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Meet Your Neighbor: Jim Twomey
By Callie Thomas
The wheels have been turning in the mind of 89052 resident Jim Twomey for some time. After making a living in the corporate world for almost 25 years, he finally decided to follow his passion for cycling, so he hung up the business suit and opened his own bike shop instead. “I’ve wanted to do it for about 20 years,” says Twomey. JT’s Bicycle Shop was born and continues to thrive, largely because of the personalized service that Twomey instills in his staff. “It seems simple,” he says, “but good customer service is getting harder to find.”
Before moving to Nevada, Jim was the president of a local bike club. Once he landed in Henderson, he helped to start the Green Valley Cyclists Bike Club. “Biking has been a hobby, a chief form of exercise and a way of making friends for as long as I can remember,” he said. “I’m proud to support the growing biking community in Southern Nevada through my bike shop and community cycling events like RTC Viva Bike Vegas.” The annual ride brings cycling enthusiasts across the country together to join the Regional Transportation Commission of Southern Nevada to ride up to 103 miles to benefit local charitable organizations.
“I enjoy doing whatever I can to pass on my love of cycling and combine it with a great charity,” Jim said. “It brings a lot of personal satisfaction.”
At the recommendation of a friend, Twomey became involved with The Shade Tree Homeless Center for Abused Women and Children, and with assistance from his store manager, Eric Neuhaus, JT’s Bicycle has sponsored an annual benefit for the last four years. The shop gives participants in the event an opportunity to try out the latest bike models in a supplier’s demo truck. Prizes are raffled off, which include a new bicycle from one of their vendors, Giant Bicycles. All proceeds from the benefit go to The Shade Tree.
When he’s not entrenched in the world of cycling, Jim likes to be involved with his family, who share his love of sports and athleticism.
Tell us about your family—any other cycling enthusiasts?
“My wife Kathi works in the store a couple of days a week with me and is also a cyclist. Our daughter Katherine lives here in Vegas with her husband Sean, and both are swimmers and runners; my son-in-law is a tri-athlete. I have two grandchildren – seven year old Gretchen, who loves to ride horses, and my grandson Charlie is four and into karate.”
Wow, you have a very active family! Do you ever just get to kick back and unwind? How do you de-stress from a busy week?
“My wife and I like old movies from the ‘30s and ‘40s, and we are big fans of Alfred Hitchcock films.”
Hitch produced so many great movies—bet it’s hard to pick just one on a Saturday night. What do you like to do on Saturdays?
“On Saturdays, I work at the shop. On Saturday night, you might find me with my wife at an Italian restaurant.”
That sounds good! If you could do it all over again, what other job would you like to do?
“If I could start all over, I think I would like to be a forest ranger.”
That’s easy to see—as a cyclist you’ve gotta love the outdoors. Any other hobbies?
“My wife and I go to Cedar City, Utah each year for the Shakespeare Festival. We usually see all the plays.”
Your interests are very diverse. Is there anything that you could tell us that you think your friends would be surprised to know about you?
“I once studied in a seminary to be a priest.”
There’s no way to top that, but I bet you have some words of inspiration for us?
“Life is like riding a bicycle—in order to keep your balance, you must keep moving.”
