Clark here. Bike zombie apocalypse here at ground zero, Union Square. Send supplies. The UN denied our request for aid. I have seen the heart of darkness, it is cold. Tell my family I love them.

Mike has been diligently building his distinctive but utilitarian bikes since 2003 after leaving IF (he was one of the original founders) and is now out in Holliston, MA.  If you haven’t seen his rideable works of art, be certain to check out his current models.

PS:  Note the Weekly Dig placard in the background of the photo- we’ve been shortlisted for the “DigThis 2009″ awards for Best Bike Shop!  Pop over to the survey page to vote! (For us, if you feel so inclined…)

Open Bicycle now has Facebook, Twitter and Myspace. Come follow us, join us and be our friend!

You can also follow Joshua individually on Twitter.

Chorus Gallery also has a Facebook page. Come check it out.

For future reference you can find these links on the contact page.

Early in the evening, the shop began to fill up- locals, racers, friends, couriers, frame builders, artists, out-of-towners, and a few dogs mingled amidst the shiny components and locally-crafted bicycles.

The latest custom fillet-brazed steed from Icarus:

3RRR owner and artist Nao Tomii:

A bit after 7pm, the enormous raw steel door that separates OPEN from the Chorus Gallery was raised. The gallery’s inaugural show, “Keep it Down,” is a new exhibition from local photographer Justin J. Keena that showcases the artist’s past and current work via a diverse range of study, and the public seemed to be enjoying the new space and the evocative photographs:

Shortly after the gallery opening, the video kicked off. There were a few technical hitches, but our man Jon knocked out some quick technical debugging and the show began, with people covering the floors, stairs, and furniture.

A short film we produced last winter started the series, followed by another short that showcased a day in the life of Geekhouse builder Marty Walsh.  (Both films were shot and edited by local videographer Steve “Stebs” Shinnerer of Quarter Productions.)  The Boston premier of Macaframa followed- the hi-def shots of smooth riding in warm air got everyone hyped up for spring. The movies went over well with the crowd and the party began in earnest. Dom, Maggie, and Stebs held down the bar:

Free Narragansett, Fisherman’s Brew, and Redbull & Vodkas kept the kids happy and everyone took turns playing records, dancing, and generally cutting loose:

We had a wonderful time, met a bunch of great people, and saw many friends we haven’t seen for the last 4 months as we’ve been building the shop. More events are planned for the near future- we’ll post info as it becomes available. Thanks to all that helped out and supported us; we couldn’t have done it without you!

Photo credits go out to Kirsten Tamme! (Yes, we gave Justin Keena the night off..)

OPEN is open.

The last few weeks we have spent laboriously completing out build-out, launching our new design studio, superbe collaborative, sourcing a great assortment of awesome bikes, frames, components, apparel, and generally hustling like mad.  Saturday we quietly opened the front door and full service repair shop.

Our official grand opening will be the 11th of April- until then we’ll be open 10a to 8p during the week and 11a to 7p on the weekends.  The goodies are filtering in and new stock will be added every day.  Repair turnaround is same day as of now and we are offering special spring pricing on tune-ups.

Please come by and see us in Union Square in Somerville- we’re on the corner of Washington Street and Hawkins Street.  We’re quite happy with how the shop turned out and we’d love to have you all over- stop in and chill in the lounge for a bit, admire the shiny vintage components and local hand-brazed steel, and tell us what you think!

Bike to Work Pants from Cordarounds on Vimeo.

In the words of Lupe…

“We tryna go up in this club
Show a little love
Get a few drinks
Holla at some girls
Snatch up a pair
Leave outta there
Put some dro in tha air
And then go and get some grub.”

Here is a sample from J.D.O’s album TALENT

Title: The Come Up

Here are a few hints as to what you will find very soon when we “OPEN” to the world!

I found this pic on the Guardian website.  No, it’s not the parking lot at the new Ikea, it’s a holding space for unsold cars in the UK, and it’s full.  Carmakers around the world have seen sudden staggering sales slumps and resultant losses, and the number of new cars awaiting distribution and sale is climbing.  Production has ground to a halt and hundreds of thousands have been laid off.  Land Rovers and electric hybrids, hatchbacks and Hummers alike are sitting in lots like the one shown above, with little prospect of a eager new owner awaiting.

According to the Motley Fool,

“Toyota said that sales fell 32% in January, with Honda and Nissan down 29% and 30%, respectively.  In the US, Chrysler’s sales fell a whopping 55% in January, followed by GM falling nearly 50%, and Ford seeing a 40% decline.”

In Europe, many countries offer a “scrappage” incentive- usually a few thousand dollars in exchange for an older model auto to encourage the purchase of newer, more fuel efficient models.  Even this (no doubt well-lobbied) government bribe, however, seems to be having little impact of the decline of automoble consumption.  I’m not even going to try to venture an opinion on the US auto industry bailout.

It turns out that new cars are not the only ones feeling lonely right now- it’s been reported that thousands of Indian and other South Asian workers have been fleeing the once-booming Middle Eastern port city of Dubai and leaving their cars behind in the airport.  So far nearly 3000 autos have been abandoned as their owners flee the economic crash and untenable debt.

On the other hand, cycling (ahem) giant Giant Manufacturing Inc. has found itself unable to meet dealer demands for many models, and ended 2008 with sales up about 6%.  Data is spotty, but this writer found similarly upbeat sales numbers from several US, European, and Pacific rim bicycle makers.  Treehugger has also reported that bike mechanics have one of the hottest “green jobs” going right now. (see here and here)  Apparently, our employment futures are looking rosy over here at OPEN.

The (very cool) shop build-out will be done soon, stop by next month and we’ll pour ya a beer- we can talk about how this crisis presents the global community an opportunity to make real social and infrastructural change, chat about local hand-built track frames, and show you an awesome cargo bike that we have in the works… you can even carry that cool Ikea desk home with it!