Category Archives: People

PHEW’s settled at our new digs at 7102 Germantown Avenue, by Mt Pleasant Ave (map). Yes, we have electric bikes. We also have a new line of city bikes, folding bikes, and used bikes for all the people that asked for bikes without electric-assist for their daily commute.

Though we loved the social hub at our old location of Carpenter & Greene, we’re thrilled to be at this location that offers more space, a full basement, and something hard to appreciate right now: air conditioning! Over the last month, we gradually made this space ours. Our first task was to install a programmable thermostat so the space wasn’t being heated when no one was around. The next task was to empty the space of stuff left behind by prior occupants which turned out to be quite an archeological dig, since it used to be…

1. a Democratic Campaign office, fondly known as the local Obama office – circa 2005-2010
   • Several printers and monitors were brought up from the basement, with post-it notes proclaiming DEAD or TRASH. These were all taken to the City’s e-waste recycling at nearby Domino lane. There is now room in the basement for bikes and bins of bike parts.
   • Voter registration forms were found all over the premises, filled up 5 liquor store boxes and were put out for curbside recycling.
   • Numerous clipboards were given away to whoever wanted them – to children, to retirees, and to a local non-profit.
   • Donated furniture was donated back to a local school as well as through PhillyFreecycle. A couple of the folding chairs will be used by the PHEW crew for a lunch break in our backyard.
2. a Doctors office – circa 2000-2005
   • the heavy physician’s pelvic examination table from 1981 could not be passed on through PhillyFreecycle or the local Craigslist, nor through our network of friends in neighborhood clinics. We even considered using it as a work table in our repair shop, but eventually disassembled it to elemental components and disposed of; the particleboard to dump; metals to scrap yard; light fixture to architectural salvage shop opening in Mt Airy; drawer bins to be used in our shop for sorting bike parts. This freed up much needed space in our rear “box” room.
   • A non-functioning heart-monitor-type machine was a puzzlement to me, but Afshin dismantled the electronic hardware for e-waste recycling and is planning to use the wheeled base in our repair shop.
   • Hand wash sinks will be sold to new architectural salvage shop.
3. the Hot Topics Info Cafe, touted as Philadelphia’s premiere coffee house – circa 1995-1999
   • Evidence of this was the plumbing in our showroom space which is probably where they had the coffee machines and sinks. Versatile Afshin capped the pipes in the basement, and traded the extra pieces of copper for some greenbacks at the local scrap yard.
   • In the basement was an espresso machine and Bunn-o-matic coffee machine, both to be revived at Cosmic Foods new cafe at Lloyd Hall.
   • Cake stands were taken to the local thrift store; flavored syrups were still good, I tried some!. Any suggestions before they get poured down the drain?
   • The receipts got recycled, the rusty cash register taken for e-waste recycling, and
   • the box of assorted teas (still good) is being savored by the PHEW crew daily! Stop by for a taste of these, or some freshly brewed mint tea with local honey.

In the last month, we made at least 7 trips to the transfer station in our little car, each time with a mix of debris and recyclables.  We’re ready to leave the car at home and get to work on a bike. Are you?

I’ve enjoyed reading Anthony’s posts here and will miss him. I’m a relative newbie at cycling, having spent a quarter century on a swivel chair behind a computer screen and learning to ride a bike only after I turned 40, about 8 years ago. It was the Vatavio, shown below, that convinced me that cycling could actually be fun.

Riding mainly within the City of Philadelphia, I’m to be found on a Sanyo Eneloop pedal-assisted bike, like this:

Now, almost 2 years since I discovered the joy of cycling, I look for excuses and errands that’ll get me pedaling.

Yesterday, I rode in the rain. Not quite ready to invest in rain pants, I ventured out in a yellow poncho, which, when draped over my lap, kept my pants mostly dry. Though I found the rain refreshing on my face, I managed to get my feet wet and quickly returned for a change of clothing.

I’ve been working at Philly Electric Wheels for a year now, nearly from the beginning. I remember coming in on my first day when the shop didn’t have so much as a bike repair stand and thinking, “This place is too clean to be a bike shop.”

I soon got my repair stand, and as we built the business the repair area got a truly authentic layer of grime from the many bikes I’ve worked on in the last year. Soon after I started working, we decided to broaden our focus from electric bikes to include repair work and used bike sales and the shop evolved into a neighborhood bike shop where local folks could stop in for some bike repair or advice.

I’m proud to have played a role in getting PHEW off the ground, and I’ve learned a ton about running a bike shop in the process.

Despite all of the great things about working with Afshin and his wife Meenal, my penchant for wandering has got me thinking of moving on. When I finish at PHEW this week I’ll be heading back to my home state of Vermont. I’ll be there until the new year, when some friends and I will be flying to Chile for a bicycle journey that will take us from Santiago to the tip of South America, then up north to Buenos Aires, Argentina. I will be posting updates on the trip at my blog, Anthonywanderedaway. Thanks to all the customers and community members who kept me in a job and made me feel welcome. See you later on down the road.