In 1975, with a stove and tent in tow and less than $600 in his pocket, R. Scott “Scooter” Landes ’73 set out with good friend Joe Marlin on a six-week self-contained cross-country bike trip. That trip turned out to not just be an adventure, but the beginning of a life’s work.

Today, Landes is owner of Scooter’s Bike Shop in Souderton, Pa., a business that grew out of his love of biking. Landes’ nickname, Scooter, actually has nothing to do with his love of bikes, he points out. It stems from his days as a junior high basketball player. “Teammates said I would scoot around the basketball court,” Landes says, and the name stuck.

While on his cross-country trek, Landes would stop at local bike shops. “I often got a meal and place to stay as well as getting advice on the best routes to take,” Landes says. Meeting many young owners who had started their own bike business and were quite happy with their lifestyle, Landes got “psyched on the small business idea, especially a bike business.”

When Landes returned to Souderton he rented out a small store space on West Broad Street and in June 1975 opened the doors to Scooter’s Bike Shop, a small store of bicycle parts and about 40 bikes. Today, 30 years later, Scooter’s Bike Shop is a thriving small business at a new, larger location and with more than 400 bikes in store. A range of road, mountain, BMX, freestyle and downhill bikes can be found at Scooter’s, along with fitness equipment, bike accessories and biking apparel.

As a young child growing up in Souderton, Landes never thought that his love of cycling could be turned into a career.

Now a savvy businessman, the sociology major says he regrets not having taken business classes while at Albright. “It would have been nice to have some business background,” Landes says. But his sociology degree does not go unused. Since sociology is the scientific study of human behavior, Landes says he applies these concepts when dealing with customers. “If you treat people right and give them their fair share, they will keep coming back,” he says.

Even though his business has expanded over the last 29 years, maintaining the environment of a small business is very important to Landes. “Every town is starting to look the same and I’m trying to keep character stores alive,” he says. That’s why when you visit Scooter’s Bike Shop you will likely see Landes working the counter. When the owner works at the store, he says, customers feel as if they are getting the attention they deserve from the establishment.

While Landes’ business takes up the majority of his time, his passion for cycling remains. He still bikes several times a week, traveling 25 to 30 miles per trip. Landes sometimes brings his family along on biking expeditions as well. His wife, Gail, and 15-year-old daughter, Chelsea, enjoy riding the Perkiomen Trail with him. Sons Ben and Zach, 22 and 18 respectively, are slightly less interested. “They’re more into video games right now,” Landes explains.

Owning a small business has many rewards, Landes says, such as being in control of your own destiny. “You get out what you put into a small business. You have to believe in what you do and believe in your products.” It’s not easy to maintain a small business, Landes notes, but when a smile widens on a young child’s face when they receive their first bike, “It makes it all worth it.”

– Jordan M. Mauger ’06