Paul Nicholson

 Paul Nicholson is the owner and founder of Paul’s Bicycle Way of Life, a bike business in Eugene Oregon. He has owned the bike shops for 34 years now and genuinely enjoys every aspect of the business.

What brought you to Eugene?

My wife finished her PHD, and you can’t stay at the university where you receive your PHD. So she said I went to go to Eugene, Oregon… I had no idea what I would do then. I had already decided that I didn’t want to be an academic; I had gotten tired of teaching spoiled kids from Chicago how to write a three-page expository paper.

At that time what were you thinking you were going to do?

I already had a bike shop. I had gotten into the bike business quite by accident, while I was still a graduate student. We had another couple that lived with us at the time, and I was very exasperated by the local bike shops, and I said I was just going to open a wholesale account and skip them. I ended up betting him $5 that I could open a wholesale account. So, I wrote away to a few places, and about two weeks later I got an answer and they said we’d be happy to open a wholesale account but we have a minimum order of a $1,000… So, I ordered a $1,000 worth of small parts and things, and won my $5 bet. Next thing I knew it, I had this hobby business… It took off immediately… So when I came here, I had already become completely obsessed with bikes. I had already been in the business for a little over 5 years when I moved here… When I got here the place was in a depression so I drifted back into the bike business, and that’s how I got into the bike business here.

What’s your best memory from owning the shops?

Well by in large all of my memories are good…I never think oh I have to go to work. I have always loved the work and I have always had just fantastic employees, almost all of who are friends… It’s still a very intimate business and I wouldn’t trade it for the world… I never wanted to do an occupation that I didn’t love and I have always done things since then that I have enjoyed… God must have looked down on me and said, there’s a weak guy, I’m gonna have to give him a great life and have everything go his way…I have no regrets at all about my life choices.