After leaving the house with S.A.M. for the first ride after being put back together, I discovered my front brakes were... useless. It wasn't so bad, but I had to be extra vigilant until I got it fixed (I couldn't figure out the immediate problem which is the one drawback to being married to Hubby the Bike Man- I let him take care of it : ).
I thought I was going to stop at
Box Dog Bikes as they are the ones that always have the kind of parts my old re-cycles need, but that was not really on my way. That was when I remembered that Ben, the guy who has become well known for opening up shop on the side of the road in the Panhandle, had opened up his own place on
Treat St. That was exactly on my route, so that was where I headed.
Ben's shop is tiny and cute. I am sure that Ben would not describe his bike nook as cute, but it is. He has bikes hanging from the ceiling like salamis.
He has room for his single bike rack, and a rug, and a boom box and his tools.
When I looked to the back of the shop, I saw a familiar bicycle on the floor- KT's Motobecane. I thought it was funny that I recognized the pieces of my friend's bike without knowing the bike was there in the first place.
Ten minutes and $5 later, my brakes were doing their appointed job and I was on my way. I love little shops like Ben's. Nothing fancy, just the tools required to do the job and a guy with a nice smile and a bike stand. I was off for the rest of my errands in the brief sunshine we got that day in no time.
Thanks, Ben!