"You'll be in the wrong place, but at the right time."

That's how a bicycle distributor in Dallas assessed plans nearly 40 years ago by three Starkville couples to open a bicycle store.

The 'wrong place' was a small college town in Mississippi where most residents still thought of the bicycle as a child's toy, not a means of recreation and transportation.  

The 'right time' was the leading edge of the  'bicycle boom' of the early 1970s, a phenomenon fostered by rising environmental awareness and a new emphasis on fitness and exercise. Then, just to make the 'right time' especially right, an Arab oil boycott soon led to shortages and rising gas prices. The first-time telecasting of Olympic bicycle racing in 1972 only added to the popular interest.

But The Bicycle Shop of today had meager origins in 1970 in a tin-roofed farm shed near the end of South Montgomery Street, miles outside the city limits of Starkville.  (Original repair prices.)  <http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/_EHrXc4Ad719L0L-z3t_eA?feat=directlink> That's where Boyd Gatlin started the bicycle repair shop that a year later had evolved into a thriving business less than a block off Main Street in downtown Starkville.

It might never grown beyond the modest repair shop except for a chance meeting between Gatlin and MSU forester Frank Troskey in early 1971. Gatlin presented a slide show and talk to the local Audubon Society in early 1971 about bicycle touring and camping.  In the audience was Troskey.  In a chat afterward, the idea of a full-scale retail bicycle shop came up, and Troskey said he was ready to pursue it. MSU engineering faculty member Graham Wells, with whom Gatlin had previously discussed the idea of a store,  was asked to join.  By early fall, the three along with their wives had formed a partnership and purchased a building on North Lafayette Street.

By November 1971, the  original shop had moved to the new location (Front of Shop on North Lafayette)  <http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/woBhKVXpBAkKwOiPEaIQcQ?feat=directlink> in downtown Starkville, taking in repairs and selling what new bicycles were available in a tight market. The nationwide demand for 10-speed bicycles--especially the lightweight models imported from Europe-- was so great that supplies even in Starkville were limited.  To complicate things, a strike by dock workers in the nation nearly froze bicycle imports, forcing the new shop to purchase bikes that had been flown in at much higher cost.

But the shop's first Christmas gave the new business hope for longer success.  Soon The Bicycle Shop became an authorized dealer for a number of European-made racing and touring bicycles, such as Gitane, and then the well-known English brand, Raleigh.  But the new shop also had a line of  American-made bicycles, including children's bikes and traditional adult single and three-speed models.  Within a couple of years manufacturers and distributors had caught up with demand, which continued to grow.

The shop became a nucleus for a growing community of--mostly young--cyclists interested in racing and touring.  The Starkville Freewheelers was formed to promote local races and tours, including the Century Run, a 100-mile casual ride around the Starkville area. Several Freewheelers entered races in other parts of the state, with Jackson, Greenville, and Indianola being the other communities in the state with active racing clubs.  One Starkville resident--Wesley Parrish--even represented the state in a national championship race for junior competitors.

By 1973, The Bicycle Shop's business had grown enough so that the partnership expanded into a second building on North Lafayette St., and opened a store in downtown Columbus, on College St in a building once occupied by a car dealership.  The Columbus shop later moved to a more visible location on US 82 on the east side of town, where it remained for many years under the management of  Esther Troskey, wife of Frank.
 In August 1974, founding partners Boyd and Natalie sold their share of the business and moved out of town.  The Troskeys then took over management of the business completely until the Starkville shop was sold to its present owner.
Historic Photos of The Bicycle Shop & Starkville Freewheelers Club <http://picasaweb.google.com/Boyd.Gatlin/HistoricPhotosOfTheBicycleShopFreewheelers?feat=directlink>