The Builder

My first encounter with the bike didn’t go so well — my mother’s idea of a riding lesson was to plop me on the seat of a bike without training wheels and shove me down a hill. The only thing I learned was how to jump clear without killing myself. A year later, I got on the bike on flat ground and just rode. Somehow, that led me to the craft of a custom frame builder.

In the past, I’ve raced road, cyclocross, mountain, and BMX. I plan to race on the track starting, well, someday when I have some time. Of the last twelve years, eleven of them have been spent working a part-time gig at a bike shop as a mechanic/sales geek. At one point, I even planned on opening my own bike shop — until the reality of the risk and costs associated with it hit home.

In 2009, I met Paul Wyganowski, a local framebuilder, and talked him into teaching me the craft. He learned from Tim Paterek and Terry Osell, so I’m following in an impressive set of footsteps. Combining the old-school methodologies that Tim espouses, with my experience both inside and outside the bike industry gives me the ability to provide a truly unique frame that is tailored to the rider, both in need and personality.

“I may not have gone where I intended to go, but I think I have ended up where I needed to be.” — Douglas Adams

I didn’t set out to be a custom frame builder. I’m still not doing it as a full-time job, though that’s one of my goals. Until I can support my family and pay my mortgage by doing it full-time, frame building will have to be something I give a few hours a night during the week, and some severe focus on the weekends.