Doug Horner assembles a bike at Ordinary Bike Shop on East Seventh Street.

Lindsay A. Miller / Arizona Daily Star

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Lack of planning has landed Doug Horner where he is today.

Not by plan, his Ordinary Bike Shop has grown from a one-man bicycle repair concern into a 10-employee, full-service bike sales and service center.

But there is still a kernel of the original "repair" spirit in the operation. In fact, it is a key to the shop's personality, and Horner's.

He's not just out to sell repair services or peddle bikes, if you will. He's promoting what he considers a key to happiness, health and an all-round good time. He believes in bikes.

One of the first places he ever worked was a bike shop in his native Iowa. He spent 11 years in bike shops there — carless nearly the entire time — before he came to Arizona "to see a girl" in 1992. He and Jennifer have now been married 14 years.

Sons Zack and Ben, ages 9 and 7, are bike lovers like their parents. There are "about 11" bikes at their house, Doug says.

Ordinary Bike, named for the huge-wheeled, old-time bikes with a seat you have to climb up to, caters to customers who depend on bikes for transportation as well as those who are looking for recreation and sport.

Although repair now accounts for no more than 20 percent of the business revenues, Horner says it remains very important to the shop's mission, because it connects with customers who need a safe, reliable bike to get to school or work or the grocery store.

From the beginning, he's been busy, even when he thought $60 in total receipts was a big day working alone in the old shop about a block away from the current quarters at 311 E. Seventh St. He says the 50 to 60 hours a week he works now are easy compared with the 80-hour weeks of the past.

From repairs only, he started stocking parts out of necessity and then occasionally ordering a bike for someone and selling the odd used bike. "It turned into a legitimate bike shop with no planning whatsoever," he observes.

From less than $20,000 in annual revenue when he started, the business grossed about $500,000 last year and probably will exceed that this year, he says.

To keep up with demand for repair, he must stock at least $8,000 worth of just spokes, and "who knows how much in tires and tubes?" The store now has about 100 new bikes available in most styles.

Commuter bikes that can handle baskets and platforms for carrying stuff are popular. He also stocks some mountain bikes and racing styles, most in the $250-$1,000 range, not the really high-end models carried elsewhere that run from $2,000 -$5,000.

Horner and his shop are well known in biking circles. Matthew Zoll, bicycle and pedestrian program manager for the Pima County Department of Transportation, said he's known Horner for a dozen years. "He's always been very customer-oriented and positive with people.

"He's been very generous, along with several other shops, in helping our bicycle program by providing discounts for bike lights and other supplies. He's always been super-supportive of the teams and clubs. I know he has practically given the shirt off his back to people in the biking community," Zoll said.

Horner, a lanky 6-foot-3, still manages to ride at least 12 hours a week, including time testing out bikes at the store.

Selling new bikes and accessories is helping the business grow. But repair is core to the shop's existence. "It's a feel-good thing for me. When I can help somebody use a bike like they would use a car — that's a good thing."