Dutch rider W.H. Scholten has posted a pretty comprehensive set of in-depth reviews for leather saddles, mostly Brooks.

Blogger Woollypig has posted text, photo and video from his recent tour of the Brooks factory. The short videos are quite nice in the way they illustrate the old industrial process and the way the craftsperson is involved.

UPDATE 3/2/10: Wired Magazine has picked up on Woollypig’s blog and featured it in their Gadget Lab blog.

Tags: factory

Wallingford Bicycle Parts has a Facebook fan page. Give us a click! The more the merrier.

I’ll be attending the North American Handmade Bicycle Show this year. I’ve never been to this show but I expect to see a lot of exciting stuff and I hope I can touch base with some friends and customers while I’m there.

The first thing that comes to mind when you think of Mardi Gras in New Orleans might be ‘hedonism.’ Or maybe ‘self indulgence.’ Mardi Gras is, after all, preparation for the season of sacrifice. But we’ve learned there is a bigger purpose to all the hoopla. There’s a reason. We received an e-mail yesterday that put it all in perspective:

Dear Wallbike: I got some Mardi Gras beads last Spring in an order you sent me. I wore them to the bar tonight in support of the Saints. I was taking the family home at halftime and a woman at the table next to me said she loved my beads and would like to buy them. I told her that she could have them but all I asked was that she rooted for the Saints (the rest of her table was rooting Colts). By the time I got back to my house and got the kids in bed, I came down to see Peyton Manning throw the clinching interception touchdown. I cannot help but believe that your beads were directly responsible for the Saints’ win. Thank you for providing me with mojo to help the Saints win. CF

So it’s clear that the beads we caught at a Mardi Gras parade  were directly responsible for the event that unified and lifted an entire city. And that’s why we go to parades. We will continue to collect these tokens of mojo so we can send a few to each of you who place an order through Mardi Gras day (2/16). Thank you all for helping us to make the world a better place.