Winter has descended upon the river city, but the cold temperatures and sometimes brutal wind chills have not brought an end to getting around via bicycle.
Tracks in the snow show where warmly clad men make their way along their usual routes through Omaha. During this time of the year, most of the bikes have fat tires, since the skinny tire guys can not ride amongst the snow since their tires have no traction. Their vivid garb of color is however not seen as often these days.
However. My own decades old bicycle was not working properly for the past seven days. A lubrication attempt led to the discovery of a broken cable.
On the morning of November 18th, a phone call was made to get an appointment at the best bicycle shop in the neighborhood. A short time later, work was underway by men at Olympia Cycle, 40th and Hamilton Streets, deep in the midst of eastern, urban Omaha.
Having been a long-time patron, and well, having given my name when calling, a personal greeting was given upon my arrival within the bicycle shop.
As the men with tools worked upon the mechanical issues needing fixing, my spot of focus was elsewhere, primarily to get out of the way. the result was a pleasant interlude with the "patriarch of the shop" beside the warm stove. Pieces of wood from out back of the shop were brought in to nourish the flame of heat.
A solid wooden bench, as readily available just a foot or two to the west of a warmly glowing wood stove, was a just about perfect for a chilly morning. It was mighty toasty to sit there! The bike guys were attentive to keeping its condition fresh.
During my repose, there was some good conversation with the of roads formerly traveled via some sort of vehicle out in the central sandhills. Halsey and the forest lands were a common theme.
A sorrowful theme was that the proprietors of the store have had to deal with thefts from their woodpile.
Time was also spent perusing the store, awaiting the end of the fixing.
The cost was right, and though there was no tip jar, a tip was left on the counter. Upon leaving, going west down Hamilton Street, the first one or two pulls upon the brakes were so tight right in comparison to earlier in the day that the handlebars got too close for comfort.
The gears shifted mighty fine and nicely right. With the bicycle fixed, and based upon a fine time at Olympia Cycle, there are going to be more days of cycling through Omaha to appreciate. The highlight of the streets this day was ringing the bell, at least one thousand times along the streets. The sound was quite nice. And he secondary peak of the day was the bicycle things in the store. Ignoring the obvious number of cycles,
If you would like personal, attentive service, go to this establishment.