And now…the much anticipated conclusion to…An (ab)normal commuting day for a Sales Rep.

The Actual Work Day…

I usually travel on the Island Queen out of Falmouth.  Transit times are fast and the departure times convenient.  They travel in and out of Oak Bluffs only, not Vineyard Haven or Edgartown.  It just means a few more miles on the bike.  Other travel options include the Steamship Authority out Woods Hole (a village of Falmouth) if you have to bring a car or several other boats out Falmouth or New Bedford

My day on island starts with a ride along the ocean on the bike path from Oak Bluffs to Edgartown to see Edgartown Bicycles.  It is a great boutique shop that also does a great rental business on this side of the island.From there I head up through the center of the island to to see Craig at Craig’s Bicycles. 

Well, usually I stop first at Humphrey’s Bakery.  Best sandwiches on the island (especially after Louis’ closed).  Wanda’s crew is fast and polite and the Italian can’t be beat.  Prices are very affordable especially for the Vineyard.  They can be crazy busy at lunchtime though.  Oh yeah, this is a bakery, so it is great for breakfast too.  If I were not on a bike, I’d get a couple of doughnuts too….

I’ve know Craig for a very long time as he has worked a several of the other shops on island.  He is my Diamondback dealer for the Vineyard.From there I get to coast down the hill (and dodge serious amounts of trffic in the summer) to Martha’s Bike Rentals. Bob has been a very loyal dealer and largest rental fleet on the island and certainly the best maintained this side of the island.  If you need to rent a bike on Martha’s Vineyard for a day or a week, come see Bob or George or any of the guys.  They deliver to anywhere on the island.  They are usually too busy for me to get much business done when I’m there, but they are so very nice (and a great example of  a Raleigh shop).

Yes, those are all Raleighs.  He is located in 5 Corners near the SSA terminal in Vineyard Haven as well as a location Oak Bluffs.

I get to race back from Vineyard Haven over the bridge past the hospital and down the hill back into Oak Bluffs.  Hopefully, I down have to wait very long for the Island Queen to take me back to Falmouth.  Hopefully I sold something, usually some parts as the bike season is condensed into a frantic period between mid-June when the kids get out of school and Labor Day.   Bikes get shipped in during the spring for assembly and prep while things are slow.  Nobody on vacation is willing to wait, so dealers really have to have things ready to go out the door with the customer.All together twentysomething miles and agreat day at work.  Unfortuantely, there are not enough days on the road like this…..