugged me ever since. Free shipping! At what cost?

The cost is the degradation of our most beloved and cherished spaces - our cities. If you buy your toilet paper from Jeff Bezos then local markets can't sustain themselves (or become prohibitively expensive) and struggle paying their staff a living wage. Workers are forced to live farther and farther from work, commuting hours each way. The local cafe can't stay open because there's not enough foot traffic. The bookstore that hosted community events closes. The hardware store where the owner knew exactly what obscure screw you needed disappears. There is an epidemic of isolation and loneliness. I think I might have mentioned that before.

This isn't just about convenience versus inconvenience. It's about the slow death of community spaces. When we click BUY NOW we're not just purchasing a product, we're voting for a future where our neighborhoods are hollowed out. Every delivery van that rumbles down your street represents another nail in the coffin of vibrant urban life.

Our cities evolved over centuries as spaces for connection (and commerce). The corner store wasn't just where you bought milk - it was where you bumped into neighbors, where the cashier asked about your kids, where community notices hung in the window. When we replace these interactions with the sterile ping of a delivery notification, we lose something profound.

Look around your neighborhood. Notice the empty storefronts, the "for lease" signs that stay up for years. That's the physical manifestation of our collective online shopping habits. We're trading the soul of our cities for the convenience of two-day shipping and it's a shit bargain.

The bottom line is if you buy tires from the internet website amazon dot com I can’t pay Ayla’s salary or afford the electric bill or buy satsuma mandarins for the staff and, ultimately, we won’t be here to help you install them. Do I sound dramatic? I do not mean to sound dramatic, and we won’t be shutting down shop if we can’t afford mandarins, but our world will be a little more dull without our choice of spring produce.

And in the swirling shitstorm of a doom scrolling world a small thing you can do to make your corner of this dying planet a bit better is to stop by your local market and ask how everyone’s doing. It’s weird to say but…buy stuff. An old Austin bartender once told me “it seems like this whole economy is propped up by us going around and stuffing money in each other’s tip jars” and that seems like a good economy to me. Let’s pay each other, prop each other up and in the places that allow and encourage it - hang out a bit, loiter, browse, poke about. We want you here bugging us! It’s our whole reason for being and we’re grateful for your patronage.

Jay

Okay. Ayla here, but just for a minute. I handed the keyboard over to Jay this month because puppy raising is somehow a bigger distraction than grad school and between the two of them I can’t keep anything straight. But I still wanted to let you know that our events are going strong and keep you all in the loop. Each month we have a better idea of how to give you guys a good time, how to teach you things you want to know, and how much hot water we need to bring for tea.

This month on the calendar:

Night Moves! - Thursday, April 10th (thats today)

Meet at 521 Balboa Street at 7:15, Roll at 7:30

We’re cruising through the GGP and down towards the newly named Sunset Dunes.

Rotating Mechanics Class! - Thursday, April 17th @ 7:15

Tubeless Tire 101

Have a tubeless set up or interested in installing one? Come learn how to fix your flats, keep your sealant flowing, and prep your kit.

Sign up below: Sign up here!

Community Night! - Thursday, April 24th @ 7:00 - 9:00

Come share space with us in the shop, have a drink, a laugh, pet a puppy, ask your bike questions (or life questions) and listen to the music play a little louder than it does during business hours.

See you there!

Day Grooves! - Sunday, April 27th

Meet at 521 Balboa Street at 10:45, Roll at 11:00

Guys, I got the memo, the girls and the gays do NOT want to wake up at 9:00 in the morning to go ride with me!! How silly of me! Back to an 11:00 start. I’m thinking we make our way to a coffee shop for some silly little cappucinos and a little bit of gossip. How fun! SEE YOU THERE.

And really, the best Scenic Routes event is happening from noon to seven, Wednesday through Sunday every single week. When our doors are open, we are here for you to pop by, yap for a minute or twenty, and then go back about your business. Are you on Balboa getting lunch at Cinderella? Bring us a cookie and tell us about your day! Are you on Clement picking up books at Green Apple? Swing by and give us a review of the novel you just finished. Are you on the other side of the bridge having a mechanical issue that you just can’t figure out? Send us a text and we’ll walk you through whatever drama has come your way.

The point being, our events are a time for us to get together and let our circles mix, but the time for community is ALWAYS. And more specifically, noon to seven, Wednesday through Sunday :)

Ayla *Visit our Site :) *

Scenic Routes Community Bicycle Center, 521 Balboa Street, San Francisco, United States

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