Palmetto Cycling Adventures Easley Man's Dream

What was once a backyard business for Kyle Shirley has become a brick-and-mortar business.

Shirley is opening a bicycle shop, Palmetto Cycling Adventures in downtown Easley.

The store will celebrate its Grand Opening on August 24 from 9am – 1pm.

“We'll have a drawing for a free tuneup on a bicycle that's equal to $69,” he said.

Hot dog plates will be available during the Grand Opening for $3.

Shirley opened a backyard bicycle repair shop three years ago.

“Business grew so much that I had to move out and gather this place here, on 101 North A Street,” he said. “This shop has been in the works a little over three months. It happened in a hurry. I had to make it happen.”

Shirley will sell and repair bikes at Palmetto Cycling Adventures.

“Later on down the road, we plan on doing rentals for the up and coming Doodle Trail,” he said.

He's excited about the plan to turned the road Pickens Railway railbed into a pedestrian and bicycle path connecting Easley and Pickens.

“That's why we chose this location, to help cater to our customers for the Doodle Trail,” Shirley said. “I think the bike lanes and the Doodle Trail are the best thing that's ever happening to Easley and Pickens. The bicycle world is growing so much.”

He said he's watched businesses spring up around the Swamp Rabbit Trail and sees “no problem with Easley being able to grow as well with the Doodle Trail being here.”

“I've talked to several of my clients and they are happy that the Doodle Trail is coming, because a lot of people don't want to drive to Greenville to ride a bike,” Shirley said. “Now that we're getting that locally, that will be a great thing for Easley, a lot of growth with that trail coming. I can't wait to ride it myself.”

Proceeds from the sale of the hot dog and hamburger plates on Grand Opening Day will be donated to either the Doodle Trail or a local charity.

He hopes to offer bicycles from major brands like GT and Giant within the first year of being open.

“As for general products, we're going to have total accessories, anything you would ever want to add to your bike,” Shirley said. “Tires, tubes, brake pads, gloves, helmets – we'll cover it all.”

Standard bicycle tuneups at PCA includes a full cleaning and “truing of the wheels if needed.”

“Check the tires, check all your cables, your brakes, make sure every nut and bolt on your bike is tight and ready to be ridden,” Shirley said.

He'll offer bikes for all ages, including BMX bikes.

“I'm going to offer anything from three years old on up,” Shirley said.

He'll offer “tag-along bikes” as well.

“It actually attaches to the back of an adult-size bicycle,” Shirley said. “So, if your kid can't ride a bike or is in the process of learning to ride a bike, we'll have those as well, even on the rental side. Your kids can go along and that way you know they're safe without having to watch them as you're trying to ride too.”

He hopes to offer rental bikes within six months of opening.

Shirley's love for bicycles came from riding BMX bikes.

“I had a really good buddy of mine introduce me to the freestyle world,” he said. “Then I got introduced to the mountain biking world. I've been mountain biking now for approximately ten years.  We started having the need to know how to fix what we broke, so by gaining  a few tools that we needed, we learned to do things on our own. From riding our favorite trails, we noticed that there were many people that were having either simple problems, or more difficult fixes.  We saw the need for there to be someone in our local town of Easley to perform the needed services required for these people.

Shirley spends a lot of time on the Swamp Rabbit Trail.

Shirley works full-time for Genesis Mechanical and his boss Stephen Peele is his partner in Palmetto Cycling Adventures.

“He is a huge part of this,” Shirley said, adding he'd like to thank Peele's wife Glenda as well for her support.

“We were riding down the road two months after I started with him,” Shirley said. “He asked me what my lifetime goals would be. I said, 'I want to open a bike shop.'”

Shirley told Peele he'd like to open a shop within the next two years. Thanks to Peele, Shirley's dream came true much sooner.

“He said, 'Keep your eyes open for a place; I'd like to help you open one,'” Shirley said.

They found the North A Street location, across the railroad tracks from Joe's, which Shirley said is perfect for both the Doodle Trail and downtown Easley.

“All this happened in about a month,” he said.

He said opening the business is “one of the easiest things I've ever done."

“I'd like to thank God for all of this, because God is my Savior and He's the one that gave me a chance to do this,” Shirley said.

For now, Palmetto Cycling Adventures' hours will be Monday-Fridays from 2pm – 6pm and Saturdays from 8am -1pm.

For more information about the business, visit pcabikes.com. Shirley encourages website visitors to sign his guestbook.