Oak Bay Bicycles pedalled into its 90th year last month, and the shop will host a barbecue on Saturday, Aug. 3 to celebrate.
In 1988, current owner Karl Ullrich and his business partner purchased the business from Fred de Jong, who had owned it for 18 years.
Ullrich has always loved cycling – so much so that, just as he was beginning his journey with Oak Bay Bicycles, he was also pursuing a career in professional cycling.
His ultimate goal was to race professionally.
“I was pretty naive in terms of how a professional career might work,” he said.
The cycling enthusiast was dead-set on competing in top-tier European races, and he even tried to qualify for the 1988 Seoul Summer Olympics.
“The trials were held in Vancouver,” Ullrich said. “I made the long-list and then went on a couple of Canadian team projects, but in the end didn't make the short-list.”
Back in Victoria, Ullrich dedicated himself to Oak Bay Bicycles, leaving his professional cycling aspirations behind.
In 1989, he became the shop's sole owner, after purchasing his partner’s shares.
Road and mountain bikes were all the rage in the shop's early years, but touring, track, commuter, downhill, cross-country and electric bikes have since rocketed in popularity.
“The beautiful thing is that technology has allowed more people to discover the magic of pedalling,” he said. “It’s a much more vibrant industry than it was 40 years ago.”
In 2002, Ullrich moved the shop just two doors down into a bigger space at the corner of Oak Bay Avenue and Foul Bay Road.
What makes Oak Bay Bikes a Victoria mainstay, says Ullrich, is that management, repair technicians and salespeople have always stayed true to the shop's simple mission: to offer quality bikes, repairs and superior customer service.
“There are external forces that make business and business-life more complicated than you'd like,” he said. “In the end, if you ... do something that [customers] need to have done and you do it well, you should be okay.”
The anniversary event will take place between 3 to 8 p.m. at 1990 Oak Bay Ave.
