Bike Shop Tales: Another Anniversary

Hey all! Bike Shop tales is back after the Interbike hiatus. Here's a story about a recent anniversary...

So I had another anniversary last week while I was gone at Interbike. Those sort of things- anniversarys- are sort of a mixed feelings deal for a lot of us. Sometimes anniversarys can be good, sometimes not so much.

I don't know which way it is for this one, but I do know  it is kind of odd in a few ways.

I started working in a bike shop at an age when most folks either have moved on from being a "shop rat" and have either gone and done something else, gotten further into the industry, or went on to manage or own their own shops. Well, at age 33, I was just getting into it. I guess you could say that I never did anything when you might expect most folks would!

That first gig lasted only a little over three years, and then the shop folded in a bizarre way. I was left scrambling for employment, and ended up working on cars for awhile. Then I was drawn back into my current job, and as of last week, I've been there 8 years doing mechanic work.

8 years isn't a very long time in most vocations. Heck, in some jobs you are just barely getting started 8 years in. However; in a bike shop, 8 years is an eternity. Turnover at a bicycle shop happens at such a fast rate that it makes your head spin. I've seen so many employees go through the shop that I can't really remember them all, and the shop isn't all that big!  

How much longer will I be there? Will I see another anniversary? In a job where longevity is as rare as a Yeti C-26, you have to start wondering things like this when you've been around in one place as long as I have.