In 2001, Josh begin his career as a bicycle entrepreneur with the development of the CELLO bicycle case, a system for converting a BOB Trailer into a bicycle shipping case. This project evolved into BikeTrailerShop.com in 2006 which was an instant hit and lead to BikeBagShop.com and BikeKidShop.com which were eventually all consolidated into BikeShopHub.com. In 2013 Josh moved this thriving business to Tucson.
In 2017 an outdated ecommerce platform had lead to an inability to adapt to the changing ecommerce and bicycle markets. Over the course of 2018 and 2019 Josh worked to correct this by pivoting the business into Campfire Cycling.
Josh grew up in Flagstaff, AZ getting into cycling at an early age, racing mountain bikes. Cycling has been a big part of his life ever since, driving ideas for business and bicycle advocacy. Now with two young kids, Josh doesn’t get out on as many bicycling adventures as he’d like. That said, Josh recently managed to get his whole family out on our first bicycle camping adventure.
Zippy Tires – November. 11, 2024
This I’ve been trying to get out on some longer version of my bike commute lately. As part of that effort, I decided to lighten up my commuter/gravel bike, my Bombtrack Beyond 1. The most notable change was installing the Rene Herse Snoqaulmie Pass 700c x 44mm tires. I’m really loving how zippy they’ve been making my bike feel.
Stronghold Divide – November. 04, 2024
Last weekend I went on a family camping trip to the East Cochise Stronghold. Having camped here twice before during Campfire’s ride of the Tombstone Hustle, I knew the area fairly well. When we decided to do this ride, which starts in Tombstone, we decided to reverse the route in large part due to the alignment of the climb over the Stronghold Divide. The way we’ve been doing it, we go over the divide in the afternoon of the first day before getting to camp. Doing it this way, the Hike-A-Bike is 1.75 miles with a 3 mile descent. As one of our intermediate rides, this ride can be some of our riders first bikepacking trip on singletrack. This 4.75 mile section is quite rugged for an intermediate trip, so we hope to make it as approachable as possible. Anyways, I was curious what it was like to go at this tough section of the ride from the other direction. I can report that the three mile ascent was a big challenge even unloaded and I’m glad we do the Tombstone Hustle the way we do.
BOB-o’-lantern – October. 28, 2024
Having gotten my start in the bike biz many year ago now with a contraption for a BOB Trailer, I’m always a sucker for fun and creative uses of BOBs. Last weekend’s Cyclovia always brings out Tucson’s finest weird and wacky bicycle setups and costumes.
A Horse in the Street! – October. 21, 2024
Last weekend I got the family to join on at least the start of Henley’s chill ride (the first one of the fall). We only made it for the first five miles or so of the ride, but before peeling off we got to experience one of the highlights, a horse and rider trotting down the street, not as common of a site as you might expect here in the Old Pueblo!
Ellie’s Bear Rope to the Rescue – October. 14, 2024
After we spotted a bear on our bikepacking trip through the White Mountains last month, Ellie wisely got out her bear rope and after dinner everyone organized their food and cooking gear into stuff bags. Ellie’s rope had multiple lashing points and handled the supplies of all 9 of us on the ride. Here she is sending our food up the tree with Nate tugging on the rope. Bear sitings aren’t all that common here in Arizona, but after encountering this one, I think everyone on that trip is planning on carrying a bear rope more regularly.
Radiohead Monster Bear Pancake – October. 7, 2024
Now that we’re back in pancake making season, the pancake art will be popping up in these here tidbits. Burger made me this extra special pancake, after learning that I was a longtime RadioHead fan. The funny thing is I didn’t even recognize what it was… I guess I am not as much of a Radiohead as I thought. But I really appreciated the gesture and I won’t forget Radiohead’s logo now. Come out to our next Breakfast by Bike and you might just get a personalize pancake too!
Root Canal & Bear – September. 30, 2024
After arriving back from our fun long weekend riding El Lobo Lupus, I was struck by some deep, disturbing tooth pain. Turns out I had an abscess that proceeded to rupture before I got it treated with a root canal last Thursday. As I was going through that pain cycle, I kept thinking back to when I spotted a bear in the woods as I was setting up my tent during our 2nd night in the White Mountains. I only caught a quick glance of the bear coming towards our camp before it veered off into the wood. John also saw the bear ramble by and captured this shot of it. As I went through my pain cave last week, I couldn’t help but imagine that the bear had somehow stirred up the deep decay in my tooth’s root. I’m relieved that I’ve moved on from both the abscess and the bear.
Breakfast By Bike from Above – September. 16, 2024
I wanted to share this great shot that our friend Dan of Loball Bikes captured at last week’s Breakfast By Bike. Toby picked out a perfect new spot to try at the Architecture building on the UofA campus. A cool, shaded spot with plenty of sitting and greenery made for excellent mingling, not to mention a great turnout that easily chomped through the 3 dozen donuts we brought along.
First Leather Saddle – September. 9, 2024
Having spent lotsa time riding bikes for 42 of my 47 years, I’ve never been one to think about my saddle too much. The only time I’ve dealt with any bum soreness is when I’ve done an out-of-the-blue long ride without gradually ramping up my mileage beforehand. Perhaps that’s why I never had a pressing reason to get to know leather saddles.
I finally found a reason as I am working on doing a deeper dive into presenting some of the brands we work with here at Campfire. I decided to start with Selle Anatomica saddles. So far, I am definitely thinking about this saddle and I haven’t yet found my comfort zone with it as I realize getting the exact right position is important. Time will tell if I find my peace with this saddle, but whether or not I do I’m loving how it looks!
Triumph Over the Tyranny of Coleman Canisters – September. 2, 2024
I kept getting bummed out by all of the empty Coleman fuel canisters we were “burning” through on family car camping trips. We started really burning through them with all the pancakes Toby has been cooking up on our Break by Bike rides. I knew there had to be a better way.
While it is possible to refill Coleman propane canisters, they are not built to be refilled and there can be some dangerous problems that arise from doing so. In the comments of some forum somewhere talking about this, I came across a great solution, the Flame King Eco Friendly 1lb Refillable Reusable Propane Cylinder + Refill Kit. This comes with a holder for a your 20 pound propane tank. And it comes with an adapter and one 1-pound tank. I bought a 2nd 1-pound tank as well. It worked like a charm and I am now free of the tyranny of Coleman canisters.
Campfire Library – August. 26, 2024
Our slowly growing library of bicycle community and bikepacking oriented magazines and books got a big upgrade this summer when we made use of the book shelf left behind by our moving out neighbor. It got even better when Toby thought of rotating it on its side, in the process making room for a surface for pamphlets and a bulletin board above it. What’s your favorite bicycling book or magazine that you would suggest we add to our collection?
Back o’ the Building – August. 19, 2024
When we first moved into our downtown Tucson location, 3 and a half years ago, we got a temporary banner to serve as our sign before we could get something more official. Once we had our permanent sign painted on the front, I thought that we could get some use out of the old banner by hanging it on the back of the building which is visible from the new Maclovio Barraza Parkway. I was back there a couple of days ago and realized how tattered and decrepit the sign is now looking after years of wind and sun. Its time for a fresh look. I’m not sure if I can convince the building owner of it, but it might even be worthy of a bikepacking mural. Any suggestions?
Tout Terrain Mule – August. 12, 2024
I needed to pick up a pizza on the way home the other day and since I didn’t have a Pizza Rack installed, I decided to pop on a Tout Terrain Mule trailer to get the job done. Sure, it was a little bit bigger than I needed for the job, but it gave me my first chance to try out this cool trailer. With the BOB Trailer phased out and only limited replacement parts available now available, we’ve been looking to carry another touring worthy trailer. The Mule is certainly that and more. And it will soon be making regular appearances as our Breakfast by Bike buggy, carrying pancake ingredients to fun destinations.
Campfire Album Cover – August. 5, 2024
I caught these fine folks sizing up the back of the shop project. Its exciting to see this project come together while the shop is slower mid-summer. It should be all dialed in for the fall! And though this is missing a few band members, I couldn’t help but think we have an album cover now…
A Break from the Action – July. 26, 2024
I was lucky enough to take a break from the action and got to head out for a week to visit Vancouver and Victoria, BC for our first time. We even got a little bike ride in, renting bikes and cruising around Stanley Park in Vancouver. I’ll be back into the thick of it in a few days….
Motivating the Kids – July. 19, 2024
I can’t claim great success yet in the realm of inspiring my own kids to get excited about cycling. I put effort in when I can, but the stars have just not aligned very well yet for them to become big fans of cycling at 9 and 12 years old. Don’t get me wrong, there are a few required family weekend rides and we get out on the occasional kid-friendly overnighter, but lots of motivation is required.
I figured I it was time to level up my motivation game and I’ve introduced a reward system. The kids are now working towards a trip to Disneyland. A one hour bike ride earns them 1 point each, 200 points collectively earns them the trip. This photo was taken a few weeks ago where the kids chose to go on a ride despite the hot summer temps and earn some points (the ride did not end well with some hot, angry kids by the finish). They’re approaching 20 points after 6 weeks or so of this plan even as we make our way through the summer heat. We’ll see where this takes us and I am hopeful they’ll be excited and inspired for some cooler fall rides in a few months…
Split-Tube Tourniquet – July. 12, 2024
I was lucky enough to escape the high heat in Tucson for the 4th of July weekend and get up to Flagstaff to visit family and get in some riding. We took the kiddos up to Snow Bowl for some outdoor play time and then my brother-in-law Kyle and I started out on a ride on the AZT back to town. About 2/3rd the way down the mountain I hit a rock with my rear wheel, bending the rim and breaking my tubeless seal. Kyle was not behind me like I thought. After about 5 minutes or so Kyle rolled up, with a nearly identical bend in his rim, loosing air. We added Stans but it wouldn’t hold for either of us. We each had a spare tube so we installed them. About a mile later though, my tube lost its air. Upon inspection, I discovered my tube was splitting perpendicularly to the seam. The split was wide and patches wouldn’t hold it. Kyle suggested we tie it off. I pulled my hair tie off and we wrapped it up. We were able to get it on the rim and the tire back in place. It would hold air for about 5 miles (we got on the road to get back to town) before we had to fill up again. We made it into Cosmic Cycles where I grabbed a few tubes. Sometimes those adventures where you limp your way home are the most memorable…
A Nice Monday Pile – July. 5, 2024
For my tidbit this week, I just have a good looking stack of boxes from a busy Monday of bike building, packing and shipping. When the shop slows down during the hot time of year here in Tucson, our online business keeps up going strong. Thank you for your orders and the support!