Sitting In An Empty Shop

In a chair in the middle of our empty bicycle shop...after fifteen minutes of feeling my separation from my previous 31 years as bike shop owner, I realize...the most important thing is that I had the best customers in the world. People interested in outdoor quiet mountain sports. People devoted to exercise. People interested in sharing their stories about mingling with nature. People steeped in the positives of everyday adventures. People who wanted to help me get the word out...Life Is Good! What other business can attract these kind of people? We had our 'down and out' characters but we almost always made their day better...with free flat repair or rusty chain improvements. We were 'there' for people, we listened, we empathized and we offered help.

Retirement Five Years Late

I had thought about retiring at 70 years young in 2020. Retirement Vision 2020, I called it. In February, Covid lunged into our world. My sister was in the ICU being intubated, she couldn't breathe. In March and April people were hiding out, afraid to mingle. On June 3 our doctor called us into her office and informed us that Lisa had lung cancer, stage two. My world turned upside down. Meeting customers at the bicycle shop was dangerous but the functioning shop was my anchor. We battled with Covid and Cancer and Fire and Smoke and my own Cancer surgery for the next three years. We were given health "all clears" in 2024. Retirement at 75 is looking promising.