By: Doug "Thug" Robinson
Thug visits Strokers Dallas
I flew to Dallas for a meeting and had some time before my flight out.
My colleague knew I wanted to visit Strokes (first time), so off we went to find it. We were time-compressed, but a short visit was better than no visit at all.
I had seen some pictures of it on TV and I’m on Strokers’ e-mail list, but seeing it in person was more than impressive…wow!
It’s much, much bigger than I thought-2 ½ acres. There were tons of bikes, including 5 or 6 of Rick Fairless’s originals. We made a quick walk around the shop and then over to the Ice House for lunch.
Rick and his service crew were having a meeting with an oil vendor (sorry…I was introduced, but forgot the name), so we ordered at the bar and went outside to sit at a picnic table and wait for our burgers. I was just soaking it all in when I looked down at all the writings on the tables and saw “Shizzle”, Perewitz’s own Kory’s handle. Now…how many “Shizzles” are there, anyway?
We finished our lunch (very good, BTW) and were leaving when Rick asked us how we liked lunch.
I took the opportunity to introduce myself (I’d met Rick briefly in Sturgis in 2006 and he’d signed a poster for Streets’s son, Mark, who was flying Blackhawks for the Army in Iraq). I dropped the Perewitz name and mentioned that Dave had built a number of bikes for me and Rick commented that Dave was a good friend and offered to show us around. We only had about 10 minutes, so he showed us the service area (tons of bikes waiting to be worked on), the fab area (where the second of his new frame designs was coming to life (the first was out to paint and will be Rick’s contribution to S&Ss 50th anniversary), the corporate offices, and then the showroom.
Rick was absolutely great with us and I appreciated that he took the time to show a “suit” around.
Rick tells me that he’ll have 2000 bikes at his place on a weekend. The place reminded me of major bike events (I think his motto is “bikes, babes, and beer”), only year-round.
You could spend the better part of a day at his place. It’s well worth the visit. I plan on going back to when I return to Dallas for another meeting in the Fall.
Thug
I flew to Dallas for a meeting and had some time before my flight out.
My colleague knew I wanted to visit Strokes (first time), so off we went to find it. We were time-compressed, but a short visit was better than no visit at all.
I had seen some pictures of it on TV and I’m on Strokers’ e-mail list, but seeing it in person was more than impressive…wow!
It’s much, much bigger than I thought-2 ½ acres. There were tons of bikes, including 5 or 6 of Rick Fairless’s originals. We made a quick walk around the shop and then over to the Ice House for lunch.
Rick and his service crew were having a meeting with an oil vendor (sorry…I was introduced, but forgot the name), so we ordered at the bar and went outside to sit at a picnic table and wait for our burgers. I was just soaking it all in when I looked down at all the writings on the tables and saw “Shizzle”, Perewitz’s own Kory’s handle. Now…how many “Shizzles” are there, anyway?
We finished our lunch (very good, BTW) and were leaving when Rick asked us how we liked lunch.
I took the opportunity to introduce myself (I’d met Rick briefly in Sturgis in 2006 and he’d signed a poster for Streets’s son, Mark, who was flying Blackhawks for the Army in Iraq). I dropped the Perewitz name and mentioned that Dave had built a number of bikes for me and Rick commented that Dave was a good friend and offered to show us around. We only had about 10 minutes, so he showed us the service area (tons of bikes waiting to be worked on), the fab area (where the second of his new frame designs was coming to life (the first was out to paint and will be Rick’s contribution to S&Ss 50th anniversary), the corporate offices, and then the showroom.
Rick was absolutely great with us and I appreciated that he took the time to show a “suit” around.
Rick tells me that he’ll have 2000 bikes at his place on a weekend. The place reminded me of major bike events (I think his motto is “bikes, babes, and beer”), only year-round.
You could spend the better part of a day at his place. It’s well worth the visit. I plan on going back to when I return to Dallas for another meeting in the Fall.
Thug
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1 comment:
Thug - great recap! Nice to incorporate some personal fun when you are on business, eh?
So, you and Streets have sons that protect us all? Wow...thanks to them both for protecting us all...although it can't be easy as a parent to have them do what they do, you guys must be incredibly proud of them. They are in my prayers and I look forward to meeting them someday at a Perewitz event!
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