Open Bicycle

We open the doors every day knowing that a diverse collection of folks will descend the nine steps into our shop.  We’ve come to expect weekly visits from our pal David, a fine barber in Harvard Square, our quirky neighbor Weimar, a Brazilian beauty-supply repair technician or the bargain-hunting Joe, who is possibly one of the most enthusiastic guys in Union.  David brings us stories of his weekend adventures, maybe a bite to eat and always a pile of encouragement.  It is common that Weimar pokes his head in around 10pm as he leaves, offering some witty comment about never leaving the shop – his choppy English and happy-go-lucky style always leave us grinning and shaking our heads.  Joe, who we’ve come to know over the past two weeks, tends to dart through the door and share his junk-yard, Craigslist, yard sale or on-the-corner finds, all of which seem to leave us impressed.  Joe has also officially become our unofficial used bicycle hunter – you should see some of the stuff he’s pointed us to.  In between the visits from our friends, we fix flats and do tune-ups for the neighborhood folk, hustle cool product from all over the globe, and occasionally venture out to grab a quick bite at Machuu Pichuu (best chicken in the city) or flirt with the baristas at Bloc 11.

I have no real point, except to say that we’re thrilled with the energy the shop is attracting, both to us and to the surrounding community.  I was sent this image earlier, found on the Wooster Collective, I enjoy when the simplest of creative concepts bring the most perspective to my day and in this case it happens to be cycling related.  Every Turn of The Wheel is a Revolution, found on a side-street in Belfast: