Bicycle Express - I Love this Place!

Thursday, May 14th, is Bike to Work Day and I was thinking about how much I like commuting by bicycle, which got me to thinking how much I wanted a commuter cup holder for my handlebars and so I decided to swing by Bicycle Express on my way home tonight.  What I encountered as I rode up to Bicycle Express (131 E. Williams) was the usual scene of people hanging out, talking, repairing bikes and taking bikes for a spin.  Sure it is a bike shop that sells bikes, bike parts and bike accessories but more than that it is a place to gather, sort of a hub of local bicycle activity.  I am guessing that the wonderful people who own this place are not in the business to get rich, they are here because they like helping people and they like bikes.  I have seen them make minor repairs for free, teach people how to make repairs themselves (and let them use the shop tools) and one bike commuter acquaintance of mine claims the owner even made a special trip to the shop on a Sunday to fix his bike.  Today, many of the bike shop tools had migrated out to the sidewalk in front of the shop where a crowd of cyclists were fixing their bikes.  Bicycle Express is where I bought my bike and when the manufacturer was back ordered and it was taking awhile for the bike to arrive, the owners of Bicycle Express did everything short of traveling to the factory and building it themselves, to get my bike to me as soon as they could.  The shop is so tiny that on a typical day one can barely thread their way through to the counter but it is packed with just about everything a bicyclist could want.  And as of this Thursday, that will include commuter cup holders.