Last week I had to opportunity to head down to Statesville, NC and visit First Flight Bicycles and Jeff Archer. In the past Dale has encouraged attendees of the Cirque to stop by and pay a visit. For me time never allowed this and I am sorry that I havent stopped in sooner. Try and make the time when coming to next years Cirque, you won't be disappointed. The store is in the historic district of Statesville with many old buildings lining a very wide main street with a few good coffee shops as well as restaurants. If forgot to ask Jeff what kind of business used to occupy this building, but it felt like a hardware store to me. As one walks in you will take notice of the oiled oak floors and the pressed tin ceiling and how Jeff and company have blended the new offerings with the collectables. The 16 foot ceilings have bicycles galore hanging where you will find vintage lightweights as well as mountain bikes. Along the walls about 10 feet up is a ledge about 4 or 5 foot in width with more offerings to tantalize the collector. While all the bikes are not lightweights here you will find some mixed among the balloon tire bikes and even a very old high wheeler and I believe what is called a hobby horse which is wooden. As you look around you will discover display cases here and there with collectables ranging from lamps to mountain bike components and lightweight items to other neat-o-stuff. What I thought was a very nice touch were the jerseys that were displayed such as the ones that were framed like the US Postal with socks behind the Specialized road bikes.
Having been caught up in some construction traffic on I 77 and realizing that I wouldnt make it to Statesville before the shop closed I got off the highway and wound around the mountains on some back roads long enough to bypass the hold up. After arriving and greeting Jeff and Wes Jeff invited me to join them on their Thursday night ride. Thanks to Jeff and the gang for waiting on me to get ready. Wes told Jeff earlier in the season that it was his goal to take him on a different ride every week. We rolled through the country side with just a few hills that tested once conditioning. In the distance you could see some mountains that one day I would like to come back and climb on their longer rides that skirt the flanks of them thar hills. As we rolled back into town Jeff said that Wes always had them rolling back into town with 30-35 miles under their belt. Many thanks to Jeff, Wes and the gang for a very enjoyable ride.
Hope to be back in Aug. for the Crossroads Bike Swap.
Mark Poore
Slatyfork, WV
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