Support Your Local Bikeshop(s) - Marty's Bicycle Chronicles Volume III

Truth be told, I have loved shopping for as long as I can remember. Checking into bike shops, around the world has been no exception. I usually go in alone as Naomi does not like the smell of the rubber tires. She's patient with me.

When traveling with friends, we’ve often stopped in bike shops just to visit & see what they have. We’ve met some nice folks along the way in addition to purchasing stuff.

Over the years I have subscribed to several bicycle mail order catalogues like PALO ALTO BICYCLES & COLORADO CYCLIST, just for their cover photos. I flipped through the pages for ideas & if I saw something of interest, I would buy it at my local bike shop. In my head I’m hearing the words of Holland at the San Francisco shop on Fulton Street where I purchased my first bike helmet, "Just come here for repairs & parts. That's where I make money, not from the tiny mark-up in bikes." He also said, as he handed me my yellow MSR helmet, “It works if you wear it.” I used that line with dental patients many a time after that. The helmets were mostly yellow back then, 1975. One of my friends got helmets for his kids after a neighborhood kid sustained a head injury in a bike accident. Frank’s girls were referred to as yolk heads.

If you haven’t viewed it yet, on this site, please take a look at Marty's Bicycle Chronicles Volumes I & II - Put Some Fun Between Your Legs, The Beginning.

Marty

An early bike shop that Glenn Curtiss had taken over in 1899. By that time, cycling had become the most popular sport in the nation.

Curtiss kept going faster & faster on his bike & then started adding motors until he ended up with…

…. this V8 engine-powered motorcycle. On it Curtiss set an unofficial land speed record of 136.3. His wife was worried so he gave up motorcycle racing for something safer,...

...inventing, building & then flying his airplanes.

Bicycle shops maintain your bicycle.

And/or have a custom bike built. Black Mountain Cycles, Pt. Reyes Sta., CA

And keep them in good repair. Amsterdam, NL.

Lido di Venezia, The Lido. The shop owner probably made those bike stands as a project in school while earning that diploma

Wheels Unlimited was my first Bike shop in Marin. It was in San Rafael along my work commute. The owner got mugged in San Francisco, never fully recovered & had to close shop. For those who viewed Volumes I & II, the TREK is on a bike rack that I brought out to San Francisco, on the airplane, in 1974.

Riders congregate at bike shops making them a convivial, communal spot. Along the Mosel River, Germany.

Breaking Away Bicycles, Ross, CA.

I bought a tandem from Tony in about 1990. Ever since then he's remembered my name every time I've stopped by, even when masked. One time I met Robin Williams leaving the shop with a just purchased bike on his shoulder. Sausalito.

Some of the Old Spokes started our China Camp Loop in front of this San Rafael bike shop, when it existed. Performance was right near my office & I'd shop here. They had very good sales.

Como, Italy. Bike shops have items you need...

...or didn't realize that you needed. Venice, Italy.

Ross, CA.

There's always cycle wear to look at & buy. Split Rock Tap & Wheel, Fairfax, CA

In the small Italian town of Treviso, a perfect looking bike shop, Pinarello Accessories Shop. There even was a MG parked in front. I was salivating for that retro styled pink jersey (maglia rosa) but alas the shop was closed & the MG wasn't for sale.

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Circa 1946 maglia rosa jersey worn by the leader of the Giro d'Italia.

What bicycling child of the 60's could resist buying a pair of socks for a bicycle buddy at a bike shop in Woodstock, NY?

Bike shops in Japan had these gloves to fit over handlebars years before they appeared on delivery bikes in B'klyn.

They had a selection of vintage bicycle badges for sale here like nothing I had ever seen except in museums. They were very expensive. I took a pass. I must have purchased something else there as I have this bag...

Pop up bicycle repair shops appear as needed, like at this one for the Drake H.S.team at a NorCal high school bicycle race in Granite Bay.

There might even be a famous pioneer mountain biker & charter member of the Mountain Bike Hall of Fame, like Joe Breeze (left), helping out.

Or at the San Rafael Twilight Criterium.

Or at a market in Torino, Italy.

Or at the Marin County Bicycle Coalition sponsored Biketoberfest in Fairfax, CA.

All much better than having to change a flat yourself, on the road.

Happy bike shop owners. Como, Italy.

Roaring Mouse Cycles on Crissy Field in the Presidio of San Francisco.

Somewhere along the Mosel River, Germany.

Renta A Bike Damstraat, Amsterdam, NL.

Breaking Away Bicycles, Ross, CA.

Look around in shops & you might find some neat posters & memorabilia.

In Holland. Note, among other things, how Dutch bikes need hydraulic hoists to work on them because they're so heavy.

The owner Steve took some great photos one year at a Tour de France. Village Peddler, Larkspur, CA.

Rich has a story behind this poster at Breaking Away Bicycles in Ross, CA.

I saw this at my bike shop, they asked KHS for another copy & gave it to me.

Elliot used this bike shop when he lived there.

I got a jersey here. I also asked what glove they used in the wintertime. I bought a pair for commuting. Toasty!

Two of the guys we were riding with bought Rabobank Cycle Team jerseys here.

I couldn't resist a yellow & black long sleeve, full zippered jersey here. The colors matched my SCOTT mountain bike. When I got home, I noticed that SCOTT was on the jersey as a team sponsor. Neat. Switzerland, near Gruyere.

A bicycle shop when you need one is so important, especially when you bike commute to work. This shop, about midway home, fixed a cable & enabled me to continue my ride home. I've found that it's nice to have a rapport at several shops. Having a Marin Bicycle Coalition membership gets one a discount at most of the shops. It even worked for me at a shop in Davis.

Luckily it was a downhill run to this bike shop when Dan's clip came partially off his shoe. Mike's Bikes, San Rafael, CA.

I think in Haarlem, NL, this mechanic took a look at the lubricant than had been oozing out of my bike's headset for days.

We were close to the end of our adventure & he wasn't worried about it.

We were in Incline Village & ready to ride the Flume Trail when I realized that I had never packed my cycle shoes. I bought a pair here.

Bike rentals in great spots are nice like this one on Governor's Island, NY. A long time ago I thought about starting a SF bike touring/rental company…

Finding this Amsterdam shop took a lot of internet research. We needed to rent 3 multi speed bikes that could carry our panniers, etc. while biking for a week in Holland.

And then we had to carefully inspect the bikes. I discovered a fractured strut on the pannier rack that had to be replaced.

Balboa Island, CA. This could have been the shop my Uncle & Aunt ran in the summertimes. What do you think Cousin Alice?

South Lake Tahoe, CA.

Ojai Valley Inn, Ojai, CA.

Nice but you can't ride bikes on the High Line in Manhattan.

NY, NY.

Bordering on Amsterdam's red light district. You have to make sure that you walk into the right shop.

I rented bikes here on two trips to Austin, Texas when Nomi had classes there.

Lance is a part owner of Mellow Johnny's.

I wonder if these yellow jerseys were returned? There is a fabulous musuem downstairs.

Renting a bike in Sarasota, FL when I was there for a conference. I take any excuse to tour on a bicycle. See David Byrne's book "Bicycle Diaries."

Bike shops may specialize based on their location. For instance, beach cruisers in Maui, Hawai'i i.

In Manhattan, bicycles built for the city commuter, urban cyclist or weekend warrior; fixies, single speed & fixed gear bikes.

High end mountain bikes in Santa Fe, NM.

Everyday bikes in Tokyo. The mechanic worked squatting on a stool.

And collapsible commute bikes.

BarceIona, Spain. I did not expect to see mountain bikes here. There are lots of trails. Like most bikes shops I've been in in my travels, these folks knew about Marin County, CA - birthplace of mountain biking.

In the Netherlands, bicycles have to have reflective tires.

Only steel framed bikes sold here, in San Rafael, CA. Steel frames have their advantages. Unlike composite frames, steel frames can usually be fixed if fractured.

I found this to be true upon discovering the fractured soldered joint. Rich noticed it when the bike was in for routine maintenance. A few weeks prior I had hit a deer. Rivendell soldered the joint & the bike was repainted. It was now as good as new; not so sure about the deer.

And the latest in specialty bicycle shops; selling & maintaining electric bikes. The New Wheel, Larkspur, CA

What seems like a bike shop is not always... In NYS you can ride with one bud in an ear.

Not a bike shop but a food delicacies shop in Bassano del Grappa, Italy. The owner had been a bike racer.

Sometimes they're just for display. Bloomingdales, NY.

Paul Frank even designed a bike.

In Holland, a lot of bikes in front of a shop does not always mean there's a bike shop. There are just a lot of bikes around. I noticed the same thing happening in Brooklyn.

Sometimes bikes sold are in variety sports shops....

...and general stores.

What you think is a bike shop may in reality be a beer pub. Here, the Gestalt Haus in Fairfax.

Not a bike shop but Cibo Coffee, now Equator Coffee in Sausalito. Bike riders seem to like their caffeine hit.

Looks like it could be a bike shop but it's Museu do Ciclismo, Caldas da Rainha, Portugal. This required a special trip from where we were staying in Óbidos. Luckily, no museum shop here.

But the Marin Musuem of Bicycling has a shop. They have on on line presence. No vintage bicycles for sale though.

Real bike shops. This is the first bike shop photo that I ever took. Most likely taken with Kodachrome 64.

Near Edinburgh, Scotland.

Alcobaça, Portugal. Too bad they were closed. Nomi was happy though.

For seven years a community co-op workshop that generated a tremendous amount of good will, but did not generate enough revenue. You could work on your bike here, with or without help, they taught bicycle repair skills, & sold cargo & e bikes.

I purchased Nate's first bike here & later, our first mountain bikes.

A great idea to mix food, coffee, beer & bicycles. They're still here during the pandemic. Split Rock Tap & Wheel, Fairfax, CA

Petaluma, CA.

In Fairfax since 1971, Sunshine Bicycles is one of the oldest bike shops in Marin. It's located a few blocks from ascents to mountain bike riding on Mt. Tamalpais & a block off Sir Francis Drake Blvd. with access to spectacular road riding in West Marin. They cater to both needs & have been a sponsor of the Drake H.S. mountain bike team.