Mechanic of the Week p/b Abbey Bike Tools - Monday January 16th 2016

PBMA is proud to announce our newest Mechanic of the Week, Darren Ohl, owner of Vermont Bicycle Shop in Barre, Vermont!

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!

Darren has been working professionally as a mechanic for sixteen years. In that time, he has worked in some of the country’s most successful bicycle retailers and service departments, including in Minnesota, Florida, Oregon, and now Vermont. Since moving to Vermont, Darren has been a conscientious volunteer with the Millstone Trails Association, for which he was recently voted in as a Board member. Over the course of his career, Darren has also traveled extensively as a race mechanic with Ironman triathlon teams and Cyclocross and MTB athletes. Darren’s latest project, Vermont Bicycle Shop, is “a steward and an ambassador to the community.” As the head of such a community-oriented, forward-thinking institution, Darren was one of the first mechanics to sign up for official PBMA membership.  

Speaking of membership, we don’t know of many mechanics who have an entire Facebook group dedicated as their fan club, but by all accounts, it sounds like Darren deserves all that recognition. His many fans – customers, present and former colleagues, family, and friends – could not say enough positive things about Darren and his vision for cycling and cycling mechanics as a path to happiness and health. We are proud to feature Darren this week, and we hope that he will display his MOTW certificate proudly next to his PBMA membership plaque!

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!