Knowing When To Invest In Branding
If your business is investing in other businesses, then you have no shortage of customers. My latest WordPress website for Keeler Investments Group, LLC is short on branding and long on ease-of-use and functionality.
The site features a standard WordPress theme, with slight modifications to the typeface and header.
Cyclist of the Month: Bruce Hill
Age: 61
Occupation: residential designer
Hometown: Hilo, Hawaii
Residence: Eastlake
Wheels: custom Michael Celmins road bike
Imagine your work day includes a morning loop ride from Eastlake to Roosevelt Reservoir, or to Ballard, and back, followed by a leisurely lunchtime swim across Lake Union to Gas Works Park.
Bruce describes his daily ride ritual as a “cup of coffee in the morning.”
That’s quite an accomplishment for a senior who weighed 320 pounds six years ago when Bruce’s unusually sedentary lifestyle had reached an all-time high. He was spending $300-$400 per month commuting solo by car between Seattle and Tukwila for work.
But it wasn’t always like this. In Junior High School, Bruce biked eight miles daily to and from school on a Schwinn Continental with balloon tires. Later, while in the Navy, Bruce took his bike on the ship to ride, instead of taxi, around each port. And in the 1980s, Bruce was competing in six to seven triathlons per year in Southern California.
Recognizing the environmental, financial, and health benefits — Bruce landed a job in Fremont. “I wanted to do my part to protect the environment, get in shape, and save that monthly commuting cost.”
Bruce started dieting and walking regularly. After he lost 100 pounds, he started biking again.
And, in 2006, when his 1976 Mercedes Benz was totaled by someone running a red light, it was an easy decision for Bruce to become a bike-only household. “If I can’t get there by bike or bus, then I don’t need to be there.”
Bruce takes the bus, and sometimes his bike, to Pike Place Market, where he does most of his grocery shopping. “I remember driving once to Pike Place Market to buy a t-shirt for a friend, and paid more for parking than the shirt!”
Bruce was always a stronger swimmer than a cyclist, so he enjoys participating in triathlons and swimming in Lake Union. He thinks of Eastlake as a tiny beach town, nestled between the water and I-5. Although the water is not as warm as Southern California, Bruce points out that it is much warmer than swimming in the All Ireland Triathlon.
Today, Bruce can talk shop with the best mechanics who gather around his road bike, custom-built by Michael Celmins of Santa Barbara. Celmins’ builds experimental surgery tools, so you can imagine the detail of his fabricated frames. “It’s all Campagnolo Super-Record, with Cinelli 64-40 bars. Because of the occasionally wet roadways, I run Continental Sprinter Gatorskins at 110 pounds on the original Mavic GP4 rims.” He claims the only necessary repairs have been replacing spokes.
Bicycle safety is Bruce’s passion. His favorite accessories include the Nite-Rider MiNewt Duo lights, Cateye Solar cyclo-computer with cadence meter, and a helmet-mounted mirror. “You wouldn’t drive a car in traffic without a rearview mirror, so why would you ride a bike without one?”
Bruce enjoyed providing safety support by bike for the Solvang Century and the Big Sur Marathon. Support cyclists rode along with marathon runners, providing basic first-aid support and communication services. The Big Sur to Carmel coastal route that traces the marathon is still one of his favorite bike rides, as is the 56-mile Santa Barbara Triathlon course.
Despite working from home, Bruce maintains his fitness by cycling daily, and swimming occasionally. His lifestyle is now as green as the LEED-certified cabinetry he specifies in his designs. “You meet interesting people riding the bus or biking. I would not meet those people if I was sealed up in a car. ”
Scott Marlow was marketing director for Cascade Bicycle Club from 2001-2005. The Club record-holder for the shortest commute (under six seconds), Marlow works from his home office in West Seattle. Nominate a cyclist of the month!
Brick and Mortar
Walter Sepulveda asked me for help updating the static website for his Seattle landscape design company, Tierra Landscape.
The new site features an open-source content management system, expanded photo gallery, and a page for Spanish speakers.
Cleaning Up Websites
A website makeover for Bravo Environmental. After inspecting the accessibility and usability of the original site, I located the underlying problem: an over-engineered site for engineers. Al Schumacher swept me into the project.
Site repairs included cleaning up the ASP code, cutting out redundant HTML and vacuuming up 5 nested tables to make content updates easier. Image-based headers were jettisoned to make room for search engine-friendly text-based headers. Site maintenance also involved adding pages to the site map.
You get the idea. Thanks to Beegee Tolpa for the graphic design.
Cyclist of the Month: Randall Nordfors
Age: 47
Occupation: Biostatistical Programmer, Amgen
Hometown: Seattle
Alma Mater: University of Washington, BS Mathematics
Residence: Kirkland
Wheels: Glenn Erickson, Karl Strong and Felt
Lots of cyclists are in great shape. Many have fitness goals. Some train competitively. And a few decide to race. But only one cyclist rode from Lacey to the top of Paradise and then climbed Mt. Rainier, and returned…in 20 hours.
In many ways, Randall Nordfors grew up as your typical bicyclist. He biked to soccer, baseball practices and Boy Scouts. He fondly remembers neighborhood Stingray skidding and jumping contests as a kid.
It was at UW where he learned to push himself. “I broke my ankle playing soccer for the UW Junior Varsity team. But I still rode my orange Nishiki 10-speed to class, using only one leg to peddle — and the crutches strapped to my back.”
The Race Across America inspired Randall to complete his first cross country tour — traveling from Seattle to New York City in 1985. He’s also toured Whidbey Island and the Oregon Coast. In 1987, he caught racing fever and joined Puget Sound Cycling Club, sponsored by Gregg’s Greenlake Cycle. He finished competing with Saturn of Bellevue — racing Cat 2 under Dave Douglas’ leadership.. “Exercise is very therapeutic and cathartic; it makes you feel better about life.”
Randall has completed both RAMROD and the Seattle To Portland ahead of the pack. Recognizing his own competitiveness, he decided to leave group rides for more recreational riders.
When he turned 40, Randall stopped bike racing to focus on his career.
Up to three days each week, Randall commutes 20 miles to and from Amgen’s ‘Helix’ campus, located just north of Myrtle Edwards Park and the grain elevators. He likes that he can ride from Kirkland north or south to commute around Lake Washington. The other two days per week, he telecommutes and often enjoys a lunch ride. He also bikes downtown to watch the Sounders play.
Amgen provides a monthly cash-back bonus to its roughly 50 bike commuters. Each commuter also has access to a covered and secure bike garage, plus showers and lockers.
Although many commuters choose steel frames, Randall prefers his aluminum frame, which he had custom made with braze-ons by Carl Strong for sturdy fender attachment. In the summer, he commutes one of his four Felt race bikes. Although he enjoys the lighter weight road bikes, the Burke-Gilman Trail can be more like a mountain bike trail; “tree roots are destroying the Burke-Gilman, particularly around Mathews Beach and Lake Forest Park where the roots come up through the path.
His other pet peeve is riders busting through red lights. “I sometimes chase them down to tell them it gives cyclist a bad name, and it’s because of them I have to answer to people who complain to me about their observations of bicycle rider behavior.”
Despite his gravity towards lightweight bikes, he commutes with the standard commute gear: waterproof Timbuk2 courier bag, fenders, even a bell. “It sounds corny that my favorite accessory is a bell, but it gets attention better than shouting on your left.” He also likes his helmet-mounted Night Rider because he can direct the light wherever he needs, including at distracted drivers.
In 1997, Randall was hit by a car turning left in front of him. The driver was on a cell phone. She may not remember her conversation, but Randall keeps the memory alive in his crooked hitchhiker’s thumb. Needless to say, he’s a big proponent of Washington’s Vulnerable User Law.
“We should all be treated equally. Non-cyclists take advantage of the power of cars. When you self-power a machine, you realize, and respect, the energy required to do something. I wish everyone could learn more about their footprint by experiencing how much energy transportation requires.”
Ten years after his accident, Randall starting training for the adventure of a lifetime: to bike 162 miles and summit Mt Rainier in a day. His summit started at Tolmie State Park in Lacey, where he began his 81 mile bike approach to Paradise.
Assisted by International Mountain Guides, Randall reached the summit at 2 AM – after 11 hours and 40 minutes of cycling and climbing. Then, he returned to sea level where the trip began.
Learn more about Strong Frames at www.strongframes.com
Scott Marlow was marketing director for Cascade Bicycle Club from 2001-2005. The Club record-holder for the shortest commute (under six seconds), Marlow works from his home office in West Seattle. Nominate a cyclist of the month.
The Food Watchdog
When your diet is threatened by BHT and BHA; with mercury; with genetically modified, genetically engineered false foods – you need protection. TheFoodWatchdog.com provides original, investigative food journalism articles to present you with food facts.
My redesigned WordPress website for two-time Pulitzer winning former Seattle P.I. writer, Andrew Schneider. The food journalism blog includes special features and food alerts, as well as a Word of the Week.
Schneider just signed a deal with AOL (that’s not another Big Ag additive – that’s America Online) as Senior Public Health Correspondent.