March marked my 21st year in the bike business.  It was an anniversary that actually went unnoticed until I sat down to write my column.  There's so much going on with Dark Horse right now that even if I had remembered, it would have taken a back seat to current events.

Or first race of the year, Singlespeed-a-palooza is sold out at 250 entrants...this race has become for us a darling sibling to the Dark Horse 40, and apparently to everyone else as well.  Our theory is if you throw one hell of a party with a race wrapped around it they will come!  This race is no joke...it's difficult, especially with only one gear.  If you had told me two or three years ago that singlespeed bicycles would be so crazy popular, I would have told you to go drink a Bud Lime, and stay away from Dark Horse...not now however...c'mon in I'm buying!

At 57 years old, I decided that I was no longer content to rent a space to run my business, so while most guys my age are figuring out a way to retire, I figured I'd swing the opposite way and build my own shop.  The way I saw it, it was no big deal as long as I was able to borrow some money from the bank, and cultivate in rapid order the biggest set of...well you know what set I'm refering to( and in honor of decency will leave it at that) that a gentleman my age could cultivate.  I managed to do both, and the shop is progressing beautifully, and I couldn't be more proud.  We will be there soon, and rent, fellow tenants, and pestering landlords will be but a distant memory.

Dark Horse Cycles being my second shop, both of which I started with only a few bucks and a convoluted business plan, is my third child...(Bryan and Sara came first)  I have nurtured it and loved it as only a parent can love an offspring...as in real parenthood, there have been some down, and painful times, but we always seemed to make up and go on. As a parent, there can be many training sessions and seminars telling you what to do, but nothing provides you with a stark reality check like the actual thing...same thing in business.  Until you stand there in front of a customer wanting their cash, and them wanting to keep it, will you understand the daunting task before you.

I have written so many times in the past about my burning passion for the sport of cycling and how it allowed me to escape seeking professional help from certified head doctors.  It has allowed me to see things I would not have seen otherwise, and has allowed me those private, meditative moments that enable one to take back rational thoughts, enjoying private solitude.  It has kept me fit...it has kept me young...it has kept me focused...and most importantly, it has definitely played a part in keeping me married for 30 years!

Mike, my partner of two years, is a show in itself.  Where I fail in the personality department, he excells.  He loves the sport as I do, and is as dedicated as I am to making sure the new shop becomes the area's cycling mecca.  We are honest to a fault, and go out of our way to make sure you have a pleasant and rewarding experience at Dark Horse.  Many folks have told us the best way to describe Dark Horse is cycling "Dinner and a theatre"....you get the meal, and a show to boot! Do I hear Discovery channel kocking on the door?

Anyway, it's been a crazy ride the last 21 years.  I thought initially that selling my service station was a big mistake, but not now.  I became a firm believer that you are what you're supposed to be...if I was meant to still be there I would be, but I found my calling.  I have had some of the most rewarding experiences provided by the bike industry, and have been invited to attend shows and seminars that provide a bike junkie such as myself total sensory overload.  I have met and ridden with some of the founding pioneers of the sport, and have dined with some of the most famous cycling legends in mountain biking.  I've had owners and CEOs of big bike companies ask my opinion, and actually put some of my suggestions to use. I have made many new friends, and gotten the opportunity to ride in some of the most exciting lacals in the country...who lives better than this I ask you?

We're not quite sure when we'll be in the new shop, but we're hoping for June.  It's going to be so cool I promise you.  There will be two floors of cycling goodness set on two acres right across the street from 6700 acres...who could ask for more?  We have many events planned, and with on site storage now, rest assured there will still be plenty of room in the work area for one tired old mechanic and his tired old kegerator...together, we make quite the entertaining couple!  608 Rt. 17K...see you there!

" Yours in construction"...George