Thanks for clicking on my picture. Yes, the buck stops here. I am the manager, head mechanic, wheelbuilder, salesperson, buyer, frame builder, machinist, janitor, bookkeeper and receptionist at Yellow Jersey, Ltd. in Madison WI. I came here from another bike shop in March of 1973. At that time, Yellow Jersey was at 613 University Avenue and managed by Leila Shakkour and Sean Morris, who did a great job of establishing a quality-oriented tone and an emphasis on the very best equipment and service available. I hope I have continued in their style.

I mentioned 613 University Avenue. That was a fantastic space- a former grocery with skylights and lots of space. The City of Madison condemned our building in October of 1974 and levelled the block. That's when we moved to State Street, in the former Frank Davis Office Supply. The razed lot was lost in the City's plans and not rebuilt until the summer of 1999 - twenty five YEARS later! Such a waste! During those 25 years, I purchased the business with eight other employees in 1978, expanded to Madison's East Side at Schenk's Corners (Winnebago Street), started a Yellow Jersey on the West side (Odana Road), moved the East Store (East Towne Boulevard), moved the West store (High Point Road), built a clothing-only store (Gorham Street) and expanded our clothing store to the largest in the area. During the bike industry crunch of the mid-90's, I closed all of them.

It is said that in business you must choose your customers. That gets a lot of lip service, but I actually did it. After building a huge, inefficient empire which bled money at every corner, I asked what exactly it was we were trying to accomplish. Like so many bicycle store managers, I assumed that bigger was better. You've seen the results here and at other shops- Big parking lot sales, twenty-five thousand mailers four times a year, radio, newspaper and televison advertising (nearly a hundred thousand dollars for marketing and advertising at one point) and a complete disassociation from cycling. I was spending all my time on administrative and security work, trying to manage fifty employees. I never saw the customer or the product. I was working as hard as I could to deliver crappy, cheap bicycles to people who would park them in the garage and brag about what a deal they got at Yellow Jersey. It bothered me when another store would sell a cheap bike (and we bike shops clear about $30 each on them) and I lost the sale.

We're once again just one location. We do not advertise, so I genuinely appreciate when you tell your fellow cyclists about your experience here. I change flat tires for cyclists who work in the neighborhood, but we do not run fifty pieces a day of "tuneups" through the place (I rant elsewhere about that). I build wheels for each rider individually. I build bicycles mostly as you tell me, with my advice if you wish. Once more, I am able to give you personal service without a large lumbering organization in the way. Although I have had the pleasure of exceptional staff in many cases, there is no substitute for talking to the guy at the end of the line, and that's me. I am here to listen and I hope you share with me your requests, comments and complaints. (Yes, complaints, because I can't make things better if I don't know what's wrong!)

I am here every day and if you miss me I will return your call or email the same day at least. Thanks for reading.

It's always nice to buy something

Back to Yellow Jersey

I was pleasantly surprised in November of 2002 with anaward

Here's a photo composed by and a gift from Leslie Barton
who's now a commercial photographer in LA

... .

This is my daughter, Julie
..........................Andrew Muzi