August 4th: Keirin State Championships s/b George Garner Cyclery Track Team

For George Garner, growing up during the Great Depression in the San Fernando Valley of Southern California with his three siblings, held no hint of his future lifelong obsession with all things bicycle. However, from 1939 on he raced bikes around dirt tracks and over the Hollywood hills, losing his front teeth and breaking a few bones along the way. George served with the Marine Corps in World War II and witnessed the landing on Iwo Jima and the occupation of Nagasaki. George's love of the bicycle continued into adulthood when he opened his first bike store in 1947. In 1953, George and his friends helped build the Encino Velodrome in Encino California, nearly overturning a steamroller on themselves in the process. George's relationship with the great Schwinn Bicycle Company grew and in 1965 he moved to Northbrook, IL. Sales awards from Schwinn weren't enough. George built his family like his business, with love and dedication, profiting in the form of three sons and five grandchildren. 

George never forgot his first love, the bicycle, spending hours and quite a few dollars supporting another area velodrome, this time in Northbrook, as well as winning many more accolades along the way. Before Father Time took away his ability to pedal, George spent every morning riding a Schwinn Airdyne to the tune of thousands of miles. And for those reading this who never had the chance to know George, you just might learn what really made him tick, by getting outside and riding a bike.