As I like to keep telling people, last week was mostly work on location in Tennessee. That said, I still eeked out time to poke my nose into some of the local bike shops. Where there’s a will, there’s a way.

Shop number 2 for the week was Suck Creek Cycle in Chattanooga. The shop’s motto is that it’s about “bikes and friendly advice.” Sounds like a perfect randonneur shop to me!

Suck Creek Cycle recently moved into a new space, and it is gorgeous. Plenty of room for bikes, pedestrian traffic, gear, and accessories.

Check out the wrenching zone. Isn’t it beautiful? It makes me want to sit down with a cup of coffee and get to work. And I detest working on my bike.

In talking with Mike, the owner, he shared that mountain bikes were the bulk of his current business. Not surprising, given that Chattanooga is flanked by mountains. According to Wikipedia (yes, I’m citing Wikipedia, is that a problem?), the area “lies at the transition between the ridge and valley portion of the Appalachian Mountains and the Cumberland Plateau. The city is therefore surrounded by various mountains and ridges.”

This shop was my first exposure to Lynskey frames, which are titanium bikes crafted by David Lynskey, the founder of Litespeed. Lynskey’s shop is right there in Chattanooga. Had I known it was just up the road, I would have tried to stop there, too. Oh well, next time I’m in Chattanooga!

A few more photos of my visit are here. I loved stopping by Suck Creek Cycle. The space was beautiful, the bikes were cool, and the owner was kind and helpful. What more could a person want?