Lost Cowboy

At some point during Hurricane Irene, my bicycle fell over rendering it useless for the rest of my recent vacation retreat.  After a summer where I had taken a bike ride of one length or another almost every day since May, I felt like my legs had been chopped off.

I blame Irene, but the bike had been long overdue for a tune up.  The breaks were spongy and the gears were totally messed up.  Therefore, job one when I returned to the New Hampshire manse following my house-sitting gig in Massachusetts was to take the bike in for repairs.

There are few things that I feel strongly about when it comes to service providers, but one of them is to use a bike shop that is locally owned and operated.  In my experience, the local small business bike shops are usually owned by someone who loves bikes and staffed by equally passionate bicycle enthusiasts.

Such is the case at The Bike Shop in North Conway, NH (no website) a short drive from my home.  I had been to this shop over the years and always received great service.  I was so happy to see they were still thriving in an area where there are many big players in the outdoor sports world – like REI, etc.  Not that there is anything wrong with those places, but again, if I have a choice I am going with the little guy.

Anyway, the folks a The Bike Shop took a look and told me what was going on with my baby – and it was worse than I hoped, but I trusted that they knew what they were doing.  The only problem was that I had to leave my bike for a couple of days which was a challenge as the weather was great and who knows how long that will last now that we are in September.

Well, I got my bike back yesterday and she was as good as new – thanks to The Bike Shop.  I immediately took it out for a spin – and am happy to report that it was the best ride of the summer – and I immediately regretted not getting the bike serviced sooner.

My point today is to seek out the smaller bike business when you need to buy or service a bike – I guarantee you will get the best service. 

RELATED PLUG: If you are in the Boston area and need your bike serviced and are too lazy to find a local shop - check out the Boston Bike Guy mobile bike shop.