Mechanic of the Week p/b Abbey Bike Tools - Monday February 13th 2017

PBMA is excited to introduce our newest Mechanic of the Week, Phil Pattengale, owner and mechanic at The Kickstand Cycling & Fitness in Sturgis, Michigan!

For those of you just tuning into #mechanicmonday, this is where we feature one mechanic each week, chosen at random from nominations submitted the week before. It’s all about mechanics supporting fellow mechanics – even behind the scenes, where we are proud to say that our Mechanic of the Week is presented by none other than Abbey Bike Tools and the Friar himself!

Phil Pattengale has been turning wrenches in some form for as long as he (or anyone) can remember. He has at least 60 years of automotive experience – from working on his Cushman scooter as a teenager, to his car in high school, to rebuilding his 1956 Triumph TR-3. Phil and his wife opened The Kickstand bike shop in 1981, so he counts himself as having been a bicycle mechanic for “only” 36 years, but we’re pretty sure he’s just being modest!

Of course, we can’t tell Phil’s story without his wife of over 50 years, Carol Ann. The two of them are inseparable partners in life, business, and sport. When Phil and Carol Ann celebrated their 50th anniversary in 2014, their three adult children wanted to send them on a cruise, but they had other ideas. The Pattengales planned an extensive bike trip over the span of several long weekends, with the goal of visiting family and close friends in Michigan, Indiana, and (with a car trip for part of the way) Kentucky. Phil and Carol Ann are so well-loved in their Michigan community that their trip was documented by the local newspaper, and their employees at The Kickstand donated time so that the Pattengales could take a week off to ride the longest sections of their route.

We are so inspired by Phil and Carol Ann’s devotion to cycling and to each other, and we are proud to feature them today. If being married for over 50 years and running a successful bike shop together wasn’t enough of an accomplishment, putting in that many miles on a tandem and still speaking to each other afterwards certainly is! Congratulations Phil and Carol Ann; we wish you many more happy miles!

For everyone reading this at home, we encourage you to join the #MOTW conversation: Post a picture of YOUR favorite mechanic and tag us @probicyclemech, #probma, or #mechanicmonday, or nominate him or her to be featured in next week’s post!

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