Skip to main content

About Us

People often ask me how I got into the bicycle business. I hope you enjoy my story.

Childhood Dreams

Bruce's First Bike

As long as I can remember, I have been into bicycles. My love for bicycles started with my first tricycle. By age 10, my life revolved around my bicycle offering me the freedom to go where I wanted to go . Bicycles were different to me than other boys in that by a very young age, I had already decided that I wanted to own a bicycle shop when I grew up.

Bruce's Bike Repair

When I turned 16, I got a job as a bike mechanic in a start up Schwinn shop in town. I absolutely loved working on bikes all day, I couldn't wait to get into work. I was devistated five months later when I was let go so that I wouldn't be a liability to the bike shop during winter.


The following summer, I decided to follow my childhood dreams and start Bruce's Bike Repair. I set up shop in my Mom & Dad's garage getting business by going door to door. This proved to be not only profitable, but a great learning experience. Not many teen agers get the opportunity to run their own business. I operated Bruce's Bike Repair for the next 5 summers, growing the business every year.


The summer of my Junior year in college, I was approached by the Mill Race Inn Restaurant to start a bicycle rental shop from the rear of their offices. I was very excited about the opportunity of bringing Bruce's Bike Repair out of the garage to a retail location on a bike trail. The following spring, I bought out the restaurant's portion of the Mill Race Cyclery and from that point on I was on my own.

Time to Rebuild

Two years after starting Mill Race Cyclery, I purchased my original building securing my location on the Fox River Bike trail. The building , an old gas station of about 2400 sq ft, was filled wall to ceiling with bikes. It was a cramp but an exciting space.
 In 1995, I tore down the old bike shop and built the current 7500sq ft bike shop.  In the summer, we even have an ice cream shop.

Mill Race Cyclery Today


Current store