Pedal and Pump: Done and Gone

Pedal and Pump Multisport, a combination bicycle shop and fitness studio in Darien, has closed it's doors.

The storefront at the prominent location at the corner of Tokeneke Road and Old Kings Highway South hadn't been paying regular rent for months, and was finally evicted on May 25, said the landlord, Randy Blomquist.

The business apparently hasn't moved to a new location, Blomquist said, and he's still looking to get back rent from the owner, Mike Smallidge of South Salem, NY.

"He struggled since [Superstorm] Sandy, Blomquist said of Smallidge. The last regular rent payment was for December, and an agreement for another payment fell through earlier this year, Blomquist said.

One of Pedal and Pump's creditors, who supplied equipment, has taken the business to court, Blomquist said.

Smallidge has removed bicycles and nearly all the unbroken items from the 2,700-square-foot store, which is now nearly empty, and Blomquist is looking for a new tenant (call 917-328-4557 if you're interested).

Manny Lascano of Fairfield, a long-time intermittent customer, stopped by on Thursday when he saw the door open at the now signless storefront. He was looking for some bike parts, he told Blomquist, who let him rummage around in a corner of the shop. When Lascano found some pedals and asked how much they cost, Blomquist told him they were free: "Compliments of the landlord."

Lascano said he was sorry to see the shop gone. "I bought my first bike here for $1,800 -- a Fuji."

Patch reader Laura Nestor is also sad to see the shop gone: "I left my bike there for repairs and need to track down the owner now that it's closed, " she wrote in a post Monday on Patch.

Blomquist says the best thing for someone to do in that situation is to get in touch with Darien police. The department's non-emergency phone number is (203) 662-5300.

The shop was founded in 1988 by two New York men who took the idea of a combination bicycle store and boutique fitness studio from establishments they were familiar with in New York City, Blomquist said.

In the mid 1990s the partnership broke up and the shop was sold to Smallidge, who ran it for the last 17 years, Blomquist said.

Smallidge could not be reached for comment early Wednesday afternoon. Darien Patch left a message for him at a telephone number a phone directory website listed as his in South Salem.