Coast Highway Solana Beach

STALKING DA SHADOWS WITH CATHERINE CARLTON FINE ARTIST (at Solana Beach City Hall Gallery)

 Carlsbad artist Catherine Carlton was in the catbird's seat for an art show continuing through next month at Solana Beach City Hall, HER art show. She was joined in the sculpture gallery by the renowned Syd Harris.

The unique expression that has its own language of form, color, space, emotion and technique THAT IS Catherine Carlton attracted quite a few people to the artists' opening.

This shadow of a series exposes the vulnerability of the creative process, in Catherine's words, while questioning assumptions about art, an audience and the artist incognito. The shadows began to tug at all from canvases speaking to the hidden parts in all of us; the personal, private, mysterious reaches of the soul.

As always, a cornucopia of treats and sweets greeted the guests, including many of the North Coast's cognoscenti and fellow artists. As in the lyrics of a song or a verse in a poem, the audience was asked to pause, reflect, remember...and feel their own connection. All the better, art for the home or office? Ever the egalitarian, Catherine sells her images by the square-foot, so bring your ruler to the gallery.

Want to know more? Visit www.catherinecarlton.com. The show continues through March 31 at Solana Beach City Hall Gallery, 635 South Highway 101.

  (Despite a slight blemish provided by a disagreement between a couple of Edwardian gents, the night was adjudged fit and fun for all.) 

For more, visit www.catherinecarlton.com.

'What Fresh Hell Is This?' Failure on the 763, first morning Amtrak San Diego train to LA

 For more tales from the Surfliner on Amtrak's front lines, visit here....

A failure in management

Things have been rough for those of us on Pacific Surfliners 763 lately.  This is the first train out of San Diego, and is very heavily used by commuters.The big stop is Irvine, but a surprising number of us are power commuters going all the way to LA on a daily basis. 

From LA, 763 goes on up to Goleta, where it turns around and comes back down as train 784.  This is the 5.10 departure out of LA and is also a heavily used commuter service.  Of course, if 763 is late going out, 784 is late coming back. 

For the last few weeks 784 has been a disaster, mainly due to trackwork north of LA.  Finally, Amtrak decided to have 763 terminate in LA, and use the Amtrak coaches to bring everyone down from up north.  (This was suggested by one of the regular tweeters some days before they did it.... did Amtrak listen to him?)   That helped. Now the trackwork is done and 763 is again going up to Goleta.

But 763 has been having problems.  There have been cancellations, mechanicals, and a trespassing incident last week (= railspeak for fatality, probably suicide) .  This last caused me to get a ride to Irvine from a fellow commuter, D;  he dropped me at the Irvine station so I could get on Metrolink.  My mother would be horrified that I'm getting into cars to drive 50 miles with men whose last names I don't know!  ;-)

Monday this week 763 was 30 min late which had me really peeved.  But yesterday, it exceeded even that, by throwing a mechanical just before it reached the LA river, about 15 min outside of LA Union.  We came to a stop and sat waiting.

Normally, if there is a locomotive failure, they sweep it up by coupling the dead train to the next Amtrak coming by, making a double-length train that limps the rest of the way into LA.  The yard is there and they can swap out the engine.

Foolishly, we assumed that since we were at most 2 miles from the yard, they would just send out a locomotive and pull us in.  Right?

Wrong!  Turns out the worst place it could have happened was near the yard.  We waited, and waited, and waited.  Apparently they drove some mechanics over who couldn't fix it.  They offered to let people off and walk them to the street, but we were in industrial east LA/Vernon, in the middle of the freight yards-- not exactly a place where you can catch a cab, and not easy to direct a colleague with a car.  We watched as Amtrak 599 (the express) went by an hour later, and then, another hour after that, we saw 567 go by. Finally, FINALLY, a rescue locomotive arrived and took us into LA Union, 2.5 hours late.

A conductor told me today that the problem was that the rescue locomotive didn't have a conductor and they had to have one to leave the yard. (Conductors are the commanders of the train; the engineer is the driver).  If that is the case, why didn't they just hook us up to 599 when it came through, and go in together?  Yes, 599 would have taken a 20min delay to do that, but the hundreds of people on 763 would have gotten to LA much earlier and 599 is often late anyway. 

Whose brilliant idea was it to leave 763 sitting there stranded for 2.5 HOURS?   

The first goal should be to get passengers where they are going.  Especially for 763, which is not full of vacationers, but full  of people trying to get to work.  I should have been at work at 9.15;  I needed to be at work by 10;  I got there at 12.

If we'd thrown the mechanical in San Juan Capistrano, we would have been to LA by 10 and I'd have been to work by 10.30--not good, but not nearly as awful as it was.

Every morning when I get on 763, I feel like Dorothy Parker:  What fresh hell is this?

Got Rid of Gaddafi...SO WHAT DOES IT TAKE TO GET RID OF DEADBEAT SOLANA BEACH CITY MANAGER DAVID OTT???

We are tired of these career bureaucrats bleeding taxpayers dry. This isn't a Tea Party position, but a progressive Ah-Ha Rancho Santa Fe News opinion.

There are plenty of slings and arrows to cast at the numerous despicable North County and San Diego political officials and sycophants but that's for another day. Today, we bring you the worst of the worst, a most despicable thief of the public funds for his own greed and aggrandizement.

WE BRING YOU MORALLY DEAD, CORRUPT AND DIRECT --

DAVID OTT. Past, present and future Solana Beach city manager. Really, the only people making out better through greedy subterfuge are the 100 Rancho Santa Fe "farmers" receiving federal farm subsidies even though, obviously, they are not farmers and the few who do have "farms" use them as tax dodges.

 But back to ODD: Listen to the tale of his take:

"David Ott, who also served for years as the city's public safety director, officially retired from his city manager post in December and began collecting a pension of roughly $13,500 per month.

However, he still works under contract as Solana Beach's interim city manager, earning roughly $78 per hour in addition to a monthly cellphone allowance of $50 and car allowance of $450."

Ott continues to serve as interim city manager and no search for a permanent replacement is yet under way. He said last week he doesn't know exactly how many hours he has billed the city under his contract, but it's less than 960 hours, which is considered full-time employment by the California Public Employees' Retirement System and would jeopardize his retirement.

Ah-Ha Rancho Santa Fe News says: DAVID OTT MUST RESIGN OR BE REPLACED IMMEDIATELY.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 More backstory, compiled from sources:

An email criticizing Ott's pension and pay arrangement was recently sent to several news agencies. It accused Ott of using his years as a public safety employee to receive a higher pension.

Ott said allegations he spiked his pension are untrue, but he acknowledged that his pension is unique because he held several positions in the city.

He said he believes the recent criticism is coming from firefighters who were unhappy with pension reform and worried about the potential for staff cuts in the Fire Department.

Solana Beach is working to close a nearly $700,000 budget shortfall in the current fiscal year. Proposed cuts include leaving two city administrative positions open to save nearly $300,000; reducing the amount of work scheduled to be done on the city's general plan to save $310,500; and cuts to various city departments totaling $153,700.

OTT GETS ON THE PUBLIC GRAVY TRAIN

Ott was hired by the city in 2003 as its director of public safety and fire chief. He said Thursday that he also served as the city's assistant city manager, before he was hired as city manager in 2006.

From 2006 to 2009, Ott retained his post as fire chief in addition to serving as the city manager and public safety director.

During those three years, Ott said his retirement was calculated using formulas for both regular government employees and public safety employees.

According to the city, 75 percent of his retirement was calculated using a "2.5 percent at 55" formula and 25 percent was calculated using the public safety workers' formula "3 percent at 50."

Government employees' retirements are calculated using a percentage of their highest annual salaries (2.5 or 3 percent here), multiplied by the number of years they worked, for up to 30 years of service.

When Ott retired in December, his annual salary was $180,250.

"I didn't spike my pension, I got promoted," Ott said.

YEAH RIGHT.  GET RID OF OTT TODAY. Over and sold-out...

ECopywriters find Solana Beach, Calif. great for farming, SEO content farming that is...

 ECOPYWRITERS.com

FOUNDER: Cody Maher

ANNUAL REVENUE: $1.2 million

EMPLOYEES: Five fulltime, along with 20,000 freelancers

LOCATION: Solana Beach

Two years ago, the Solana Beach entrepreneur launched a website to help businesses outsource content generation for the web. His website,  ecopywriters.com, is already generating $1.2 million in revenue. It acts as a middleman between the clients — which include Toyota, San Diego-based ProFlowers, Victoria's Secret and 1-800-PetMeds — and his 20,000 freelance writers and editors.

Businesses turn to ecopywriters.com for original corporate blog posts, product descriptions and other written material to help them show up in search engines such as Google.

It’s one of many websites seeking to leverage the ease of communicating and delivering jobs on the web to meet business needs. Other examples include elance.com, guru.com and Freelancer.com.

“The future of work is happening in a major way because of the Internet,” Maher said. “It can get done efficiently and quickly and economically. Why is office space required?”

Maher’s business model is a little different from that of similar websites. He doesn’t connect the freelancers with clients directly; instead, he coordinates the job and communicates the specifications to the freelancers, whom he pays. Typical assignments include a series of 50-word product descriptions for an e-commerce site or a 500-word piece using certain keywords.

“We’re trying to differentiate ourselves by building an intelligent software platform that guides the client through a three- or four-step ordering process,” Maher said.

How much does it pay?

The base rate paid by ecopywriters.com is 2 to 2.5 cents per word, so 10 50-word product descriptions — an hour or so of work — might command about $12.50. Copywriters who score high on an exam testing grammar and writing ability have access to higher-paid jobs requiring more research or adherence to a company style guide. “As the requirements go up, we are trying to increase the price because of the amount of effort,” said founder Cody Maher. Maher said his most active freelancers make $700 to $1,500 every two weeks.

Unlike other services, he hires only writers from the U.S. and Canada. “I think it’s important to try to create jobs, to bring things back on shore,” he said.

The website’s capacity is growing swiftly as more freelancers sign up.

“In 2009, one of our largest clients wanted 50 news articles produced each week,” he said. “It took us all week to do it. Now we can probably do that in a few hours.”

San Diego Wine Storage Opening at Solana Beach, Calif. on Thursday, Aug. 18...

San Diego Wine Storage
Alec White
858-345-1742
alec@sdwinestorage.com
www.sdwinestorage.com

San Diego Wine Storage, a premium wine storage facility located near Old Town in San Diego, will open its second wine storage center in Solana Beach on Saturday, August 18. The new facility, located off Stevens Avenue at 742 Genevieve Street, will cater to wine collectors, investors, restaurants and wholesalers requiring temperature controlled facilities to safeguard their wine.

Customized client solutions

SDWS Solana Beach will house 540 private lockers capable of holding more than 170,000 bottles and will accommodate collections from 12 to 200 or more cases of wine. The entire facility is temperature and humidity controlled with monitored security systems and has onsite managers available to assist clients with their every need.

SDWS specializes in customizing wine lockers for its clients with case storage and bottle rack options. The company also offers a variety of wine-related services including pickup and delivery, wine cataloging and updating services, online cellar management, moving services, and acceptance of direct shipments from wineries and online retailers.

Grand Opening Special

SDWS Solana Beach is offering one-time discounts for collectors who reserve lockers by the end of August. Reserve a 27 to 108 case locker for one year and get one month free rent; reserve a 108+ size locker and they'll knock two months rent off of your first year lease.

San Diego Wine Storage in Solana Beach is located at 742 Genevieve St., just off Stevens Ave. and five minutes from Interstate 5. It's close to shopping centers and restaurants and has easy access with plenty of parking. If you would like more information or want to reserve a locker call (858) 345-1742 or visit the San Diego Wine Storage website http://www.sdwinestorage.com.

Solana Beach Co. Auctioning Rare Pistol Owned by Howard Hughes, Used in 'Hell’s Angels'

Listing Format:	Auction
Current price :	$2,500.00
# of bids:	0
Closes:	82 Days, 17 Hours
Starts:	9/1/2011 1:00:00 PM
Ends:	9/17/2011 1:00:00 PM

Craig Gottlieb Militaria Auctions of Solana Beach is looking at some serious loot when it auctions on Sept. 1 a rare German Luger pistol once owned by aviation pioneer Howard Hughes.

The iconic handgun was used in the 1930 epic World War I film Hell’s Angels, which Hughes directed. Gottlieb places a conservative estimate of $50,000 on the gun, and notes that a pistol owned by gangster Al Capone recently sold for almost $110,000 at auction in London. He is no stranger to exotic collectibles, and he recently obtained the desk set that was used by Adolf Hitler to sign the Munich Agreement in 1938, and this set will also be up for auction in September.

The gun was used in the final scene of the Hollywood blockbuster that introduced actress Jean Harlow to the silver screen. It was one of the most expensive “talkies” ever produced. It was also notable for introducing the phrase “excuse me while I put on something more comfortable” into the American lexicon.

The history of the gun is also unique. It was once owned by Hell’s Angels screenwriter Joseph March, who received the Luger from Hughes as a gift. The written provenance that comes with the Luger is thus excellent. Included with this famous gun is a letter from the screenwriter’s family, including the family member who sold it to a collector in 1992. But, the most compelling provenance is the movie itself.

“When you play back the scene frame-by-frame, you can easily make out the unique features of this rare model Luger,” says Gottlieb, noting the slender barrel, unique grip safety and the shape of the other features, which are unique to this rare pistol. “If Hughes had used a regular Luger, we would never know if this was really the same gun.”

The letter that accompanies the Luger states that Hughes gave it to March in the 1930s “as a token of appreciation following the film.”

"This is an outstanding example of the 1900 "scoop toggle" American Eagle Luger.  This very rare gun was used as a prop in the movie Hell's Angels, a movie produced in 1930, and directed by Howard Hughes.  Originally obtained from the estate of the screen-writer who wrote the script, the pistol was given to him by Howard Hughes.  The pistol was used in the most compelling scene in the movie, when Roy shoots his brother Monte Rutledge to save the lives of British soldiers.  The cry by Monty that "He wants to live" as he beats down the door of their holding cell, the Germans waiting for the shot outside, is the most famous part of the film.  In the DVD which accompanies this gun, when you play the scene frame-by-frame, you can very easily make out the slender barrel, scooped-toggle, grip safety, and the "DWM" manufacture on the top of the gun.  This, in combination with the letter from the screen-writer's son, provided after his death, locks this gun into the scene.  This firearm is in outstanding condition, and is a $6000 to $7000 gun by itself, made more valuable by the association with this pivotal Howard Hughes film."

-- Craig Gottlieb Auctions

State of California-mandated Solana Beach affordable housing is not just a river in Egypt, according to officials...

(Photo: Solana Beach-supplied artist's conception of "The Pearl" proposed mixed-use affordable housing project.)

Faced with state of California-mandated affordable housing requirements, Solana Beach officials Wednesday unveiled a mixed-use development project proposal called "The Pearl" that would add 10 apartments and 1,300-square foot market. The apartments would house an estimated 44 residents.

That leaves only another 130 to 135 affordable housing units to go before 2020.

Solana Beach officials held a sparsely attended workshop detailing the first small steps towards affordable housing for Solana Beach-kind. The proposed site at South Sierra Avenue, just north of Via de la Valle is a parking lot on the bluffs above Highway 101.

A public-private development partnership with developer Ginger Hitzke will go threesies with a cherry on top with three each of 1-bedroom, 2-bedroom, 3-bedroom apartments topped by the exclusive -- albeit "affordable" -- 4-bedroom suite. Families of four who make between $27,500 and $48,700 per year would be eligible to apply. Solana Beach’s is $78,500.

As per the general Solana Beach NIMBYism, a few residents of the neighborhood kind called the project "completely inappropriate for our neighborhood."

Interim City Manager David Ott -- he "retired" in September 2010 -- was quoted as saying, “Low-income housing has to be throughout the community to integrate with the whole community,”

Said councilman Dave Roberts, according to sources, the project was a “gift that fell into this community’s hands that would help the city avoid costly lawsuits for violating state housing rules as well as provide housing for local teachers and police officers.

MORE ON DAVID OTT'S INTERIM CONTRACT WITH SOLANA BEACH

Solana Beach City Manager David Ott, who announced last month that he would retire at the end of the year, has agreed to stay on into 2011 to help the city transition to his eventual replacement.

Ott, 56, said last month that “personal circumstances” led to his decision to leave his position as of Dec. 30. He will serve on in an at-will, interim basis from Jan. 1 through June 30. His agreement has the potential for two 180-day extensions. Ott will earn $78 an hour, have a monthly vehicle allowance of $450 and a cell phone allowance of $50. He will not receive any medical, dental or retirement benefits, saving the city an estimated $84,000.

City of Solana Beach, Calif. 25th Anniversary Parade steps off 9 a.m. Saturday, June 4 @ City Hall

City of Solana Beach 25 Anniversary Parade Come Celebrate With Us! City Hall: 635 S. HWY 101 Solana Beach, CA 92075

To commemorate the City of Solana Beach's 25th Anniversary, the City is excited to announce a fun-filled community parade. Please join us as we celebrate this exciting time in our City's history and look forward to another successful 25 years. Date: Saturday, June 4th Time: 9:00 a.m. Route: Hwy 101 from City Hall to Plaza St. Click here for the parade flyer Click here for the 25 Anniversary page on Facebook

"Celebrating Solana Beach" Arts Alive Banners honor 25th Anniversary of city's founding 

Arts Alive BANNERS

 "Celebrating Solana Beach"

The 2011 Arts Alive Banners now hanging on streetlight poles along Highway 101 and Lomas Santa Fe Drive display reflections of life in our community of Solana Beach.

This year's banner theme, "Celebrating Solana Beach," is in honor of the City's 25^th anniversary on July 1, 2011. These colorful banners were painted by students, professional and future artists, as well as few moms and dads.

The imaginative images and visual messages about Solana Beach are resourceful and entertaining. It is worth a stroll along the Coastal Rail Trail on Highway 101 or a drive on Lomas Santa Fe to see these unique banners.

The Arts Alive Banners will adorn our fine City throughout the summer and then will come down for the Arts Alive on the Coastal Rail Trail event (CRT Event). This year the award winning CRT Event is scheduled for Sunday, October 2, 2011; so mark your calendar and plan to attend.

 The Arts Alive Program is a popular and successful art and cultural community program sponsored by the Solana Beach City Council and hosted by the Public Arts Advisory Commission (PAAC). For more information about the Arts Alive Program or the banners please contact Anita Edman at (858) 720-2454.   

The 2011 Arts Alive Banners that are now hanging on the streetlight poles along Highway 101 and Lomas Santa Fe Drive display reflections of life in our community. This year's banner theme, "Celebrating Solana Beach," is in honor of the City's 25^th anniversary which will occur on July 1, 2011. These colorful banners were painted by students, professional and future artists, as well as few moms and dads. The imaginative images and visual messages about Solana Beach are resourceful and entertaining. It is worth a stroll along the Coastal Rail Trail on Highway 101 or a drive on Lomas Santa Fe to see these unique banners.

The Arts Alive Banners will adorn our fine City throughout the summer and then will come down for the Arts Alive on the Coastal Rail Trail event (CRT Event). This year the award winning CRT Event is scheduled for Sunday, October 2, 2011; so mark your calendar and plan to attend.

The Arts Alive Program is a popular and successful art and cultural community program sponsored by the Solana Beach City Council and hosted by the Public Arts Advisory Commission (PAAC). For more information about the Arts Alive Program or the banners please contact Anita Edman at (858) 720-2454.   

Arts Alive Banners 2011

Solana Beach gets jiggy with street banner art...

Surfrider Foundation Solana Beach says don't pollute beaches with your butts, fools...

The Surfrider Foundation wants to put in ASHCANS!!! as part of the “Hold-On-To-Your-Butt” campaign. People have put in more than 100 cylinder ash cans at Cardiff, Carlsbad, Ocean Beach, Pacific Beach, Mission Beach, and La Jolla. Point Loma, Hillcrest and Imperial Beach are communities awaiting ASHCANS FOR STINKY, POLLUTING CIGARETTE BUTTS WHAT IS THE OCEAN YOUR PERSONAL ASHTRAY soon.

For the most current 'HOTYB' info visit our blog: www.holdontoyourbutt.blogspot.com  Cigarette butts are the most littered item in The United States and the world. This type of litter is not just found on streets and in urban settings; the number of cigarette butts found on beaches and nearby areas is overwhelming--typically accounting for nearly one in every three items collected during our cleanups. Cigarette waste discarded miles inland compounds the problem as it can end up in stormdrains that flow to streams, rivers, bays, lagoons and ultimately the ocean. To make matters worse, lighted cigarette butts flicked into California’s dry arid environment can spark deadly and costly wildfires.  Hold Onto Your Butt Awareness Day this summer will involve activists, volunteers, and friends of the environment gathering at three of San Diego County's busiest traffic intersections near the beach. There, Surfrider activists will hold signs, pass out personal ashtrays, stickers and graphically demonstrate to motorists the problem that we are so concerned about. We will encourage motorists and beachgoers to dispose of cigarettes safely, and explain that cigarette butts thrown on the ground can eventually end up in the ocean and affect marine life, including surfers and swimmers. Volunteers will also clean the surrounding area, keeping track of how many cigarette butts and other items they find.

Our Chapter, along with American Lung Association, the American Heart Association and other organizations fighting cigarette litter, held a press conference with the Californian Highway Patrol (CHP) and San Diego Fire Department to announce that the CHP is cracking down on smokers who throw their butts out the car window while driving. The CHP joined our coalition efforts by setting up a hotline number that people can call if they see cigarette butts being tossed onto our streets and highways. After the phone call is received, the CHP will send a warning letter to the alleged violator. The hotline number, 1-877-211-BUTT, has already been successful! Our Chapter has been working on our Hold On To Your Butt campaign for years and we are delighted to be part of such a broad-based coalition. DID YOU KNOW? Cigarette butts are the most littered item in The United States and the world. Over two billion cigarette butts get tossed everyday. That's an average of two cigarette butts daily from each of earth's 1.2 billion smokers. It is estimated that Americans toss more than 175 million pounds of cigarette butts out every year. These butts are frequently cast onto the sidewalk and streets and then pushed into storm drains that flow to streams, rivers, bays, lagoons and ultimately the ocean. At beach cleanups, cigarette butts are the most common form of trash found (typically accounting for one in every five items collected). The cigarette filter was designed to trap the toxic chemicals in the cigarette smoke from entering the smoker's body. When submerged in water, the toxic chemicals trapped in the filter leak out into aquatic ecosystems, threatening the quality of the water and many forms of aquatic life. Cigarette butts may seem small, but with an estimated 4.5 trillion butts (worldwide) littered every year, the toxic chemicals add up! Over 99% of cigarettes are now smoked outside. 18% of all litter dropped to the ground is washed into streams, rivers, lakes and the ocean by storm water runoff. Cigarette butts, are little and lightweight and are the first to get carried away into our waterways.0 Studies indicate that since we have enacted indoor smoking bans, more cigarette butts are being tossed directly into the environment. Unfortunately, this means that ecosystems have a higher chance of being affected by cigarette butts. Biologists have found butts in the stomachs of young birds, sea turtles and other marine creatures. Cigarette butts can cause other environmental problems, such as fires. For example, a cigarette butt was the possible cause of an 11,000 acre fire in San Diego in January 2001. Many smokers incorrectly believe that cigarette filters are made of biodegradable cotton. In fact, cigarette filters are made of plastic cellulose acetate, and can take 15 years to decompose. Ultimately, the Surfrider Foundation is calling for better enforcement of laws against cigarette butt littering; additional taxes on tobacco products specifically earmarked for clean-up efforts; more effort on the part of tobacco companies to improve the biodegradability of filters, reduce packaging waste and educate consumers about the impacts of tobacco waste on the environment; and more local involvement from governments and businesses to reduce cigarette littering by supplying ashtrays and other "disposal mechanisms" at building entrances.

March comes in like a lion and also is 'Sustainability Month' at Solana Beach, Calif.

This month is Sustainability Month in Solana Beach.  The Kick-off event is an environmental forum (and surfboard raffle) for youth, students, and environmental professionals to discuss career opportunities and the future of community sustainability.  Panelists include Lesa Heeber-Mayor of Solana Beach, Len Hering - retired Admiral, VP of Business Services at USD and leader of the USD sustainability program, along with teachers, and environmental scientists.

"The City and Clean and Green Team has once again partnered to develop relevant and timely events promoting the continued implementation of environmental sustainability programs throughout the community. The kick-off event will be an environmental forum which will include organizations from all over the County and feature a moderated discussion between active youth members and environmental professionals.

"The forum discussion will focus on environmental sustainability efforts and potential career opportunities. This forum will also include a raffle, with the grand prize being a brand new Firewire surfboard.

"Other events planned for the rest of the month include beach cleanups and school programs with the culmination of the widely popular Green Fair and Earth Hour events to be held at Fletcher Cove Park."

-- Solan Beach city people

Contacts: Dan King DKing@cosb.org  (858)720-2477 or Lane Sharman, Clean and Green Committee, lane@solanaenergy.com  (858)755-2868.

Bicycle Retailer and Industry News dealer tour comes to Solana Beach, Encinitas, Oceanside...

(Editor's Note: BRAIN, as the bicycle retailer and industry news folk refer to themselves, has been posting daily online coverage of its SoCal tour of bike dealers. For daily coverage, follow the tour on Twitter at www.twitter.com/bicycleretailer and on Facebook at www.facebook.com/bicycleretailer. To see the entire BRAINtrust site, zoom zoom here .)

Bike shops along Coast Highway 101 have a unique advantage: ride-by traffic. Participants on the BRAIN Dealer Tour of San Diego visited four stores yesterday that benefit from proximity to this scenic coastal stretch popular with cyclists and triathletes.

Alan’s Bike Shop has been in Oceanside since 1952. Seven years ago Jim Russell decided it was time to make a change in his life. That meant buying the shop. “I was looking for something in sporting goods,” said Russell, a career entrepreneur having been in the restaurant and commercial oven steam cleaning business.

His experience outside the industry has given Alan’s new life, not only through updating its business practices, but also the shop’s look, with Electra playing a key role.

“I wanted to create a showroom for cruisers,” Russell said. And thus he did with the help of Electra. His new 8,000-square-foot location features roughly 130 Electra bikes, with prominent Electra wall displays giving the shop an added edginess. 

Bicycle Warehouse opened two new locations in Encinitas and Escondido last year. Debbe Simmons calls them “her twins.” That brings Bicycle Warehouse’s greater San Diego tally of shops to seven.

“We’ve always wanted an Encinitas location,” said Debbe Simmons, co-owner of Bicycle Warehouse with her husband, Mike Simmons.

The 3,500-square-foot store features Bicycle Warehouse’s new blueprint, which makes the store more manageable from a variety of perspectives, according to Debbe Simmons. Bicycle Warehouse’s original flagship location in San Diego has a 13,000-square-foot showroom.

Nytro made a name for itself early on in the online space. That was attractive to Skip McDowell, who purchased the multisport store in April 2007. “I wanted this shop because it has panache and it has the ability to leverage the Internet,” said McDowell, who came from the tech industry. 

The 3,800-square-foot retail store is in a former surf shop along Highway 101. Deep-dish carbon rim wheels hang from the ceiling and wetsuits and running shoes surround high-end road and tri bikes. While the store is 60-40 road to tri, its online sales skew closer to 80 percent triathlon.

McDowell invested in an integrated ecommerce system, and launched a new backend system in May 2009. He said it took 6 to 8 months to recapture lost search engine results, but last fall web sales began taking off. Nytro has recently doubled web business month over month from the prior year. Sales are now 50-50 online to retail, and McDowell expects online to eclipse in-store sales this year.

B & L Bikes, located along Highway 101 in Solana Beach, has seen high-end road and triathlon bike sales drop off over the past year, a result of the decline in disposable income due to the economic downturn coupled with competition from other big-ticket luxury items, said Scott Alton, the shop’s buyer.

Last year was the best year the shop has ever seen in terms of quantity, but average selling price dropped dramatically, Alton said.

“We’re selling a ton more $2,000 to $3,000 bikes. We’re just not selling the $5,000 to $7,000 bikes as routinely as we used to,” he said, adding that the shop sells on average 30 bikes a month out of the Solana Beach location. Bikes spec’d with SRAM’s Apex group have sold particularly well, he said.

B & L carries Specialized almost exclusively on the bike side with a few Haro cruisers on the sales floor. On the apparel side, Alton stocks Castelli and Zoot, along with Specialized. He also dabbles in wetsuits and running shoes to appeal to North County’s triathlon community. 

The San Diego Dealer Tour headed south Wednesday to visit some of the downtown area’s colorful urban stores.

B&L Bikes

211 N Hwy 101
Solana Beach, Ca 92075
Tele: 858.481.4148
Mon – Fri 10am – 7pm
Sat 10am – 6pm
Sun 11am – 5pm