You either get it, or you don't. Y PUNTO.

Another cycling job; another boss who doesn't ride. What the hell is up with this?

I don't expect that people who work for large accounting firms are able to calculate their grocery bills without using calculators; but the number of people who work in cycling who don't actually ride bikes continually surprises me. Shocks me, actually.

I'm in the same situation again; another job, hired by someone who superficially claims to be interested in developing cycling; but, in the end, just wants to keep her business afloat. Not that there's anything wrong with that; but why would you spend weeks griping about throwing good money after bad for a project that has to develop, for something that wouldn't make money until at least six months after you start it ... if not a year....

Let's not kid ourselves: if you don't ride, if you don't actively take part in the community of people who genuinely like bikes, you aren't gonna get it. If you don't take part in community groups that work on cycling as an issue, and work to develop cycling in the city, you're not going to get it. The contract runs until November 23rd and I don't think I'm going to renew it - not because I don't want to be part of a project that is a big risk (that's exciting any way you cut it) but I don't want to be part of a money grab for a company which, frankly, would have been better helped by spending the money on a marketing coordinator who could have pinpointed the mistakes being made in the marketing plan. Or even developing something that resembles a marketing plan. (One particularly telling example: everybody knows about this establishment - it IS the oldest bike shop in Madrid - but if you ask Madrid people to tell you exactly where the store is located, more often than not you get a blank stare. That should tell a store owner something.

The vast majority of people get into physical activities because it gives them something deeper than a trip to the mall does. Cycling is about more than money, and if you don't ever get on your bike - and in a store that employs eight people, only two of us ride. That's not a good sign. More fool me: I didn’t pick up on that before I started working there, but I’m really noticing it now. Almost no one in the store rides, talks to other cyclists in a non-commercial environment, nad couldn't tell you what cyclists are thinking; perhaps they know what they want to buy, but again, they just don't Get It.

So I'm back to Square One again, and the song which is on my MP3 right now is "Won't Get Fooled Again" by The Who. And that's exactly how I feel now: I tip my helmet to the new revolution, but in spite of being as big a gear freak as they come, I’m not exactly in this to propogate a consumerist point of view (though if you can make money at it honestly without screwing people around, more power to you.)