As many of you are already aware, I am in the process of moving to a small town in Zeeland in the Netherlands. I recently announced this in the following video:
The remainder of this is an announcement that I make with a very heavy heart. Today I chose to end my relationship as a dealer with Velomobile World. That means I will no longer be placing new orders for Buelks, Milans, or Alphas, though I will see the remaining handful of client orders through billing, delivery, and client support. I will also still be supporting all of my existing clients to the best of my ability just as before. I will be working to find new sources for common parts to rebuild my currently very depleted stock. Northland Velo will continue operating and I’ll have some further announcements about what Northland will look like in the future and what it will have to offer.
So what happened? Well, a lot of little things and a few pretty big things that added up over time to really really big challenges. I’ve started realizing the last few weeks just how much of my time velomobiles have consumed, especially with container shipments. As I head into this next chapter of my life, I decided that I’d like to have a more calm and peaceful life. My cost of living will be a lower in the Netherlands and I will be living in a beautiful area with a lot of great cycling on my doorstep. I want to spend more time enjoying life, playing trumpet and teaching, and I want to reduce the drama and stress that come with being a dealer. Unfortunately selling velomobiles is not an especially profitable business and can be frequently quite frustrating. My plan was always to do it on the side, in large part as a service to the community. However, it ended up consuming the majority of my time, much of which was spent in administrative tasks. There have been some increasing frustrations for me recently as dealer and I found myself dreading the onslaught of work that comes with every container shipment, and between that and other frustrations, I’ve decided the best choice for me is to move on to other endeavors.
I am hoping in the coming weeks to rediscover the pleasure I had before in cycling and build up some new velomobile related relationships that I can carry forward into the future. I still think the Buelks are a fantastic design and I want to be clear that this decision is in no way a reflection of a change in my views on the models themselves. I have the utmost respect for the work the designers do, and I wish them great future success.
I wish Velomobile World the best in the future as well. They have some great products, and I hope they will be able to chart a new course forward to make the most of the designs they have. There is a larger market for velomobiles out there waiting for the right team to make the most of it. Should the right situation present itself in the future, I may opt to carry some other models on a more limited basis. Should that happen, of course I will make an announcement about it.