We’re gonna throw it back a few years to get this one started.
I’m not sure the exact year, must have been 2010 or 2011 that I first met this week’s coffee ride guest. I do remember “recruiting” him during the early days of DNA Racing and quickly realizing we’re about a year too late. He graciously declined the offer and let us know he had something else in the works for the following year. We assumed he meant he had another team in mind, we had no idea he was in the midst of launching a new bike shop.
Tony is one of the founders of The Bike Lab here in OKC. Despite never racing on the same team, we’ve matured through the road cycling categories together, and both launched our own businesses around the same time. Tony’s a hustler and seems to always be in the loop regarding the latest trends in tech. He’s also someone who’s always open to bouncing ideas off of and I’ve enjoyed watching his business develop over the years.
One thing I remember the most about Tony and the other original founders of Bike Lab was going in the shop dropping offer flyers and posters for the Oklahoma City Pro-Am Classic. It was during the in-between time of losing my job in 2012 and starting DNA Designs. It was a low point in my life and I remember them being encouraging and taking the time to listen to me rant. I appreciated it then, and still feel extremely grateful to the people who helped me through that time, regardless of how big or small their role might have been.
But let’s get down to business. The important stuff, like drinking coffee and catching up. So, kick back, grab your coffee, and let’s get to the bottom of all those nail-biting questions.
Aside from cycling, you recently have a newfound passion for a different kind of bike, one with a motor. As a newish member of the Oklahoma City motorcycle community, how do you think that community differs from the cycling community and what things could the cycling community learn from them?
”Well, like any community, based on how you connect to the style, you’ve going to have a preference, right. So, I would say, I don’t know as much like the sportbike community or the stunt community. But when you get to Harley riding, most of the people who like those kinds of bikes kind of fall into the camp of, they just want to see the world with the wind in their face and they want the thing they’re on to lean when they turn, right. They want to ride something, not drive it. That’s really familiar with anyone who likes going on a bike ride with some buddies and you’re getting a chance to talk and hang out, but you don’t want to drive there. You want to ride there. Riding a bike isn’t just about fitness. It’s about seeing the world and feeling the cool dip of a hill. Feeling the wind kind of hit you and smelling the bakery. For a lot of people, they share the same sensory experience. It’s about where you’ve visited, where you’ve been, and what you’ve seen.”
Tell us a little bit about your passion project, Edmond Bike Night. As someone who’s already pretty busy, what enticed you to put something like that together?
”For me, with the motorcycle community, a lot of that community isn’t focused on fitness and there’s a pretty heavy culture around dive bars in like south OKC & Bethany areas, which are great areas, I just don’t live there. A lot of businesses run like bike nights where we could come together. I’ve always really liked the coffee and cars events, where it’s all different styles of cars, and people just working on different projects. There just wasn’t really anything like that in Edmond. And most bike nights are Harley-driven and dive bars, and I just really like seeing all the different kinds of bikes. As a guy who’s lived in Edmond for almost ten years now, I’ve never done anything in it. I hadn’t found a way to give back to the place I actually live. So, that got me thinking about a bike night and what that would look like. No one’s name is on the event, it’s Edmond Bike Night. So then it’s inviting to the sportbike community and the Harley community. It’s an Edmond thing. It’s just kind of taken off and we’re doing a lot of really unique and fun things.”
As one of the founding members of The Bike Lab, you’ve managed to navigate the highs and lows since 2012 and still continue to grow. With nine years under your belt, what one piece of advice would you offer someone looking to enter the bike shop business or just a small business in general?
”Your financial intelligence and comfort with understanding how money is working and looking at it consistently, is really, really important. Execution on your ability to make something real, execute, and get it done is paramount. You don’t need a unique idea. You just need to see what idea fits the problem you’re trying to solve. You have to have comfort with not knowing something and just learning it by doing it. But the financial side is really important. It’s real easy for a small business just to be a job you’re in control of, versus something that’s profitable.”
One of the things you’ve been able to do, that I’ve always wanted for myself, is win Friday night at the OKC Pro-Am. How’d that night play out? Was it the right place right time or the plan executed to perfection?
”I thought I was the only one that still knew that happened! So, there’s all the work before right. The year previous, I noticed that on the last lap, after the final climb, before the right-hand downhill, there’s a lull right. Like maybe a full second where everyone chills and that’s an opportunity. So, going into that race, me and Brandon Melott at the time were racing for JE Dunn, which was like an elite version of what Bike Lab was doing. Brandon actually joked at the shop that day saying, “yeah, Tony is going to win Friday and I’m going to win Sunday.” Like he’s a sage or something. My only real priority was racing for Brandon. But I knew if I got to the end of the race, both of us are pretty good at the finish. It’s just positioning at that point. In my mind, the whole tactic for me was the lull, right. The lull is going to happen. There were probably 15 guys there that I would have said I had no business beating, but you have to get out of that framework when you race because everyone can win. So, the last lap, we go up the hill, we take a right, and just for that second, I stand to go, and Jeremy Stitt is right in front of me does the exact same thing, the exact same move. So, I jump on his wheel and we gap the group. I don’t know what was happening behind me, but that was like the hardest ten seconds of my life. He just absolutely murdered that approach into the turn. So, I’m on Jeremy’s wheel and we went through the corner, he went across the midline, and I was able to not cross the midline and was able to start sprinting before him. The whole time I’m sprinting I’m waiting on Paul Papin to pass me. I was able to sorta look back under my arm and I saw Paul’s wheel coming up next to me, but then it starts to fade, and no one came around me. I went across the line in complete disbelief. I didn’t even celebrate because I didn’t want to be the guy that’s celebrating and someone else is right there throwing their bike. I got really lucky and it was the right tactic.”
Tell us what you have new and exciting coming up that we need to be on the lookout for?
”Well, the Bike Lab is rebranding. So, we’re gonna have a new look and feel. The new branding is something we’re really really excited about. Then there’s Edmond Bike Night, that’ll be the last Tuesday of the month. And then there’s this passport idea that we’ve connected with Boxcar on. It’s going to be like a scavenger hunt of going to different coffee shops to get your stamp. For each stamp, you get it’s an entry into a raffle that will take place at 5 o’clock at The Bike Lab and hopefully creating some fun value.”
The coffee we enjoyed: Elemental Coffee - Kerinci Highlands
Origin: Sumatra
Notes: Grapefruit, tropical fruit, cinnamon
Brewing method: French press
My thoughts: We were on a little more of a schedule this week, so I broke out the french press and put the Saint Anthony Millwright hand grinder to the test with a little more coarse of a grind. I was super stoked about this coffee. It was something totally unique to what I’ve been recently drinking and I’m always down to try a new honey processed coffee. As a french press I think this coffee is sweet, fruity and an all-around great cup of coffee, it’s fantastic even as it cools and no drops will be wasted. I’ve also been drinking it as a pour over the last couple of days and think it really shines there. The sweetness is still forward but it really brings out a cinnamon finish that seems to get more apparent as the coffee ages. This isn’t a coffee that you see every day and if you have the chance to give it a try, you definitely should!
Future Coffee Ride Guests:
6/2 - Rob Bell - Life.Church
6/9 - Elena Farrar - Elemental Coffee