I F YOU LIVE in North Devon and are a bike owner the chances are, you will know Gordon "Gordy" Webber and if you do not know him, he is most certainly a man worth getting to know.

Gordon was born in Challacombe and attended school locally in Bratton Fleming until he was 11 before moving on to Barnstaple's Secondary Modern to complete his formal education.

For as long as he can remember Gordon has always loved tinkering with and repairing bikes. Following the Lynton and Lynmouth flood disaster, a couple of garages in Challacombe were washed out in the aftermath of the flood and parts of cars and bikes were washed up in various parts of the village. Gordon was intrigued with some of the bits of bikes he found lying around and began to collect them and take them home until he had enough parts to build his own bike from scratch.

Ten-year-old Gordon was so proud of his first bike and believes it was building his first bike, which led to his future career. A week before leaving school at 15, Gordon's headmaster asked what type of job he would like to do when he left school to which he responded. "I would like to work in a garage or a bike shop".

A few days before he left school someone from Challacombe post office knocked on his door to tell him that there was a job going for a young apprentice at Cyril Webber's bike shop in Barnstaple, at which, despite the name, there was no family connection. Gordon had a successful interview and started work immediately after leaving school. Although he picked up the trade from other people, working at the bike shop Gordon found he had a natural aptitude for repairing bikes and most of the repair work he did was self-taught.

Gordon enjoyed working for the next eight years at Cyril Webbers and when a shop became vacant in Queen Street Arcade Gordon decided to set up his own business. In 1964, Barnstaple Cycle Centre opened for trading and business has never been better.

Repairing bikes in the 1960s was a busy time for Gordon because back then people did not have the "throw away" mentality which is very much prevalent in today's society and things were repaired until it was no longer possible to repair them.

For the first 20 years while Gordon was building the business, he would finish his day's work, go home for tea and return to the shop and work until 2am to ensure he kept up with his workload and did not disappoint his customers. As well as repairing punctures, wheels, spokes and saddles Gordon also repaired his own bikes which he would then sell in the shop.

Although the design of modern bikes has changed since the sixties Gordon never had a problem adapting his skills to repair today's more modern bike and business is even busier now than when he first started. "Back when I first opened the shop it was mainly youngsters who were the main bike owners but nowadays with the Tarka Trail and an emphasis on healthy living every age group seems to have a bike. Some people even start cycling much later in life and there is a definite boom in the number of bike owners today."

Although Gordon says he works six days a week repairing bikes this is not strictly true because when he has his day off on a Sunday he spends his time at home working on his own bikes. "I like to try and repair one bike which I can sell when I am at home on Sundays."

Gordon has a rather unique stance when he is repairing his bikes; he never sits but instead prefers to work on his hunkers and anyone passing his shop will undoubtedly be drawn to Gordon, surrounded by his bikes and lost in his work. Gordon is never short of visitors who drop by to chat with him. "People are always stopping to say hello and have a chat and because I always work outside the shop I get to know everyone who is passing."

Some of Gordon's customers describe him as a "Barnstaple Legend" and Thadius Teeling of Donnington who dropped his bike in for repair while Gordon was being interviewed said: "The work Gordon does on bikes is a labour of love and his costs don't reflect the work he does, he is by far the cheapest bike repairer in Barnstaple."

Gordon is happiest with his bike tools and assortment of biking equipment surrounding him as he chats to locals while repairing the bikes. Many of the tools he uses have been collected over the years and a wheel stand, which he still uses today, is over 100 years old.

It is difficult to imagine how Gordon could manage to squeeze one more bike into his shop but he says he always manages to pack them in until he completes the repairs. At 67, Gordon cannot see himself retiring for another few years. "I wanted to retire when I was 65 but too many of my customers did not want me to shut up shop and I did not want to let them down so that's why I am still trading."

Gordon is happy to carry on while he is healthy and as he does not drink or smoke I think it is very likely that Gordy will still be chatting and smiling to passers by and repairing bikes for another 20 years.