Staff-Principals

I have been riding bikes since I was 5 years old, and have been fortunate to be around at the start of a lot of ‘new things’. I started commuting to school at the tender age of 7. I began to become interested in competitive cycling when I was about 12. The BMX craze of the late 70's and early 80's took hold in Central Florida and I was able to race whenever I could scrounge up a ride to the races and a bike. As Greg LeMond began to take the cycling world by storm and introduce many Americans to the world of road cycling I found my next ‘new thing’. I began to save all of my lawn mowing money and allowance to buy a new road bike. My first real road bike was a 1983 Fuji Gran Tourer SE. With this bike freedom on the open road was finally realized.

The next step in cycling occurred when I went away to college. After about 3 years in our states capital, Tallahassee, I discovered the next ‘new thing’. A small group of die-hards in California ‘invented’ the mountain bike and I wanted in on the action. So as any good student would do, I spent my financial aid on a new Specialized Stumpjumper, rock-on. I used this mountain bike to the fullest and found my niche. I was fast and I was remarkably smooth.

After I left Tallahassee I moved to Pensacola to begin work on another degree. I found that I had a lot more free time and started working at Escambia Schwinn. There my mechanic skills which were okay, were fine tuned under the tutelage of Victor Bagley. He taught me more in a few short years than I could have ever hoped to learn on my own. Escambia Schwinn was also the birth of road racing for me. I saved my paychecks and purchased another Specialized, this was an aluminum lugged carbon fiber Epic. Man was I really becoming fast. I progressed through the ranks and became a competent racer.

Next, I moved to Gainesville for grad school and the miles decreased as did the speed. I have however kept a solid love for all things cycling. I am a pushover for the next ‘new thing’ in bike technology. You can also ask me about the latest suspension or disc brake technology. I have also been building wheels since the early ‘90's, so I can help you with any special wheel needs.  However, I am a huge fan of the classics, Campagnolo and Bianchi for example. So when you come into Chain Reaction, I am the man when it comes to fine Italian parts and frames.