James & Candice’s Off-grid Bike Business in Vermont
Simply put, being around inspired people is inspiring, and hearing James and Candice’s story left us feeling just that. In 2017 James and Candice turned their idea of a rad off the grid bike shop into a reality when they established Analog Cycles. Today, you can find them tinkering with their latest bike creations in their unique sugar house turned bike shop, tending to their garden, or testing out the newest gear on their homemade trails, all on their picturesque property in the woods of Vermont.
After hearing their unique inspirational story we got to follow-up with James and Candice to learn more about how they started their journey, what their days look like, and what they find most special about their space.
Q: Where did the name Analog come from?
A: We're into old records, film cameras, clocks with hands. We like typewriters and fountain pens and paper books. We wanted our bike shop to reflect our interests. Lots of bikes these days are plastic, have electronics, hydraulics, all sorts of stuff that make bikes in our opinion, less fun to ride and work on. We like simple bikes that you can work on at home. Anyway, the name Analog comes out of all that.
Q: What do you most appreciate about your unique working & living space?
A: I love that our shop and yurt are close to town, but feel tucked away. It's private when we want, but social when we want too. In both spaces we are very directly connected to nature. I can't answer the phone inside the shop or yurt if it's raining, it's too loud. We can hear individual snow flakes hit the roof. That's something that is lacking in most work or living situations.
Q: Where do you find inspiration for all of the creative work you do?
A: We look at history a lot. Comb thru old bike catalogs from 1907. The past should inform the future, but often doesn't. There's so much cool stuff that's been done and forgotten. We think it's our job to dig it up, knock the dust off and redefine something old into something new and useful. We also watch things like Chef's Table for inspiration, or read about DIY music stuff, which all has interesting cross pollination attributes.
Q: Did you have an “ahh-ha” moment that lead you to where you are today?
A: The first time I took the training wheels off my bike. But more recently, about 7 years ago I was working at a normal corporate bike shop, and I pitched the idea to them of a new shop that just sold steel bikes. They shot me down. Then I said to myself, I guess I have to do this myself! So I quit, and went and did it.
Q: Your cat definitely stole the show while we were filming, tell me about him.
A: We got Little Man 3 years ago. He had a brother, Big Man, but coyotes got him after we had him for about a year. It's the nature of having an outdoor cat in the woods. Little Man is a super friendly cat, and he hangs out down at the shop a fair amount in the summer. In the winter, he sleeps in a box next to the wood stove in the yurt. He's not super into deep snow, but he still goes out every day in the winter and cruises around. He has a fun habit of catching a mouse, bringing it into the yurt, and then releasing it. The mouse proceeds to hide, and then he loses interest and walks away. Not very effective at rodent control. He likes kibble, slowly running water, and long walks in the garden.
Q: If you had to sum up yurt living in a couple of words what would they be?
A: Hot, beautiful, close to nature.
