The Pro Shop Story

I remember the first time I walked into a bike shop. It was 1984 and the shop was Olympia Cycle in Omaha, Nebraska. All of my knowledge of bike racing at that time was from what l overheard and saw at the shop, on the weekend group rides, and from what I read in _Winning Magazine_ and _Velonews_. I was that kid who was always hanging around the shop asking too many questions. I loved the culture and I wanted to be part of it.

When I was a just out of college, I lived in a bike shop. I slept in a corner of the sales floor, worked as a mechanic there, and raced for the shop team on the weekends. I was perhaps the worst mechanic of all time but I loved being there. I had no idea how a shop really worked but I knew that I wanted to have one. That was in Iowa City, Iowa and the year was 1992. A lot happened between that time and when I arrived in Seattle; many racing adventures all over the country, many addresses and visits to some of the best shops in the country. A foundation was in place for opening my own shop, when the time was right.

After starting HSP in 2006 as a coaching and strength and conditioning business, I planned to have a shop as soon as the people, and capital, were in place. In 2008, when Dave Richter and I started working together, I knew the time was right. The space next door to HSP opened up. David, who had been a part owner of a shop before and has been around bicycles most of his life, shared my vision and we jumped at the opportunity to get the shop up and running. We scribbled our plans on s piece of notebook paper, hired a carpenter and went to work — at a time when most people said our concept was not a viable one. That was in February of 2009. The Pro Shop opened on May 6th 2009, on my 40th birthday. It took 25 years to get the shop up and running, but it was well worth the wait.

Why call it a Pro Shop? Isn’t the shop at HSP just a bike shop? My answer to this is always the same: No. We are more than just a bike shop. Our shop is all about experience, not simply the deep and hard-earned experience of our staff but also the genuine and personalized experience that we provide for every customer who walks through our doors.

Choosing a new bike or new accessories shouldn’t be overwhelming, it should be a fun and exciting process that ultimately ends with you getting what you want. We only sell products we endorse and that meet our standards of excellence. We’ve raced with or used every one of them. To help guide you to the products that will work best for your unique needs, our staff is able to answer detailed questions in plain English.

Of course, we understand that there are many choices to be made when it comes to buying new gear and we also understand that there are many outlets available for riders to turn to. Our mission is not just to offer our clients the best products and excellent service, we want our clients to feel like they are a part of our team. And no, we won’t make you sleep on the floor.

I hope to see you soon.

TH