Prairie Path Cycles owner still coaches in spare time

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Mike Farrell, 57, of Geneva owns Prairie Path Cycles at 27 W 181 Geneva, Winfield, and 122 W. Wilson, Batavia. Farrell earned 12 individual Illinois state cycling championships and coached world-class athletes who went on to the Olympics. | Submitted

Updated: October 13, 2011 12:31AM

When Scott Kayle decided to buy a new hybrid bike last year, his purchase was fairly straight forward. But when Kayle’s wife, Maureen, decided she wanted a similar bike this spring, getting her the right bike was little more complicated.

“My wife wanted to have hybrid tires put on a man’s mountain bike, and since it was a man’s bike, she needed a woman’s seat on it,” Kayle said. “We worked with Mike Farrell at Prairie Path Cycles, and he clearly is very knowledgeable and offered good answers to our questions.”

There are plenty of mom-and-pop bike shops run by folks who loved two-wheeling as kids or who felt that a niche in the local business community needed to be filled. Few, however, can boast the resume of Farrell, whose experiences in cycling range from 12 individual Illinois state cycling championships to coaching world-class athletes who went on to the Olympics.

A resident of Geneva, Farrell, 57, remains noticeably fit for his age as he continues to oversee two retail locations in Winfield and Batavia, as well as coach professional and amateur cyclists in his spare time.

Starting out

His own journey into biking remains a rather harrowing story that turned out all right in the end.

“I grew up on the South Side of Chicago in a place called Iron Dale or South Deering in a mill town that was failing by the time I was in my teens,” Farrell said. “I dropped out of school at 14, but took and passed the GED at 17. Most of my friends were getting strung out on drugs, and the next step was heroin. By then, some of my friends were literally dying.”

To escape his own environment, Farrell got the idea one day to leave town on a bike and ride east to New York where he had an uncle.

“I slept along the roads, and biked at least 100 miles every day, and six days later, I was in Pennsylvania and nearly broke,” he said. “I barely had enough for a bus ticket. But when I got to New York, my uncle told me about some local bike races, and I decided to enter some of them.”

Between 1983 and 1991, Farrell managed and coached cyclists and then joined Schwinn as a technical-sales representative, traveling across the country and through many bike shops.

In 1992, Prairie Path Cycles opened followed by a second store in Batavia in 2007.

Changing market

The bike market has changed dramatically over the years, Farrell said, as materials have improved and riders’ interests have evolved.

“The hottest product on the market today is definitely road bikes, followed by triathlon bikes and then the comfort models for people who want to just do local trails,” he said. “The use of carbon in the frames definitely dominates the road bikes, which means you have bikes weighing less than 17 pounds. In the comfort bikes, there have been substantial improvements in the tires — people don’t want punctures and blow outs.”

Many shops also offer computer-aided fitness training to offset a lack of sales during the winter months, Farrell added. His shop offers the Carmichael Training System, which was used by Lance Armstrong’s coach. The system is named after Chris Carmichael, who rode for Farrell in 1985.

Customer support

Farrell’s customer data base includes 68-year-old Bill Bien, who said he bought a $3,000 road bike at the Batavia shop. Bien has undergone both a hip and knee replacement, and said that Farrell custom fit him to a bike.

“Given the investment I made, I needed a bike I could ride without pain or discomfort, and I’ve had no problems whatsoever,” Bien said. “I ran into Tom Weil from Naperville at the Edward Health Club, who is a national champion in the 65 to 69 category of the USA Cycling Masters Road National Championships, and he told me Mike was the guy to see. He’s a total professional.”

Chris Abbinante, 38, said a friend of his who competes in triathlons recommended Farrell, who he said “continues to go the extra mile” for his customers.

“I bought an expensive bike from the Prairie Path and wanted it tweaked a bit here and there, and Mike has always taken the time to do the little things I’ve needed,” Abbinante said. “He’s kind of a ‘bike doctor’ who offers excellent customer service but is also a really humble guy who is easy to deal with.”