Lake Ella sits just north of the center of downtown Tallahassee. It is a modest little man-made pool of water, populated by hordes of dim-witted mutant ducks and more than a few Georgia Slider turtles. Around this little lake are a small selection of specialty stores that cater mostly to jugglers and women who need either shoes or exotic gifts. These stores have been set up in what looks like an old motor-hotel; all hewn-rock bungalows arranged in a line. Most of these stores are cute and quiet and clean and good for little other than a summer diversion. One notable exception to this is Joe's Bike shop, probably the best bike shop in Tallahassee.
Joe is a New Yorker who moved down to Tallahassee for a slower way of life. He's an affable guy, always joking and willing to hang out with regulars on the stoop. His place is far from a mega-store, but carries just enough bikes and equipment so that you'll always be able to find what you need, and he has a pretty well-stocked and busy shop in the back as well. He employs a couple of guys to help him around the shop (one of whom, Pete, lived in the same one-horse town in Oregon that I did during a portion of my high school years - we even know some of the same people. Small world), and he usually has a ton of reasonably priced used bikes out front to choose from.
The real reason to patronize a place like Joe's, though, is the laid-back customer service and local feel of the place. I rode my bike all through my undergrad and I can't tell you how many times I took my ailing machine in to Joe's only to ride out an hour or so later, totally fixed up and wallet only slightly worse for wear. Joe's is that kind of place - get to know the guys and they go well out of their way to see that you're taken care of. I made sure to drop a six-pack by now and again by way of repayment, but the pleasure of that was all mine anyway - they're a fun bunch of guys to hang out with and I'll miss them terribly.
Oh, just as a side note, this place is a regular haunt of people from all ends of the bike-riding spectrum. You'll even find a fixie kid hanging out there now and again - that said, there's a place down in Railroad Square (which I'll write about later) called Krank it Up that rents out space and tools for bike repair on a pay-what-you-want basis, and is staffed by a pretty cool bunch of people. If I were more tech-savvy about my bike than I am I might have made more use of Krank it Up than I did, but asside from being an engineering dimwit I like the guys at Joe's enough to enjoy stopping by. Anyway, there you go.
1 comment:
did you see anyof the pictures of the lake ella cottages flooded after the storm???
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