<![CDATA[OTRA BIKE - Blog]]>Mon, 13 May 2024 03:54:14 -0400Weebly<![CDATA[2023 Propel 100]]>Tue, 27 Jun 2023 01:34:08 GMThttp://otrabike.com/blog/2023-propel-100The Propel 100 is a charity bike ride that benefits Oncology Services at Virtua Health. The ride offers 12, 30, 50, 70, and 100 mile to accommodate riders of all skill and ability levels. The Propel 100 is organized by GSN (Goals Start Now), a South Jersey based non-profit organization that promotes fitness activities, community outreach, and charitable events.

All routes for the Propel 100 start in Willingboro, NJ at the Kennedy Center. The 100 mile route is a beautiful tour through many South Jersey historic towns, farmland, and nature. Starting in Willingboro, the ride takes you through Burlington Township, Florence, Bordentown, Groveville, Robinsville, Allentown, Hamilton, Chesterfield, Wrightstown, Juliustown, Columbus, and Springfield before returning back to Burlington Township and Willingboro. 

The predicted weather for the 5th Propel 100 was quite dramatic, switching from rain earlier in the week to thunderstorms to just clouds to partly cloudy. Ultimately the weather started out with a light, steady rain in the wee early hours of the morning. by the time the first group of riders began to to warm up and stage for the ride, around 7AM, the rain had mostly stopped. The temperature was moderat (a high of 79), however the humidity was intense throughout the day. The organizers offered GPS coordinates for the various routes and laid out markers to identify turns along the way. They would typically also have markers on the asphalt, however rain throughout the week made this unachievable. There were rest stops along the route to refill beverages and use the rest room. The start/finish, and lunch stop had an abundance of food and hydration options for all of the bicycle riders to choose from.

Before I was a bike shop owner and working as a bike shop employee I worked many of the South Jersey Charity bike rides. This, however was the first ride that I have supported as OTRA Mobile Bicycle Service. My day started providing last minute adjustments, tube changes, a few tire changes, and lots of adjusting air pressure before the riders set off. Once all of the riders were away and on the road I provided mobile support, changing flat tires and making minor repairs for as many of the riders as I could get to en route. Wet roads always make for more flats so there were an abundance of them early in the day. As the sun came out and dried out the road, there were fewer flats. Overall I was impressed with rider turnout despite the weather and I felt the ride was well organized. I definitely plan to support the 2024 Propel 100 as well. 

I would also like to thank GSN for giving me the opportunity to give back to New Jersey's cycling community a little bit. Things were pretty busy for me throughout the day and I was only able to capture one picture before the cyclists began needing assistance. Enjoy the OTRA Bike event set up below.
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]]><![CDATA[Why Did I start A Mobile Bicycle Shop in south Jersey?]]>Thu, 01 Jun 2023 23:24:58 GMThttp://otrabike.com/blog/why-did-i-start-a-mobile-bicycle-shop-in-south-jerseyHello, my name is Daniel Tabor and I am the owner of OTRA Mobile Bicycle Service.

I started my bike mechanic journey in 2009 at South Jerseys premier bicycle shop, Danzeisen and Quigley (okay, I may be a little biased) located on Rt. 70 in the same parking lot as the H Mart. At that shop I went from a over-confident teenager with a burning passion for bicycles and very few bicycle mechanic skills to a full fledged professional bike mechanic. I was trained by some of the best in the business. I also completed extensive training provided by TREK University and Shimano S.T.E.C. I worked at the shop full time for 6 years while pursuing a bachelors degree in Biological Sciences from Drexel University.

​Post graduation I started a job relevant to my degree and helped out at the bike shop whenever I could. I constantly missed the satisfaction of diagnosing and repairing bicycle problems, the look on customers faces when they received their new bike or newly fixed bike, and of course all of the fun antics that come along with working in a bike shop. 

Unfortunately the shop closed in 2019 (it was later re-opened as a winter sports store). The closing of bike shop left a void in my life as I no longer had a place to exercise my professional skills and keep them sharp. My brother who lived in San Diego was telling me about Mobile Bicycle Services in his area and that I should start my own business. I thought about it for a little bit, but did not take action immediately. I knew nothing about starting a business or the technical details of running a business (it was all quite intimidating at first). After a few weeks went by I was contacted by some former customers for bike mechanic services. This sparked the idea of starting my own business yet again. I realized that there was a demand for bicycle repair services in Camden County, Burlington County, and surrounding areas as well as the convenience of servicing customers bicycles without them having to deal with dropping off or picking up at brick and mortar shops. I decided to do some research and educate myself on the different aspects of starting and running a business. I ordered some basic wear items (chains, brake pads, cables, housing, etc.) and decided to go for it. Just like that, in June of 2019, a full decade after spending my first busy peak season Saturday as a bike shop employee, I became a bike shop owner!]]>