Grumpies, Gear and Good Times // by Molly Lehmuller, photos by Trip Burns
V
isiting The Kickstand (2233 Highway 80, 601.948.2453, 1.800.360.BIKE, thekickstand.com) is a little like finding yourself at a museum mixed with an old-fashioned general store. Owned by brothers Charles and Lee Clark since 1996, the shop is filled with racks of motorcycle gear and supplies—it is, after all, a tire and accessory depot for amateur and longtime riders alike. But a quick glance toward the ceiling introduces another genre altogether: Antique guitars, left over from the building’s days as Morrison Brothers Music, hang above, surrounded by posters of famous motorcyclists and races. Giant Christmas ornaments, appropriated from an old holiday display in Madison, dangle from the workshop ceilings. There are taxidermy specimens, Mississippi memorabilia, an espresso maker, mannequins dressed in vintage racewear, a collection of coffee mugs. A church pew salvaged from the Clarks’ mother’s church in rural Hinds County rests in the back of one room; sundry goods (older than the building they rest in) and an old marquee from their family’s long-gone country store are at home on the shelves. License plates, framed photos, road signs and dozens of motorcycles of every vintage line the walls and shelves. The Kickstand carries riding apparel, helmets, repair kits, tools, filters, levers, antifreeze and the rest of the typical outfitting and maintenance paraphernalia one would expect at a larger auto repair chain. But unlike the superstores, this family-owned establishment encourages loitering, long stories and touching the merchandise. The Kickstand also serves as a small-repair shop and consignment store for bikes, and a place to swap stories and tips. The brothers dedicated one corner of the shop for their retired regulars, or “Grumpies”—after “Grumpy Old Men” fame—to hang out and shoot the breeze. Lined with couches and easy chairs, papered with the Grumpies’ letters and photos, stocked with motorcycle magazines, the Grumpie Room evidences the easy brotherhood of the motorheads who frequent The Kickstand. The family-style atmosphere extends down to the youngest Grumpie—Lee’s grandson Dominik, or KB, the Kickstand Baby—who has his own playroom in one of the old Morrison Brothers 30
Winter 2012-13
boomjackson.com