Your blogger, getting it wrong...

Yesterday on bikeradar.com I read an interview with Matt Bracken of Independent Fabrications of Boston, makers of really fine handcrafted bicycles.

I met Matt Bracken during the time IF provided bikes to Mavic for tech support at races. I liked the guy immediately. In truth I have never heard a bad word about Bracken or IF from anyone: Mavic, bike store people, IF owners... No one. They're universally respected, I'd say.

So I was surprised to read Bracken's statement (in response to a question about IF's greenness) that admittedly IF consumes lots of electricity to power their welders. But in the company's defense, Bracken said: "95% of our owners ride to work."

I read that and I thought: No way. No way 95% of owners of bicycles based on $2,000 (minimum) frames commute on those bikes. Maybe he means that nearly all IF owners ride something to work, an old Trek or a new SOMA or Surly. Even then, 95%? That's 19 out of 20...

I fretted and fretted about that statement. How can he know that? Even if he polls the owners of IF bikes and asks them if they commute by bicycle, can he be sure that the owners tell the truth? Might some who INTEND to ride to work, or ONCE rode to work, answer yes?

So I emailed my friend Gary Boulanger at BikeRadar. How can Bracken make such a statement, I asked Gary.

And Gary reminded me that IF is a co-op! The workers are the owners. When Bracken referred to "our owners," he meant the owners of the company, not their customers, owners of IF bikes. And almost all the owners/workers at IF ride their bikes to work.

Based on the easy misreading of the line, bikeradar.com edited it so the meaning is clearer.

Hoo-ray for IF! Thanks, Gary! The mystery is solved!