After 30 years connecting cyclists with the best bikes for trails, tracks and tarmac, The Bike Stop of Orillia is changing owners.
Barry Middleton and his partner Susan Blevins ran the shop on Colborne street for 30 years and grew a reputation as a one-stop shop for cyclists young and old: now they’re passing the torch to local entrepreneurs Paul Belanger and Thomas Hulton.
The pair served up cupcakes and chatted with long-time friends and Bike Stop customers Saturday morning on the shop’s parking lot.
For Middleton and Blevins, handing over the Bike Stop’s reins is a chance for a much needed break.
“We’ve never had a summer vacation,” said Middleton with a laugh. “I’m 70 years old, I can’t do this until I die!”
Blevins chimed in: “We’re very proud we can leave the town a legacy. They need a good bicycle store.”
While Blevins and Middleton chatted with the many cyclists who pulled over to wish them well in retirement, the shop’s new owners chatted with a steady line of socially-distanced shoppers looking to buy new bikes or get old ones fixed.
Standing beside one of his first sales — a cherry-red Schwinn bike — Middleton lists off his favourite memories of the shop: seeing championship-winning riders coming from Orillia, and sponsoring a team of cyclists who competed at Hardwood Ski and Bike in Oro-Medonte.
“Your business doesn’t run unless you have good people who are your customers," he said. "And looking after your customers I think is the highest priority: you bend over backwards to make them happy and to sell them a product of quality — that’s what this is all about.”
That sales tradition is likely to continue: the shop’s new owners Paul Belanger and Thomas Hulton say they’re excited to build on Middleton’s legacy.
“It’s super exciting. Barry built a great business over the last 30 years, so it’s kind of nice to step into something we can continue on,” said Belanger.
And by all accounts the shop is off to a roaring start: Belanger says they’re almost out of stock due to the sky-high demand for cycles.
“With COVID we’ve seen a huge increase in bike riders,” said Belanger beside a customer checking out a bright orange Trek Mountain bike. “A lot of people are buying bikes who haven’t ridden in a long time, so the community has grown.”
In front of the shop Middleton and Blevins stood for pictures with the shop’s new owners — each holding a certificate of congratulations from Orillia’s City Council.
Mayor Steve Clarke addressed the shop’s owners — past and present — and gave encouragement to the new entrepreneurs.
“It’s stressful, It’s exciting, but its also very very worthwhile,” said Clarke.
Middleton and Blevins say they’re excited to spend more time by the lake and with their grandchildren — but their love of cycling isn’t likely to change.
“If the cycling culture can be advanced, and people can get more fit and more healthy: it’s a life style that we live,” said Middleton.
