The employees of the Arcadian Shop are know to be adventure seekers.  Jeff recently went to the Teva games in Colorado.  By now I'm sure you have seen and heard the harrowing tale of the Mink's near death experience.  Plunging into the Colorado River in glacial conditions might not sound like fun, but to the stout hearted members of the Arcadian Shop this the status quo. In fact, we laugh at the face of danger. HA HA!

Mink's story is cool, but did you hear about Chris's vacation story?  He took a trip down to North Carolina to enjoy the pleasant temperatures and some ocean water that is not black and sticky.  Chris was out sailing on a Hobie Adventure Island (retail price $3499) when he felt something brush against the bottom of the boat.  Before he knew it a white fin arose from the water, like horizon of Mount Greylock on a clear day, and knocked Chris in the water.  Most of us would be nervous at this point.  But the lack of fear is what sets Arcadian Shop employees apart from the rest of the population.  Chris saw this as an opportunity to emulate his childhood idol, Hulk Hogan, and wrestle the Great White shark.  After a long struggle used his superhuman strength to drag the shark to shore, visit a taxidermist, and now he has a pretty sweet trophy at home. 

If you are still reading this, you have fallen for my evil plan to get people to actually look at this blog and drive up the daily number of page views.  I hope you also know that the story above is completely fabricated.  At least the headline is eye catching, right? 

Well here are some pictures of Jeff and Chris with their shirts off for the ladies.  They may not be the outdoor warriors that I make them out to be, but they are beefcakes.  

Yes I know that this is one of the most random posts ever, but at least I'm entertaining myself.

I have to start out today by giving a big shout out to my favorite women Wendy, Lisa, Kim, Gina, and Susan for your Facebook comments.  Susan- this is Pete not Jeff, but I love you too!  It made me so happy to see that not only are a few people reading the blog but also engaging in it.  In light of all of these good vibes I wanted to remind everyone about the Arcadian Shop World Cup Pool.  You don't have to be a soccer expert or even a fan of the sport to participate.  It's all for fun.  Who knows, you could even end up winning a sweet prize.  You can also watch the games in the cafe.  Sounds like fun to me.  I know that I can count on my friends listed above, now that there is such mutual affection. 

Does anyone have any ideas for the store?  What can we improve upon?  What would bring people in to watch the World Cup?  My loyal readers, lets work together on this to make it a great time.  I'm counting on you.  Let's keep all of this love flowin' throughout the summer.

It dosen't look like soccer videos are getting people pumped up, so try this one.  Personally, I can't watch this movie and keep a dry eye.  

The USA soccer team is like Rudy.  Excited now?!

In exactly one week the world's eyes will be focused on South Africa like a child burning an ant with a magnifying glass.  The US team has already arrived, begun training, and will play Australia tomorrow at 8:30 AM in a warm up match. 

The fever is building at the Arcadian Shop.  Ken has been reminiscing about his childhood playing with the Portuguese population outside of Boston.  Keith is reconnecting with his French roots, he is predicting big things for "Les Blues." Even Larry can't contain his excitement.  In fact, we are so excited that the first ever Arcadian Shop World Cup Pool is being put together as I write this blog.  Fill out a bracket, just like the NCAA tournament, and the winner will receive amazing prizes (to be determined.)  You can also be on the lookout for some internationally themed aesthetic changes to the cafe in the next week.  Most importantly, come to the Cafe to watch games.  A good atmosphere is promised and a lot of fun will be had.  Maybe a few beers will even be drank.

Can you hear that?  It is the sound of the vuvuzela buzzing in the air.  Well it's a little annoying, but this will be the first uniquely African World Cup.  It will be a little different than in the past, but isn't that the beauty of this event?  In one week the world will be captivated by the beautiful game.  I hope that you join in the celebration.

Here is a video of the US team's arrival in South Africa.

On this episode of "As the Arcadian Shop Turns", there is a new twist to the plot involving familiar faces.  You remember Ashley aka "the queen of the bean."  I'm sure that by now you have met Cathy, the newest face in the cafe.  What you might not have known is that this is the first mother daughter combination in Arcadian Shop History.  That's right, the Behrent family is taking over. 

If my mother and sister worked in the same place, I would be scared for the consequences.  The ground would tremble like an 8.0 earthquake on the richter scale.  The yelling would be reminiscent of the 2000 Presidential recount. 

I have a feeling that these two will be much more civil than my family.  They certainly look innocent, don't they.  This is a test to see how close these two really are.  Let's hope that this is a lasting peace.  I am optimistic that  the earth and our eardrums will remain in tact.  Stay tuned for the next episode of our living soap opera.

We love our customers!

There is something special about putting together the right product with the right person. A synergy between human and equipment is established and great adventures result. Customers often come back to us and share their pictures and adventures with us.

Thank you!

But the most immediately gratifying thing for us is the customer smile that communicates to us that we are doing a great job.

Today we offer two of those faces…

A smile from Dad and a "I'm not so sure about this thing on my head" face.

New bikes and big smiles……

The happy bike fitter and happier Sam! (Cool bike jersey…. oh, and cool shorts)