Peachtree Bikes

I'm pretty sure that Wednesday night was the most devastating night of my entire career.  Peachtree Bikes in Atlanta burned down.  

Typing those words brings tears to my ears.  I'll let ya Google it, the images and videos and reports with speculations.  I'm gonna let you know what it was to be a part of it.

My phone died after work that evening and I was spending time with family all night, so by the time I got in my car and had my phone plugged in, it was 10p.  I drove up Peachtree Road and got to a road block a block from our shop.  As soon as I got there and turned down the detour road, my phone literally went nuts.  The number of notifications coming in were insane.  So much so that I had to pull over while they started popping up.  I couldn't read most of them, but saw some familiar names of co-workers and friends and sorta just knew.  

I drove around the corner to find my co-workers standing in our parking lot.  When I got out of my car I looked up and saw the blown out windows and shear darkness and lost it.  Our shop was gone. 

The next couple of hours were filled with tears (mostly on my end), stories and questions....

I walked to the front of the building that has faced Peachtree Road since the 1960's and it was then and there that I truly realized it was gone.  Everything my bosses have worked so hard for went up in flames in less than a few minutes and all we have left is a shell and a bunch of memories.

If you worked there or were a customer there, you have a memory of Peachtree Bikes.  These are some of mine...

I've spent the majority of my days over the past 3 years with a bunch of dudes in a place that smells like tire rubber.  I've laughed my ass off.  Had some great beers.  Met some really interesting characters! Been to a few AWESOME parties. I've yelled.  I've cried.  I've been inspired and incredibly confused at times.  I've cut myself on a box cutter that is WAY too dull for most people, but "kid" friendly for an accident-prone girl like me.  I've questioned my own sanity and those of others (mostly theirs :-).  I've been able to stand there in my early mornings with my cup of coffee and enjoy the quiet beauty of what I do.  I've grown there.  I've learned there.  I've pushed myself further than I thought I could go.  I've cleaned and organized.  I made Rolodex's (yeah, they still exist, y'all).  I've met some INCREDIBLE people who make some of the craziness of retail worth it.  I've learned lessons and have a million of those "remember that time..." moments.  

I've spent more time in that little space than I have in my own home simply because, it's my job.

The last couple of days have been a blur filled with so many emotions.  I'm not sure what tomorrow or next week will bring, but I will tell you this:

I work for and with some pretty awesome people whose first questions were, "where are we going to put our pop-up shop?".  The out pour of love, support, condolences and "what can we do for you?" questions has been overwhelming to the point it's brought me to tears.  I'm a part of an awesome community of cyclists who have banded together to let us know that they love us.  I cannot begin to tell you how much that helps me get through my day.

We'll start looking to the future and what our "new normal" is and we'll be better and stronger.

**Some people have asked what they can do to help and our answer is this:  shop at our Sandy Springs store and tell your friends.  We're there and waiting for ya with arms wide open.**

#peachtreebikes #showusyourtee