The Master Returns at Last

Master, I've been wandering and wondering for so long. IS the Bike Shui for all?

Of course Bike Shui can be shared. It's best shared with someone that also shares your vision.

Ahh, we all share a vision. This is reassuring! Master, there are rumors of those who don't share the Shui.

It's the difference between "looking" and "seeing". One "looks" at a bike. Another "sees" something entirely different. A work of art, perhaps? Custom paint, hand made lugs, butter-like welds, white carbon!

...looking and seeing.....

Bike Shui brings harmony and balance to the creator and the space he or she uses -- the garage -- but not to everyone who walks in.

Not to everyone? How ever can that be?

You can have perfect Bike Shui but it may not be readily "seen" by the untrained eye.

Master?! So it is true! It can be this way for some?

People who may have difficulty seeing Bike Shui say things like...
--- "You bought a new bike? I thought you already had a bike."
--- "$3000 for a bike? Are you nuts? Your car isn't worth that much!"
--- " If I paid that much for a bike, it better have a motor on it."
--- "Why would you hang two bikes in the laundry room?"
--- "If you sold some of your bikes they wouldn't take up so much room."
--- "You're going on a bike ride? Didn't you do that yesterday?"
--- "You're going to drive all that way just to ride your bike?"

These questions are VOICED, Master? Truly, not! The uninitiated cannot truly be this wayward in their thinking!

Some may "see" Bike Shui right away, they share your vision. Others may have to be taught.

Oh my! This seems an undertaking even larger than we are....

The creation of the Shui is often much easier than the teaching of others to "see"!

This must require much difficult work and dedication. Master, what of the unitiated Other? How must we help them to "see"? How did you initiate your Other?

I got very lucky and married someone who kept her Merlin in the bedroom. Not a frame, but a built bike she was riding. Now that we live together, we share equally in the enjoyment of the Bike Shui and I'm happy it's not me down in the laundry room on the hand rubbed oak racks!

Do not stray from your vision, it will bring you happiness. The creation may take a weekend, the teaching of others to share in your enjoyment may be a lifelong endeavor!

...a lifelong endeavor? I’m unsure of my readiness! The Bike Shui requires much commitment and energy. How ever does one persevere?

Riding will cure all ills.

Ahhh, the ride cures!


...again,TOB can't take credit for this -- italicized portion is part of an email sent by an honorable biking buddy!

If you're unsure of the Bike Shui, please visit:
-- Ahhh Grasshopper
-- Master, Does the Shui Require
-- The Novice Begins the Quest

- The Old Bag has her own Shui

The Novice Begins the Quest

Master, my blogging friends Ptelea and George have brought to me questions surrounding the Bike Shui and its mysteries....

... . . .

Questioning not in the non-believer's way, Master, but in a searching way!

.. . . .. . .

Master, Ptelea out in Colorado is hoping her son can bring the shui to her garage: Like all good 17-year-olds, he already thinks I am crazy, so what further harm could it do to tell him I want to perform feng shui on the garage?

And George has responded: Ya know, our garage is the only room in the house that is "mine" and *I* think it looks organized. My wife on the other hand thinks it looks junky. Maybe it's time to rearrange the bikes:-)

The whole exchange, Master, has caused me deep searching...is.....can......the shui is for all, is it not?

... . .

Is it possible for the Bike Shui to affect only the...one?

. ... . .. .

Master, my understanding of the Bike Shui is so limited. Are all affected and calmed by the shui? Does one not create Bike Shui for another? or is it possible for one’s shui to send another into the depths? It all causes so much confusion....

. .. . ... .

Master?


- TOB preparing to begin this quest alone

Master, Does the Shui Require...

Yes, grasshopper, to bring balance and harmony to the garage, bikes must all be level.

But what of sloping top tubes? Or full suspension? For the bicycles to be level, this must require multi-configured racks hung at differing levels in various places upon the wall!

And yes the racks are at different levels and configurations. Reflect not on the task but the journey.

The journey?

Up top: what once was. Hung from rafters close to the wall and slightly behind the row below.

Ah. So the Bike Shui honors our beginnings...

Next level down: Most recently replaced mountain bikes. Racks are level for old style level top tube.

...and gives rest to these hard workers...

Bottom level: Most recent purchase. New full suspension mountain bikes. Sloping top tubes. One main triangle is so small, with rear shock it couldn't accept a rack with two pieces of wood inside. Had to put one on top tube and cradle the second around the seat rails. All padded with closed cell foam so the bikes rest on cushy arms.

...and so reflects our journey from what was to what is in our cycling life! All is harmonious! But, what of this--

On the opposite wall is the dark side of Bike Shui.

There is a dark side to the Shui?

The oldest bike, first mountain bike, hung with a single hook through the rim. Oh, the indignity! At the end of garage: The big beast. The old Cannondale tandem. Hung from two hooks over work bench.

But Master! Does not the past deserve better for all it has taught us? Let us hasten from this room!

Inside is the Merlin Viewing Room (when pressed, laundry can be done here). Two road Merlins on wood racks with hand rubbed oil finish. Round cut-outs on rack arms are lined with closed cell foam to gently cradle the most revered bikes (and because Merlin runs their cables externally along the top tube).

Externally-run cables? How is one ever to decipher and apply this Bike Shui with so many top tube configurations? It is indeed complicated.

Not complicated. Challenging!!!

My aspiration is to one day rise to this challenge.


...again,TOB can't take credit for this -- italicized portion is part of an email sent by an honorable biking buddy!

- TOB's wishing you Shui

Ahhh Grasshopper

I see you practice Baiku.

Yes, Master.

But what of Bike Shui?

Bike Shui?

The ancient practice of placement and arranging your bikes on a garage wall to reflect balance and harmony in your house. Bikes must be placed just so -- according to what was, what is and maybe a place for what could be.

For what could be? We must predict the future!

Revered bikes are put in a place of great honor i.e. the laundry room where it's warm and you can look at them more often.

The laundry is a place of high honor.

A frame may even be placed in the living room until built.

An ever greater distinction!

How is your Bike Shui?

I have much to learn, Master.


...TOB can't take credit for this -- italicized portion is an email sent by an honorable biking buddy!

- The Old Bag