[Jeff Higgins]

I have a long standing policy with regards to all of my hobbies and interests to buy locally as much as possible. I like to see the local, little guys stay open. One just never knows when the ability to quick run in and buy that one little item, without which our weekend plans are for naught, will save the day. Or when their specific expertise might save a bit of grief.

A great example from just the other day was when I decided I wanted to replace the freewheel on a bike that has a mid '90's era 8 speed 105 group. The original was a 12-23, and as I've aged, I decided I wanted to go up as high as possible on the big cog. Those darn hills just seem to keep on getting steeper... Anyway, no shortage of freewheels on line from all of the usual suspects. Fantastic prices, of course. But no indication what might fit and work with my derailleur. So, off to my local Gregg's Greenlake Cycle.

With my wheel in hand and the model number off of the derailleur, it took the knowledgeable mechanic there about 30 seconds to identify what would work. I cannot imagine the trial and error nightmare I would have been into had I tried it myself, shopping on line. Granted, shorts and gloves are different, but if a full service bike shop wasn't selling those as well, they would soon be out of business.