Last Friday we said goodbye to Joel, who’s been with me almost from the start of Rat Race Cycles. He’s moving onto pastures new (sorry, we’re already racking up the clichés and I’ve only written the title and first two sentences!). His other passion has always been for music and he’s moved up North to start a Masters course in Music Technology at the Birmingham Conservatoire. His first album is incredible, and being released on 5th October, and his next ones promise to be even greater still.
But as excited as we are for him, Joel leaves some pretty big shoes to fill. For the last five years he’s been my right-hand man and customers tell me all the time how brilliant he is, and how great he’s been with their bikes. I know I’m not the only one who’s going to miss him.
In his place, though, we’re really excited to introduce two new members of staff. They are Dax, who coincidentally has left a career as a professional musician to work in the bike trade, and Nelsy, who’s joined us from Look Mum No Hands (we’re very grateful they let her leave!). They’re both ace people and great mechanics. As they don’t yet have Joel’s expertise, I’ll be spending more time in the workshop over the next few months to help them hone their craft. They’re already well on their way.
Marlowe and Andis are still with us of course, and still keeping bikes and their riders on the road and working superbly.
Finally, our last bit of news is that we’re changing our opening hours. Earlier in the year we conducted a highly scientific Twitter poll (!), and – coupled with anecdotal customer feedback – we’ve decided to try opening 7am to 7pm on weekdays, to help those who have found it difficult to get to us during our previous hours.
As autumn approaches, we tend to see more punctures, more cyclocross bikes and more of the hardy commuters who brave the weather. Good news for you guys – we’ve recently restocked on our autumn bestsellers, so if you’re in need of new lights, reflective stuff or mudguards to fight the dark and wet come on down.
We look forward to sharing this next stage of our grand tour with you all.
