When I was a kid growing up in Marin, Point Reyes Bikes was the place to go to see handmade mountain bikes. Potts, Salsa, Ritchey, Cunningham, etc. That place is long gone but Point Reyes has a new bike shop that is a welcome throwback in this age of slat-wall and plastic bikes. Black Mountain Cycles is the name and it's owned by bike industry veteran Mike Varley. He's got some cool stuff in there and if you're rolling through town you should stop and check it out. Or at least go to their website. 
Mike was kind enough to build up Daniel Boyes' new Option 3 the day before the Sea Otter this year.
Par for the course, we, I mean "I", got the frame to Daniel last minute which forced Mike to build it up in a hurry, which he did without complaint (as far as I know). He did such a great job that Daniel went out and won the 18 and under expert category. No mechanicals. Check out Mike's post about it here. People are always afraid to race on new bikes and I always say that if the bike is well designed and the person putting it together has skills, then you should be able to do a short shakedown on it and race. That's what a lot of pros have to do with new gear so why not the Soulcraft Team? Anyway, thanks to Mike for the expert build and we wish him all the best at his new shop. By the way, check out his article on chain installation. I'll bet you dollars to doughnuts you learn something.
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