I'm trying to help out a buddy who's looking for his first LBS bike and I want to send him to a shop that will help him and not talk down to him. Where should I send him in Phoenix?

I personally like Tempe Bicycle, but I haven't been to a whole lot of others. The people there have been very nice to me and they even have seminars to teach you how to work on your own bike. They have always been very friendly with me and very helpful. They are located on University just west of Mill (right next to the railroad tracks). They also happen to be on my commute route and open at 9:00 AM so if I have a problem that has made' me late they are usually open and ready to help . I don't know much about Phoenix itself. I have a friend that swears by Landis cyclery.

There are a ton in this area so your friend will have his pick. If he's wanting a road bike I would recommend Domenic's Cycling on Mill ave. right across from ASU. They really know there stuff and when I was first looking for a bike they were really helpful and answered my questions in newbie terms! You might also want to try Bike Barn if you are more into phoenix, bike barn . I only really like going to tempe bike for their sales. Paul L, are you a roadie? Ive been looking for some new ride routes, you have any?

I mostly ride road these days. Are you out in the east valley? That is where I ride. I will have to look at Domenics one of these days. I like to go way out in the country when I ride. The ride' to Florence down the hunt hwy is good (come back on US60, some of the shoulders on this route are a little rough. Don't know how sensitive you are to rough shoulders, some riders I have ridden with really complain on anything but the smoothest roads!). I also like to Circle the San Tan mtns for a nice 85 mile trip (down bush hwy, over to Coolidge (resupply at wal-mart), up through Sakaton to Chandler and back to Hunt Hwy). Then there is always the Tour De Phoenix route, I usually start heading out the Bush hwy and cut off the shea boulevard part and take the Beeline back to Mesa for a nice metric century. I mostly ride solo as the club out here starts their rides a little too late in the morning for me. I usually have pretty busy Saturdays and like to get the ride done early. I should be finding all sorts of new routes this summer and fall as I am going to train for the Cochise County ride in October (assuming I can find a support team). I just got into road riding last July. I am not very fast yet (I average between 17 - 19 mph depending on terrain) but I am getting faster as the months roll by.

Almost forgot, a nice 1.5 (at least from my house) hour hill workout is the Usery Pass loop. Start at the corner of McDowell and Power, go north on Power, turn right at Salt River Recreation onto Ellsworth, Then turn right on McKellips, back to power and up power to McDowell. This is probably a 1 hour loop doing it like this but I always start from my house and get an extra half hour in when I need a short ride.