Boris Johnson attends grand opening of 2Wheels Thame
Two businessmen had London’s Lord Mayor, Boris Johnson, in tandem for their new cycle shop opening in Thame – literally.
New tenants - Tim Parsons and David Green invited Mayor Johnson to the opening of ‘2Wheels Thame’ - a cycle repair, sales, servicing, accessories and clothing shop at 99b High Street – along with local MP John Howell and last year’s Mayor of Thame, Cllr Don Butler.
To mark the occasion, Tim and David had a blue tandem bike specially delivered and persuaded Mayor Johnson and Cllr Butler to give it a spin.
Tim owns the car parts and accessories shop, Autoparts, next door to 2Wheels and David and he worked there together for six years, some fifteen years ago. In his speech for the opening, Mayor Johnson told a large crowd that had gathered for the event, that he often brought his children to Thame to search for Christmas presents at Autoparts and had had one of his children’s bikes repaired there when the shop did cycle accessories. He said it was great to now have a cycle shop next door and congratulated Tim and David on the joint venture, saying it is fantastic to see new businesses launching at any time, but especially in the current economic climate.
Tim says: “We’ve often talked about opening a shop together. When the premises next to mine came onto the market it was too good a chance to miss. We used to do cycle accessories at Autoparts and with cycling becoming more and more popular, now seemed a great time to start a cycle sales, repair, accessories and clothing shop.
David, who had a spell as an estate agent before returning to retail, says: with the price of fuel going up, people thinking about climate change and getting more health and exercise conscious, cycling seems to be a sector that’s steered clear of the worst of the credit crunch. We combine cycle sales with repairs, have an exciting range of clothing and accessories for cyclists.”
2Wheels has opened in one of Jennings four retail premises in Thame. Paul Mabbutt of Jennings says: “When the previous tenant moved out, we had a number of enquiries for this shop. All the others were from people who had existing premises in Thame and were looking to move. The most attractive option for us was to play a part in bringing a new business into the town, so we’re delighted to be working with Tim and David and wish them all the best with their new venture.”