Placerville Bike Shop first opened its doors in 1972. In 1977 Bob Molinari and his friend Leo bought the store. BMX was going strong – we had a race team.
Bob and Barbara’s son Andrew was born in 1978. He soon developed a great fondness for the BMX team. Jeff Bullock, Mike Kopping, and John Ames, the first employees, raced on the shop BMX team. The team went to Reno and Chatsworth for the big races. After BMX quieted down, mountain biking took hold.
The shop expanded its expertise and bikes into mountain bikes and added more road bikes to the inventory.
Bob and Barbara had their second son, Matt, in 1982, and their third son, Jeff, in 1986. All of the boys worked in the shop and rode.
Matt raced BMX, Jeff raced mountain bikes, and Andew rides both mountain and road bikes. Bob and Barb have a tandem and about ten other bikes in the garage at any one time. One of our favorite rides is the Chico Wildflower in April – any year. It is a beautiful ride and has categories from beginners to experts. Bob and his friends, the Crims (Bill & Eileen) rode from Telluride to Moab one year in the fall. Ask Bob about the ride – it was spectacular!
