I spend a lot of time in Michigan, training and visiting family. Maybe they were always there, but lately I have noticed more and more going out of business signs for various businesses. They have sales and signs that say "thank you for 30 great years, we will miss you and thanks to all our customers and friends." It makes me sad any time a small business goes under. I fantasize about some day doing a coffee table book, of these places and the people who ran them, learn their stories, take their pictures.
The thing that curtails my angst is the inner voice telling me "relax that's Michigan, here at home things are OK." So I thought. Wednesday I got an e-mail that sent a chill up and down my spine, "Smart Cycling Bike Shop in Glenview is closing it's doors."
I know Steve the owner of Smart Cycling, I have been a customer since they opened their doors, they are friends and a great resource for anything dealing with bikes, they are a part of the community.
Steve ran Smart Cycling like the pharmacies of my youth. He knew his customers, treated them with respect, took the time to help them and was always looking out for their benefit, not his. More than one time, I heard a friend say, "I wanted to get something much more expensive, but he wouldn't let me, he showed me how to make it work for less!"
Bike shop, training center, museum, walking around Smart Cycling was always a pleasure. The floors were painted with a Champions Pathway, covered with the names of all the past great cycling champions, the walls with pictures of pros from around the world, wishing Steve well. Every conversation had a way of working it's way back to the great Eddy Merckx.
More than just a shop owner, Steve was and is a coach. Many successful pros. can trace their success back to Steve, including Robbie Ventura and many others at that level. It wasn't the pros that made Steve light up, it was the work he did with kids and paralympians that was his pride and joy. Sharing his passion with kids and the physically challenged was something he loved to do.
He would spend hours making sure your bike fit, lead group rides and deliver your bike to your house at the end of a long day. Now that is all going away. Maybe it's the economy, maybe it's just the natural order of things, but I will miss him and Smart Cycling, it's the end of something special.
Time is running out for Smart Cycling, but the good thing is, there still is time. Kids are still working on bikes, Steve is still doing fits, athletes are still buzzing in and out and the going out of business sale is pretty epic, 50% off everything. I got the extra set of pedals I have always wanted and more importantly the last XL Smart Cycling jersey, something I will wear as a keepsake of a great guy and a great place.
If you have never been, there is still time to check it out, say hello to Steve and take part in his going out of business sale. It's a drag to think that 50% off of everything in the store is what will bring people to this special place, but getting a chance to share in it before it goes away and wish him well is worth the trip.
Thank you Steve.
Filed under: Cycling, biking, Events, Gift Ideas, News
Tags: david wallach, Economic Crisis, Eddy Merckx, Going Out of Business, Michigan, Robbie Ventura, Sale, Smart Cycling Bike Shop
David Wallach
4 days, 10 hours ago