Bicycle Mechanic Jobs Get a Whole New Meaning
Thinking about bicycle mechanic jobs? When you meet someone like Klemen, this career path will get a whole new meaning. He has over 20 years of experience in the bicycle world and he has decided to turn his passion into a way of life. Continue reading and you will find out how he did it...
Klemen Mavec
HOME COUNTRY: SLOVENIA
CURRENT COUNTRY: SLOVENIA
AGE: 38
PROFESSION: BICYCLE MECHANIC
What's the best part about growing up in the eighties?
I grew up in Ljubljana, the capital city of Slovenia. Those were the good days, there was not as much traffic everywhere, as kids we could play outside on the streets and I had the privilege to play with my friends instead of waist time on a computer or a smartphone like other kids do nowadays. I feel in love with bicycles at the age of 8 or 9. I remember getting my first bicycle when I was 12. Considering what was available on the market at that time, my bicycle was very good, it was a mountain bike with 18 gears and automatic shifters, and I thought that was the best thing that has ever happened to me. Well, until it got stolen 2 years later. I didn't get a new bike until I started working and bought one myself. When I was old enough to get a summer job, I saved some money and started to travel.
Traveling by bike started in Greece and then...
The idea of travelling with bicycles came from my good friend Jaka. When we were 18 years old, me and two other friends went to Greece for 1 month biking around the islands and the mainland. I had to borrow a bicycle from my other friend Jošt. I didn't realize how generous it was of him to lend me his bike until I had my own.
Santorini, Greece
It was my first experience of tasting the freedom of travelling with a bicycle. It was an amazing feeling of going anywhere and stopping anywhere. You see things from a different perspective and when the night catches you, you just stop.
We actually never brought tents with us, we had our sleeping bags and slept under the stars. Needless to say, we always chose countries with warm and dry climate. Then at the age of 20, we took our bikes and went to Corsica. The French there (although they don't like to be called French) just couldn't believe we didn't have tents... "No tente? No tente? Impossible!" They thought we would look like gypsies so they rather gave us the tents at no charge and put us in the back of the camp. We were always on a budget so going to camps was our only option. Corsica was pretty expensive so we just didn't drink as much beer as we did in Greece. I also remember us being seriously discouraged by 3 girls who biked all the hills in Corsica on city bikes :)
Lost in Corsica
Another one-month bicycle trip around Montenegro was with my friend Miha, when we were 22. It is important to get along with people who you travel with and we were a really good match. We biked to a beautiful place, Boka Kotorska. On the way to Budva, we hit a tunnel with no lights inside and some smoke coming out, we also had no idea how long the tunnel would be. There was no side walk and there were cars coming from behind us. We had nowhere to move and for some reason, right when we thought we would be in danger, there was a bus stop in the middle of the tunnel where we could pull aside and wait for the cars to pass. I mean why would you have a bus stop in the middle of a dark tunnel?
Budva/Sveti Stefan, Montenegro
Traveling and being free had to end and turned into being serious BUT...
Traveling by bike was all part of the carefree youth but then all my friends and I got real jobs, started to have families etc. There was not enough time to go on one- or two-month vacation. Then suddenly I realized how many years have simply just gone by. Things are starting to change now, my mentality has changed so I am ready to start travelling again.
Me and my girlfriend are going to take our bicycles and a bike trailer that I can hook up to my bike to go to Soča Valley, Slovenia and camp there. Every trip I take now involves bicycles.
... BUT this is how Klemen went from being too serious to being serious and free again
I was working as a bicycle mechanic and retailer for 12 years in a bicycle shop until the shop closed and I lost my job. It wasn't a pro bike shop but I did get a lot of experience there. My next job was working in a pro shop, selling and servicing high-end bicycle brands like Giant for example. There I upgraded my knowledge a lot.
The owner of the pro bike shop wanted to extend his company and asked the employees for some ideas. I put a lot of effort into it and made a business plan. The plan had a great potential but the owner wasn't ready to invest at that time, he only wanted to broaden our services sector. Working there for three years, I kept on getting laid off in the winter season and I just couldn't do it anymore.
I had trust in my business plan and started thinking what I would need to make it happen. It took me about a week to double check the statistics and shortly after that, I decided to start my own business in the bicycle world. It has been almost two years and my plan turned out to have been very successful.
How did your life change?
Suddenly I had to take a more responsibility for my decisions and actions. It first felt strange that I didn't have to ask anyone to take time off... I could just go! And I think it's important to take some time for yourself. I am doing what I love, I am not mad about money and I value my free time.
Is there anything you haven't done but you want to?
On the business side, yes, I would like to have more bicycles and also different types of bicycles. My income is reinvested in the company as I wish to have a nice shop, maybe even start a chain of shops around the country. There are so many beautiful biking destination in Slovenia and I feel like every city should have a quality bicycle repair and rental service.
Quality bike repair service by Klemen
Do you have any unfulfilled dreams?
I used to want things that don’t really matter, like stay in nice hotels and travel to more expensive places, but now I see I already have what I want. When I was volunteering at a refugee camp last winter, I witnessed how it looks like when people don’t have anything. There was a little girl who picked up a shovel and helped me take the mud out. The police came to transfer them, she didn't know where they are going to take her and she was still able to smile and wave at me. That changed my perspective on what’s important in life.
When I was younger I didn't have a lot of money, I traveled around the world and I was happy! I feel like I am at the same point again... well the only difference is that now I have 12 good bicycles instead of one :)
What is the biggest inspiration in your life?
I find inspiration in people and music. My biggest inspiration is my girlfriend Irena, she is very ambitious, she does so many different things and she is very good at all of them. She gave me the boost and helped me discover my ambition to have my own shop. My family has been a huge support too, especially with the starting investment. The most inspirational biker to me is Danny MacAskill and I wish I could ride bikes at least half as good as him.
Klemen and Irena on one of their favourite daily biking trips in Bohinj, Slovenia
Music gives me the energy, a song that impresses me every time is a classical 'Nessun dorma' by Luciano Pavarotti, live. You can see how he puts everything he’s got into singing the song.
What is your advice to our readers?
Doing what you love is never a bad choice. It takes time and patience so stay truthful to yourself. Keep that in mind and you will succeed. Invest in yourself and invest in your knowledge.
Find out more about what Klemen does on his recommendations page and check out what surprise we have ready for Inspire Mates readers.