Tales from the Bike Shop

I wrote these stories between ‘83 and ‘89 for my column in Winning Magazine, Bicycle Racing Illustrated. The column was called The Bike Shop. Winning is gone and so is the world the characters in the stories inhabit. So are most shops like Bob’s, I’m sorry to say.When I went to work for Winning, I was supposed to write monthly columns about a clever, thoughtful bike shop owner who’d help people in novel, colorful ways. I don’t know that my work ever fitted that job description perfectly but it must have been adequate. I stayed there at the back of Winning for 11 lovely years.As this is written in early 2012 it’s been 23 years since Tales was published. It’s been out of print for many, perhaps most, of those years. I’m pleased to see it (and the folks from Bob’s shop) out in the world again. I hope you enjoy your visits with the cyclists in these stories. Read more