Molly Cameron, owner of downtown Portland’s Veloshop is profiled in the “Wrench” section of the latest issue of Bicycling Magazine.
The article (on page 43 of the September issue) focuses on Molly’s committment to making sure nothing in her store is derived from animals. That means no leather saddles and no animal-derived proteins in the energy drinks she sells.
Along with being the only full-time employee and owner of Veloshop, Molly is doing a full schedule of races. She’s having a great year and will definitely be a rider to watch during the upcoming cyclocross season.
Next time you’re downtown, stop in to 211 SW 9th (on the same block as Rocco’s Pizza near Powell’s), check out all the cool stuff for sale and say hi.
Ironically, in the same issue (page 21) is a letter from Bike Gallery employee and Brett Fleming, who writes in to express his dislike of the term “wrench.” The 27-year veteran mechanic finds the term “borderline degrading” and prefers to be called a mechanic or technician.
Umm. I’m pretty sure Molly is a he.
Dave,
For the record, Molly is physically a male and races against men, but she identifies as a woman.
Ah. I know her only through watching the results roll in through OBRA, hence my confusion…
Congratulations Molly, does this make you officially mainstream?
I’d have to agree with Brett Fleming. I’ll call myself a wrench and to my mechanic peers I’ll talk about “wrenching” but, it would only benefit us as professionals to encourage the use of Technician and Mechanic.
I still have not seen the Bicycling article! I am always leary of the media, I hope I do not get entirely mis-quoted.
Thanks for the gender clarification Jonathan. Some would argue that Molly was born a biological male and IS a female. Self identification is a very important and liberating part of being queer. There are a hundred different ways to explain or define gender identity but for simplicities sake: Molly prefers to be a she.
Molly is a bit transgendered and it should be a non-issue.
I find the term *technician* degrading. When I think of a technician I think of the modern auto technician who needs to hook up the car to a computer to find out what is wrong with it. No diagnostic skills whatsoever.
I am a mechanic, whether it be bikes, motorcycles, or cars. There is nothing wrong with the term “wrench”. Usually a guy who is refered to as a “wrench” is the guy who can fix anything roadside. If you think the term wrench is degrading then you are probably trying to elevate yourself above the working class/blue-collar nature of the job because you see the more modern white collar sounding “technician” as a step up. Not all us “wrenches” are neanderthal. Some of us have been to college and even read books on our own, not just because we have to for a class. I prefer the term “Grease Monkey” myself.
Long Live Indian Larry