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Parks and his wife, Pamela, long planned on settling in the New York region. And they did, in Genoa, after he retired in 2014. But the area, and specifically Auburn, also allowed Mike and his wife to realize another long-held plan: opening a bicycle shop.

The Parkses' L.B. Lightning Cyclery retail and repair shop is tentatively set to open Monday, Oct. 24, on the East Hill area of Genesee Street in downtown Auburn. Its inventory of 100-plus bicycles will include brands Giant, Brooklyn and Surly, and span mountain, road, comfort, fitness and children's styles. Fat bicycles, an all-terrain style whose wheels measure up to 5 inches wide, will also be available, as will helmets, pumps, gloves, locks, clothing and other accessories.

Mike, a Massachusetts native who worked in bicycle shops in high school and college, has restored old models as a hobby for much of his life. He and Pamela also did bicycle restoration and repair work in the Virginia area while they lived there. They'll continue to do so in L.B. Lightning Cyclery's repair room, where they will also take orders for custom builds with whatever parts customers request.

In 2006, as his retirement loomed and the idea for L.B. Lightning Cyclery took shape, Mike spent three weeks at the Barnett Bicycle Institute for Bicycle Mechanics in Colorado Springs. The course covered both bicycle mechanics and running a shop, he said.

"You have to keep up with the technology," he said. "It's constantly changing."

Mike said Auburn provided him and Pamela with an ideal market for their dream business. The area lost its sole bicycle shop,  in Grant Avenue Plaza, earlier this year. That left Geneva and Syracuse the nearest locations for bicycle retail and repair shops, Parks said.

The greater Auburn area is also friendly to bicycling, Parks said, with not only the topographically diverse Finger Lakes but also the Erie Canal and the incoming . The area's annual team relay competition and Bon Ton Roulet bicycling and camping tour also generate local enthusiasm for the activity, he continued.

Those who use bicycles as transportation more than recreation can also reap many benefits, Parks said: They're cheaper, healthier and greener than automobiles. And he considers the recent a signal that they're taking hold in Auburn.

"I think Auburn's really trying to accommodate the cyclists," Parks said.

The Parkses will keep the wheels turning at L.B. Lightning Cyclery, which they named after their departed horse, Lacey Belle Lightning. Until the shop officially opens, Mike said, people are welcome to pop their heads in if they have any questions about its bicycles or repair services.

"There's been a void in the area for a while," he said. "I think people are excited to get a bike shop back in Auburn."