About

-Shop History

The Spoke ‘n’ Word: Bicycle Repair & Advice, LLC. was born out of opportunity and prayer. When The BALSAMS Resort closed its doors in 2011 then we were left trying to figure out how to make a living in the area. Part time work was piecemealed together and included offering two services from the Colebrook Rec. Center: Bicycle Repair and unbiased advice to help people make informed decisions about what to buy and what to avoid; where to ride and places to steer clear of; how to fix it at home and what to bring into my humble repair shop. In 2015, after much prayer and juggling multiple part time jobs, we decided to open a full time, full service, year round repair and retail shop and leave the part-time jobs behind. Those early years were such a neat time–fun, exciting, busy, encouraging… Our spot on the Our Hometown: Colebrook helps to show that in a way that I can’t through the printed word alone. Early on we fielded a lot of calls from journalists and media asking, in essence, “What are you thinking? Opening a retail business revolving around bicycles that far north sounds crazy. Why would you do that?” I agreed with each of them that it sounds crazy, but that this was the direction that I felt moved to go in after much prayer (albeit with no counsel from other people other than my wife consenting to take our savings and buy the property). Sales started before we even officially opened on April 1, 2015. Canadians were eager to come over the border and buy fat bikes and locals were eager to support our upstart business. Over time we added group rides, spin classes, trail work days; offered mobile repair and race support out of our van; had our own jerseys produced; and participated in community events as a shop and as a cycling club. We adopted the motto, “Giving away everything we can give away and keeping only what we need to keep.” after looking back at our history and heart to give as much as we could to our community–time, energy, resources, but also seeing that at some point the bills do need to be paid. Looking back over this chapter of life it is easy to see how Dickens thought up the opening of A Tale of Two Cities:

“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times,
it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness,
it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity,
it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness,
it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair…”

-Staff

My name is Jonathon Dodge, and I have been enjoying bicycles non-stop since I got my first Big Wheels one Christmas over 40 years ago.  A passion for road riding was the logical progression from my enjoyment of cross country running and skiing in high school and college.  I further honed my cyclery skills when I started taking my bikes apart, putting them back together again, and subsequently getting a job at the local bike shop building bikes.   

Four years in college studying Elementary Education and Special Education helped me to develop a means of working with and relating to people, not just children, in a way that allowed me to land a dream job as the Director of Nordic Skiing at The Balsams Resort, in Dixville Notch, NH as well as the Director of their Mountain Bike & Nature Center.  Nearly a decade on the job there, coupled with years of riding, ‘wrenching’, guiding, teaching, adventuring, exploring, and learning have brought me to where I am today.

I currently own and operate The Spoke ‘n’ Word: Bicycle Repair & Advice in Colebrook, NH, and formerly acted as a part-time mechanic/floor manager at Porky Gulch Bike Shop in Gorham, NH.  My amazing wife and I are raising our children in Coos County, NH and grasping at opportunities to set roots deep into this region.

Whether the rides are described as road, gravel, cyclocross, mountain or fat/winter biking, I love all things bicycle.  I found a niche in the world of brevets and Randonnée’s, as long rides seem to be my forte, “anything over 200 miles in a day, and you have my attention”.  I have been developing a stronger and stronger urge to be on dirt, whether still on a skinny tired bike or big knobby tires.  I try to make good use of my passport, travelling back and forth over the border exploring roads and trails.  I feel limited only by my own desire to be near my family and set an example of hard work, Godly living, and straight priorities for them to learn from.

Stats:

Age:  47

Years of mechanical experience: 30

Years riding seriously: 30

Years of guiding/leading rides: 25

Average yearly mileage: 2200 miles (5k before children)

Longest one-day ride: 374 miles

Favorite Ride: No favorite. I would prefer going somewhere new each ride, if possible. Like everything in life, it’s more about the people I’m with than the activity itself.