Alleycat Jawn: 2007

-Over the years you have played in several DIY punk / hardcore bands that have toured and put out records. You have also gone from being a bike mechanic to bike shop owner at a young age. Did you take anything from those experiences when you were getting Carytown bikes up and running?

First off I want to say I don’t think it is possible for someone to come up in the diy side of the hardcore scene and not have it effect their life as a whole. What I gleaned from my personal experience in punk/hardcore has, if nothing else, a solid work-ethic and a political stance that strongly influences the way I choose to do business in what is essentially a luxury item market.

While I may not truly consider myself “punk” outright anymore I like to think that I have not had to compromise my ideals to much to live my life. For example now that we have things up and running we are making the push to convert our service department to function using only bio-degradeable lubricants and cleaners. Unfortunatly the bicycle industry as a whole is not very eco-friendly as a whole and I feel it is important for those who work within to do their best to minimize their environmental impact as much as possible.
Beyond this a big part of how I try and treat my customers feels punk’s influence as well. When I first started really getting into riding I had several negative experiences at bike shops and even after I started working in one I would continue to see examples of the staff in shop I worked at treating different types of customers very differently. What is usually boiled down to is lower-income (and by default often minority) customers as well as many college age kids who could be stereotyped as “punk” would often receive unfair treatment. This struck a particular nerve with me because I was watching cyclists who actually rely on the bike as more than just exercise be treated as second-class customers. As a result I always strive to treat everyone who comes into my store equally regardless of their background or how much I think they are going to spend.

-Being someone who has spent a lot of time in countless bike shops I was impressed with how your shop was set up. I remember that I told you that you had done your homework on bike shop. Could you explain how you set up the shop? Why was it so important to get that aspect of the shop just right?

Well to be a bit cynical I have to admit that part of it is about sales. If I can create a pleasant and clean environment people will want to come back to my shop as opposed to some other place. But all that aside when my partners and I went into this we were committed to creating the kind of shop that we would want to go hang out in and enjoy. Personally I love just hanging out and talking about bikes and we wanted to make a place where you can go and just feel comfortable. Too many people we talked to would complain about their experience in local shops and we wanted to create a great alternative to that. I’m sure just about everyone out there riding as had at least one really bad experience in a bike shop and I never want people to have that happen with my shop. I never want someone to feel uncomfortable or talked down to.
Of course a big part of what we are trying to accomplish needs to have a well organized base to work from and I really wanted a very open and inviting visual appearance throughout the shop.

-The bike scene is Richmond has exploded in the past few years. When I come back to Richmond I see kids on bikes everywhere. There are bike “gangs”, lots of races and several new shops in the area. Could you describe the Richmond bike scene in your own words and explain its growth? What should someone do on a bike if they visited?

To be honest I kind have a love/hate relationship with the very idea of a “bike scene”. On the one hand I think it is fantastic that so many kids are riding these days. The more people on bikes the better, for the most part. However I do think there is always going to be a downside to any thing once it becomes a “scene” because we all know that when we say scene what we really mean is social-scene. Sometimes I get a littled bummed out to see bikes being used as just another accessory. There are always going to be kids out there that would be jumping on pogo-sticks and drinking PBR if that was the current fad. What has kept me from getting too annoyed by this though is that for all the goof balls out there using bikes as a status symbol or a way to find a girl/boyfriend there are plenty of kids out their busting their ass to make something positive as well. Over the years I have met some really great kids here that are riding bikes because they love it and want to share that fun with others. Of course some of my lack of patience at times is probably just as much a result of my own life. I turned 30 this year and I am still straight-edge so getting loose on sparks and bike jousting just is not going to appeal to my the same way it will to someone in their early 20’s who drinks. It’s such a terrible cliché to say “I’m too old for this” but dammit sometimes I am too old for this. I think this is a common thread among people in punk and hardcore that are entering their 30’s so I probably shouldn’t be whining about it. My view on riding in Richmond is probably going to be vastly different than the average “bike gang” kid. My riding experience here is based more on finding demanding routes to ride than bar hopping. I still love just crusing around the fan but given the choice I will take a 50 mile or more road ride over a bar-hop any day. Regardless of what end of that spectrum someone finds themselves on they will probably enjoy it here. I love this city and I love riding bikes in an around it.

-What were the Richmond Sprint Club races and why have they come to an end? Could you explain the Go Fast Turn Left races at Richmond Speedway and how they differ from the Richmond Sprint Club?

Sprint Club had to come to an end for a bunch of reasons. Part of it is I just have too much on my plate these days to try and run it but I think to a certain extent it had kindof come full circle and it was time for me to step aside and let some of the younger kids step up and do their own thing. When I started Sprint Club it was about only one thing. Racing track bikes. We don’t have a velodrome here so parking lots and cemeteries had to be our tracks. Some kids relished this approach to racing and for a while things were really great. But many of the core individuals began to look beyond Sprint Club to race just as I did. Unfortunatly this resulted in two distict groups within things. Those who were licensed bike racers and those who were not. We always seemed to get the whole jock lable but in a way we did kind deserve it. By last year I started to get tired of the people who just started using Sprint Club as another social clique and seemed more concerned with posting pictures of themselves racing on myspace than the actual racing. At the same time this was happening I was beginning to work on putting on legitimate races. I contacted a local auto track that hosted bike races about 25 years ago and was given the go ahead to rent the place and put on some events. As much as I wanted to make free races there with things like track rental and insurance there was just no way to truly keep the spirit of Sprint Club intact. What happened is some of the more motivated riders began to step up their game a bit and at the same time some of the local road-racers decided to get track bikes and mix it up as well. It’s in it’s third year now and I am expecting big things with the races this summer.

-What is the best way to get someone turned onto riding a bike?

This is simple… put them on one that fits right, air up the tires, and let them go. I can’t tell you how many people do not enjoy their time riding because they either don’t fit on their bicycle or it’s not working properly.

-I know that you race mountain, track, road, and cross all of which requires some serious mental and physical discipline when it comes to preparation. Could you tell someone who is a novice biker what the allure is of racing?

I think everyone out their racing has their own reasons but for me it’s pretty simple. I enjoy riding fast and I enjoy seeing how far I can push myself. I also get a huge kick out of racing with teammates. It’s corny but there is something to be said for the comradarey that comes with a team sport. For me there is not much I enjoy more than mixing it up with team at the local Tuesday night training race and trying to beat one of the other teams. When we are done we all hang out and shoot the shit and congradulate one another for trying hard. Like I said it’s corny, but I just like it. After all it is actually pretty hard at times and can even be painful. Beyond that I have a great fondness for the beauty of road and track bikes and enjoy doing my best to push the limits of a great bicycle. It’s not for everyone but if you were to come out to a local training race you would be surprised just how varied the people out there all. There are few other ways that a 21 year old straight edge college kid can ride with a doctor, a lawyer, and all manner of other types and really share a common experience. It’s pretty cool in my opinion how diverse things have really started to become.

-Track bikes and fixed gear bikes are the newest fad; they’re the new skateboard. What do you tell someone who comes into your shop who says “I want a track bike to ride on the street.”

I think it’s ridiculous and unfortunately, dangerous. I ride fixed and brakeless on the street but I am careful to always ride within my limits. There is rarely a day that goes by I don’t see some kid riding a fixed gear in a dangerous if not suicidal manner. What really irritates me the most is that kid who blows a red light because he lacks the skill to stop is just another reason that many drivers hat cyclists. There have been plenty of times when I have been driving a car and have almost hit someone on a bike because they are acting like a damn fool. I used to be anti-brake on a fixed gear and I still ride track bikes that cant even take brake but I totally think that if you are starting out on a fixed gear you have to be stupid not to use a brake. Riding brakeless in a city is probably one of the most difficult things to truly master on a bike and should not be taken lightly. Even now as the frequency of people riding brakeless increase so do accidents and we are already starting to see local governments pass legislation banning brakeless track bikes.
I don’t want to see this happen but I don’t want to see another kid get hurt because they are in over their head either. At the same time I love riding track bikes. They are simple, elegant, and pretty useful. However they are not for everyone.

-When people ask you “What is the difference between this bike and a Wal-Mart bike” what is your response?

I don’t even get that question anymore because for the most part the least expensive bike I sell is about $500. I don’t even want to bother with low-grade bike shop bikes anymore. There are plenty of other shops that sell $200 bikes and that’s fine for them. I want anyone who gets a bike from me to be confident that they are getting a good bicycle. This is ultimately going to price us out of reach of some people but as a rider I just cant with a clear conscience sell someone a shitty bike regardless if it is made by Pacific or Trek. If wal-mart stopped selling bikes tomorrow it would be a great thing though.

-What is your ideal day being a shop owner? What is your worst day being a shop owner?

Today was actually my ideal day. I had a good time, worked on a few bikes, talked to some interesting people, cut out for a short ride and at the end of the day things took a turn for the even better. A friend of mine sent one of his friends up to the shop. He works for the local boys and girls club and is trying to put together a bike team there. He was looking for jerseys, shorts, and helmets for his 7 kids in the progam. As an owner I could help him without a second thought. I worked a deal for him so he could get everything he needed for those kids as wholesale and saved his program about $800. For me that’s why I do this. I want to see people getting into riding and especially young people. Today I was able to help someone achieve that. Nothing is better.
The only bad days are the ones were the stress of the job gets a bit heavy. Starting up a business is not easy in the least bit and to make a shop like I have it involved raising well over $100,000. That’s a lot of money and often a lot of stress. But I have complete confidence that something great will come of all this and maybe when I’m 60 I might even be able to retire and ride my bike every day. I knew going into this it was going to be extremely hard work and would mean often working 70 hours a week but I love it anyway. If you don’t love what you are doing what’s the point?