Tony's pedalling on after 68 years at cycle shop

7 hours ago

Grace McGroryin Scunthorpe

News image — Tony Baines says the most common repair is to a puncture

BBC/Grace McGrory A man standing in a workshop while holding a bike wheel with a chunky black tyre. He has short brown hair and wears black-rimmed glasses, a grey fleece and a blue shirt. The workshop is filled with shelves and boxes containing tools and equipment. A bike and more tyres can be seen in the background. — Tony Baines says the most common repair is to a puncture

A man who has worked at the same cycle shop for 68 years says his time there has "flown by."

Tony Baines, 83, started working at D Speight Cycles in Scunthorpe when he was 15.

Now the owner of the shop, he works alongside his grandson selling and repairing bicycles.

"I just don't know where the time's gone," he said. "If I'm 93 and I'm still fit, I'll be here."

Tony got his start at the shop in 1957 because he lived next door to then owner Don Speight.

"He asked me if I wanted to work, because I couldn't get a job anywhere.

"And I said, well, it will be all right until I get called up in the Army – which didn't happen – and I'm still here!"

BBC/Grace McGrory A man smiling at the camera as he stands in front of a rack of bikes. He is wearing a dark-grey overall-style jacket, a navy jumper and a blue shirt, which has a blue collar poking out. Behind him, to the right hand side, are three bicycles stacked up and against the wall. They have red, grey, black and pink frames. To the left are spray cans and lots of different-sized wheels on the wall. — Tony Baines used to sell mopeds as well as bicycles

He described the 1960s and 1970s as "always busy".

"We even did motorbikes in the earlier days – it wasn't just bicycles.

"We sold more mopeds from here than anywhere in Britain."

Tony recalled seeing Scunthorpe's steelworkers cycling home from their shifts at 16:30 GMT every weekday.

"You would never have crossed Frodingham Road for a row of bicycles, and they used to queue outside the door to come in."

He took over the shop 37 years ago after the former owner died.

"I wanted to keep the name. I could have changed it, but I kept his name there. People knew it," he explained.

BBC/Grace McGrory The photo shows two men smiling at the camera. The man on the left is wearing a blue padded coat. The man on the right is wearing a black overall-style jacket, a navy jumper and a blue shirt which has a blue collar that is poking out. They're standing in a bike shop. There are wheels hanging from the ceiling above their heads. — Steve Waddingham remembers buying his first bike from Tony as a boy

Steve Waddingham, a 75-year-old customer from Scunthorpe, said he remembered buying his first bike from Tony in 1964.

"He's been my go to for bikes ever since.

"I think it's absolutely brilliant he's still doing it. It's his life."

Tony has seen lots of changes to the bicycle industry.

"Bicycles are not the thing nowadays like they used to be," he said. "We used to sell hundreds at Christmas. It's all electric stuff now, that's what people want – electric bikes, electric scooters.

"We've learned how to deal with them as we've come along. We're obviously learning all the time."

He now works alongside his grandson, Aiden, but said he was not considering retiring any time soon.

"I've just got in such a routine now that I come to work and repair the bikes, have customers coming in and we're usually busy.

"It keeps me on the go, keeps me fit."

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