City Cycles Chichester

6 months ago if you'd said I would be running my own Cycle shop by the end of the year I'd have told you, you were mad! This is the story of how I quit my job as a successful R&D Manager and turned my passion for cycling into a job! (By the way I may still be mad!)

I've been a customer of City Cycles in Chichester for over 10 years, valuing Martin and Jacky's honest and friendly service. Frequently I've burst in looking for some rare or unusual part for an important race the next day. To my amazement Martin would usually reach into a cardboard box or disappear into the cellar and emerge with just what I needed! It is that kind of emporium of everything cycling related. Having often dragged my wife in on a busy Saturday, we'd frequently joked, tongue in cheek, that we'd have to buy the shop when Martin and Jacky called it a day!

Fast forward to this summer and on a casual visit for inner tubes I questioned Jacky about a gap on the normally crowded shelves. She told me that they were retiring at the end of the year after 22 and a half years in Chichester.  My first thought was where was I going to come for those 'special' last minute purchases now? When I got home I mentioned the news to my wife and we joked about our often stated dream of buying the shop. Anyway after a night to sleep on it, I went to talk to Martin the next day, to ask if he would sell the business as a going concern. At that point I had no retail experience and knew nothing about the cycle trade or how to run a shop!

One thing led to another and here we are 3 months later. I'm excited to announce that from early December I'm starting out on a new venture as the fresh face behind City Cycles Chichester.  The new team and I will continue the honest, knowledgeable service for which the shop is so well known.

The last few months have been quite an adventure, holding down the 9 to 5 job while dealing with solicitors, accountants, distributors, surveyors and landlords. It has been a steep learning curve with highs and lows along the journey, but the overriding sense is one of excitement.

As we count down to the opening, we've been lucky to find an excellent experienced mechanic and get some great brands on board. We've been offered a lot of support and invaluable advice along the way, not least from Martin and Jacky, who have done all they can to help smooth the transfer of ownership.

So why you may ask do I want to run a bike shop? Even before my parents arranged birthday bike rides for me along the South Downs Way from the age of 11, I already had a love for bikes; riding them, looking at them and talking about them. I have raced XC regionally, nationally and abroad. My background is on the mountain bike, but I was thinking the other day that the only genre of cycling I haven't actually tried is Cyclocross! As well as my MTB racing, I've ridden the boards of the velodrome, competed in local TT's and evening road races after work. I've always built up and maintained my own bikes, spending hours in my man cave tinkering. If I'm not in the shed, my evenings are spent trawling the internet planning my next purchase or adventure. So there is a lot of experience and knowledge locked away ready to be offered as advice and guidance, some of which I have shared through this blog. As well as this, after 20 years sat at a desk, I am looking forward to the human interaction!

I look forward to seeing you in the shop!

City Cycles Chichester

44 Bognor Road

Chichester

PO19 7TG