Jeff Wilson, owner, Resto 101 (Pleasant Hill, MO)
Cyclists know there are few better places to bike than on the Katy Trail. The trail winds and weaves its way throughout Pleasant Hill, a town with a long history steeped in the transportation industry (city literature identifies the town as “where the tracks meet the trail”). The peals of a train whistle regularly slice through the silence that permeates the town itself. Both the train tracks and the bike trail connect Pleasant Hill with the small towns surrounding it, acting as pumping arteries that carry the lifeblood’s of both business and leisure throughout the miles. In 2015, then-Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon cut a ribbon on a 47-mile portion of trail connecting Pleasant Hill to the Katy Trail State Park. Few people were more excited about the event than Jeff Wilson, who owns Resto 101, a local bike restoration shop. “The trail connects communities. It really is picturesque,” Wilson says of the Katy Trail. “There are bridges and crossings. It basically aligns itself with the old Rock Island Trail, and there are also railroad artifacts along the path, such as old railroad ties.”
In addition to his shop, Wilson co-owns a vintage store, Retro on the Rails, and helps organize and host Buddy’s Pedal Fest, an annual vintage bike show and swap meet, which takes place every September, complete with live music. Wilson’s fascination with bicycles stretches back to his childhood. “My first bike – I remember my mom had painted it my favorite color, and my dad fixed it up, and it was a neat memory,” he recalls. “They didn’t buy me a new bike. They repurposed an old one, and that stuck with me.” The most noticeable difference between contemporary bikes and vintage bikes are all in the design, Wilson says. The little touches make all the difference – and they’re hard to find these days. After the end of World War II, he notes, bikes became more lavish and ornamental – bigger, better, heavier, and covered in chrome. Wilson calls the look ‘Space Age,’ and it was a mainstay of bikes of the 1950’s and ‘60s. The 1970s brought the rise of the BMX-style bike, made famous by the Me Decade’s own celebrity daredevil
A slick-looking vintage Ranger bike complete with headlight from Resto 101.
Step into Resto 101 and you will be reformed to another time as owner Jeff Wilson greets you.
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