Mel Pinto Imports

Lily and I rolled up to last year’s Cirque de Cyclisme on a last minute whim. We arrived to the event two days late, didn’t know anybody there, and had no idea that it cost money to attend. Needless to say we had a great time.

It was on this trip that we first met John from Mel Pinto Imports. The three of us sat by the hotel pool and shot the shit over a couple of beers. John gave us the low down on the event, explained the structure and history of the Cirque, and talked a bit about Mel Pinto Imports. He made both Lil and I feel welcome and a bit less like the misfit party crashers that we were.

Last week, again on a bit of a whim, I decided to make the drive to Richmon VA to attend the NAHBS. This time I went by myself. I wasn’t thinking much about seeing friendly faces, so it was with great pleasure that I ran into John at the Mel Pinto Imports booth. Once again John was welcoming, jovial and cheerful. He offered the same type of insight about the NAHBS as he did about the Cirque the previous summer. It was good to see him. As an added bonus, I got to meet MPI owner and Cirque organizer Wayne Bingham. Wayne, much like John, was knowledgeable, engaging, and lacked any sort of pretension. We had a chance to discuss my favorite brand of tools - VAR, as well as some of the other products MPI distributes. Talking to John and Wayne was the kind of experience that justified making the long drive to Virginia, and the kind of experience I look forward to when planning for this year's Cirque.

Check out the Mel Pinto Imports web site here, and hunt down VAR tools wherever you can - you won't regret it.