It all started in 1990 when my father in law took me on my first mountain bike ride near Otay mountain in south San Diego. I remember it clearly. We were on on the second leg of the ride heading back to the car. I was feeling giddy like a kid on his first bike. Ear to ear grin.
As the ride progressed I was getting more confident (AKA: cocky). I was out in front even though I didn't know the trail. Having more fun by the minute as I purposely found every rock and bump to hit along the way. Then I decided to try my hand at catching a bit of air. This did not end well. My last attempt had an off camber landing area which caused the bike to slide out from under me. Not having learned the "tuck n roll" technique yet, I proceeded to slide along the rocky trail with my arms extended straight out.
It hurt like like hell but didn't seem to phase my enthusiasm. I jumped up yelling "THIS IS THE GREATEST F@#$ing THING EVER!!"
It didn't take long for my new found love to occupy my every waking & sleeping moment. My career at the timeI was in Commercial Real Estate. Our offices were right on the canyon with some trails. I was constantly staring out of my office window at the trails wishing I was riding.
As the wise elders always tell us - pursue your passions and your dreams. So I did. Sold my real company and opened up our first store MTB GEAR "the Mountain Bike Warehouse". My lovely wife Debbe gave me all the support and encouragement to make it a success. She still had her full time career at UCSD as a telecommunications manager while we worked along side each other to make the dream a reality.
"Thank you Debbe. I love you Infinity tons"
The picture above is our first location in Pacific Beach. It's still there operating today 😀
More about our story coming all month long as we stroll down memory lane to celebrate 25 awesome years in business.
See you on the trail
Mike S.
