About Serendipity Cycles

I am part of every aspect of the frame building process from start to finish. As tedious as this may be at times, I would not have it any other way. I am very passionate and meticulous about my work. My goal is to always exceed the expectations of my customer.

1999-2007
Prior to building bike frames, I was a middle school science teacher in Northern Michigan. I truly loved my job and enjoyed teaching science to teenagers. Many people thought I was crazy, but I enjoyed working with my students and showing them how fun science could be.

April 24, 2007
A day that I remember vaguely, but a date I may never forget. I was riding my bike on the road with a very good friend and we were hit from behind by a full-size pickup truck. My friend was taken by ambulance to the local hospital and I was airlifted to another hospital. I suffered a traumatic brain injury, two compressed vertebrae in my back and plenty of road rash. From that day forward, I would never be the same person again. I had to start my life over.

If you have suffered a traumatic brain injury, or know someone who has, you know what I am talking about. If not, it may be hard to comprehend. When I say that I had to start my life all over, I truly mean start over. I had to learn to walk, read, re-learn friends names etc.

After many months, I tried to return to teaching. I managed to get through a semester, but it was just too much. The side effects of my brain injury were too much to handle. It was obvious I needed to find a different profession. I needed a work environment that allowed me to control the volume of the surroundings, rest when needed and something that I would be as passionate about as I was with teaching. As you can probably imagine, this came down to frame building.

2008
Worked with John McClorey of Bike Fix Cycling Center in Boyne City, Michigan. John took me under his wing and taught me how to build custom wheels. This then led to bicycle mechanic classes. John is a great teacher and was willing to work with the limitations I was still dealing with from my accident. If you are interested in any bicycle mechanic classes, I would highly recommend him.

2009
Attended Doug Fattic’s frame building school located in Niles, Michigan. I was hooked!

Serendipity Cycles, L.L.C. was founded. I wanted my accident to turn into something positive…… a pleasant surprise. Serendipity would be the brand name for my frames.

2010
Attended the North American Handmade Bike Show! I was blown away at what builders were making and inspired to think outside the box in terms of building a frame.

2010
Started working part-time at No Boundaries as a bicycle mechanic. I figured the more I worked on bikes the better understanding I would have when it came to designing them. It turned out to be a great move! My mechanic skills excelled and I found a new family among the staff members. Bob South put a lot of effort into helping me get noticed as a framebuilder. You can usually find one of my custom frames on display at the shop.

2011
I made the local news!

Meet the Frame Builder and Beer Tasting: A great local event hosted by No Boundaries that allowed me to showcase my work with a presentation followed by questions and answers. A special thanks goes out to all that attended, Bob South for organizing the event, Ed Brehm from the Wine Emporium for supplying the tasty Oktoberfest brews, and Ben McMurray for providing his local B-Nuts Trail Mix. A great example of local businesses supporting one another!

Team No Boundaries/Serendipity Cycles places 1st in 2 person 24 hour race!

Three riders participate in the Iceman Cometh Challenge on custom Serendipity frames.

2012
Moved shop to Harbor Springs, Michigan. More room to work!

I rode with my wife in her first Iceman experience; both of us on Serendipity frames. Great job, Leigh!

2013
Attended BREW Bikes frame building class to learn about T.I.G. welding.

Serendipity Cycles is featured in Traverse Magazine!