Shop Tour: Hincapie Apparel

Hincapie Apparel isn't so much a shop as an office with a merchandising kiosk in the front. That's okay, because is multi-tasks as a museum to honor Greenville's top cyclist as well.

When in Greenville, it would be foolish not to stop by and check it out. ...or such was my thinking last week. I was in town for a business conference of fellow Six Sigma nerds and had a chance to sneak into downtown and pay a visit. Here's what happened...

The 'retail shop' is really their call center and business office, which sits above their basement distribution center. Studio-style, there is a small retail section in the middle of the building. The woman who greeted me explained that there were two facilities for Hincapie -- the Greenville, SC office we were standing in and a manufacturing facility in Columbia. Nice, concise operation. Being the efficiency nerd that I am, we talked about distribution schedules, logistics, turnaround and special orders before I finally started to browse.

Now, honestly, if you've seen a Hincapie Apparel catalog, you've seen what they've got to sell and, unless you were wanting a woman's jersey, there was no bargain bin to speak of. And Hincapie stuff is high quality and, thus, not inexpensive. So, if you're seen it, you know what there is. Which gives you time to look at what else is there.

Ignoring all the sales folks running the phones, this building is a mini-museum for George Hincapie. VERY cool. Every wall had some kind of thing that would gig out any American cyclist. The most impressive sight, however, was the wall of autographed yellow jerseys. Not autographed by George, but to him from the Tour winners. Some even had long inscriptions. Okay, I was geeking out looking at it. You would, too.

After seeing that, the American champ jersey and the old Motorola jersey almost seem old hat. Like, "Meh." Almost.

The facing wall had the painting of George from Roubaix that graces the cover of his documentary video. It's a big ol' painting, too. George is bad. Really diggin' the painting.

So, I am talking to the woman there and notice that the new Cyclocross Magazine had come in the morning's mail. I noted it and asked if there were any bookstores that sell the magazine. She starts to give directions, then stops. She hands me the magazine and says, "Just take it." I protested, "No way! This is somebody's magazine. I just want to buy a copy. It's not always easy to find back home. No big deal." ... but she retorts, "He's not here this week and he doesn't have time to be reading magazines anyway." and she hands me the magazine. I laughed and accepted it. Thanks!

Figuring it was about time to go, I picked up some summer and fall socks and made my way to the register. I grabbed a couple euro cards of George lookin' kind of cheesy to give to my pals (BTW, you're welcome!) and headed out. But, before I left, I noticed there was a newly-framed jersey behind the register, not yet hung on the wall of fame. I asked if I could sneak another pic and here you go. Cadel signs the 9th jersey. Very cool.

I don't know how many cycling hot spots you'd say are 'must visit' in the Southeast, but Greenville is often called "Bikeville, USA." I'm sorry I didn't get a chance to ride, visit George's cycling community and training center or just hit other shops. I would recommend that, on your next drive to Atlanta, you detour through Greenville long enough to capture a little history. I'm glad I did.