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Thieves Drive Truck Through Front Door of The Peddler Bike Shop in Austin, Texas

~ A Dude Abikes ~ 8 Comments

There’s been a lot of bicycle theft showing up in my Next Door feed over the last year. Global pandemics with their concomitant economic hardships have put all kinds of strain on people. But this brazen act takes the cake. Robbers literally broke through the front door of The Peddler Bike Shop in Hyde Park area of Austin, Texas with a probably stolen truck. I happened to see it on the website for the news station where I get my weather, and I was aghast. It is the closet shop to me, and I’ve been going there longer than any shops here. I also know the owner a bit. (Ironically, my first real bike that I ever bought myself I got from here, was stolen on Xmas Eve maybe 10 years ago.) This was very sad news so on my daily ride I stopped by to pay my condolences.

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Two More Austin Bike Shops Are Closing

~ A Dude Abikes ~ 7 Comments

It’s no secret that while bicycling is popular, bike shops are suffering. This hit home for A Dude when he was in Bicycle Sport Shop on Guadalupe yesterday and learned that it was going to shut down. Retail will stop on September 28, but repairs may continue for a little while. When word hit two years ago hat the local chain was taking over the site of dearly departed Ozone Bikes (which lasted 23 years!), people were happy and relieved.

BSS will still have four stores in the Austin area.

But the sales of nearby college students and homeowners never materialized. It’s especially sad because this is where Sophie the Fairdale Weekender Archer that I won in a raffle came from here, and I’ve gotten to know the shop folks. The good news is that all the employees they’ll all be able to be absorbed into the remaining BSS shops to keep their jobs.

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