On warm weekend days, thousands of cyclists pass by Strictly Bicycles. Cyclists meet on the store’s patio, come in for water, sports drinks or an energy bar.

Nelson, Strictly’s owner, is always at the front of the shop to help cyclists. He’s a former racer whose passion for cycling is infectious.

He takes a personal interest in cyclists, knowing hundreds of them by name. He knows how you ride and where you ride — your cycling goals — and what bike and gear is best for you. His understanding of cycling is vast and his prices are more than reasonable.

Cyclists also like to sit at Strictly’s café sponsored by Benzel-Busch Motor Car Corp. where the coffee is as rich as the staff’s knowledge of cycling. When you sit at the café and look out the tall windows, you see a procession of cyclists – thousands of them – riding along Hudson Terrace. For Hudson Terrace feeds into Route 9W, the northeast’s most popular bike loop.

Strictly Bicycles is the only bike store located right on that loop. It’s a bike store that straddles both NYC and NJ — a store that acts as a bridge, both literally and figuratively, for cyclists from Manhattan and New Jersey. It’s not “strictly” a retail store. It’s a cyclist’s haven – a hang out – a promoter of bicycling culture.