When the riders came by the gas station, Pauwels asked where they came from and where they met for rides. It was the first time he saw ten-speed bicycles since moving to the United States. At that time, only children rode bicycles in North America – cruisers with balloon tires for riding around the neighborhood. While pumping gas at his cousin’s filling station in a small suburb of Portland, Oregon, Pauwels was astonished when a small group of cyclists rode by. “I came to America with my wife, three children, two suitcases, and $500,” he loved to tell his grandchildren, remembering his humble start in the U.S. Pauwels moved his family to Portland in 1953 with the help and sponsorship of his cousin, Ed Verdurmen, who gave him a job pumping gas. He retired in 1950 at age thirty-two during a time when he was racing against Fausto Coppi and Louison Bobet. ![]() The following year, he placed 11th in this race. He retired in 1950 at age thirty-two during a time when he was racing against Fausto Coppi and Louison Bobet.Īfter World War II, Pauwels continued to compete in international races, winning three stages and placing 20th in the Tour of Spain in 1946. From 1936 through the late 1940s, he participated in the major European road races: the Vuelta de España (Tour of Spain), the Tour of Switzerland, and the Tour de France. Frans made his way up the ranks during a time when there were about 400 professional racers in Holland. Professional racers could make a living going from town to town and competing in two or three races a week. He turned professional and joined the Dutch national team in 1936, mostly participating in Kermesse races - fifty to sixty-mile circuit races - that formed a popular part of village festivals. Pauwels started his racing career as an apprentice at age fourteen. It was the easiest way to get from village to village.” His son Dirk described the area as “scattered villages of maybe a thousand people where cycling was the norm. Pauwels was born in 1918 in the small town of Hulst in the Netherlands on the Belgian border. In Portland, Oregon, that spark was Frans Pauwels. These men and their shops served as sources of expertise and suppliers of state-of-the-art equipment in their communities, and they sparked a resurgent interest in cycling in the 1960s. ![]() Those kids knew Pauwels was the real deal - a professional bike racer - and they wanted to be like Frans.Īfter World War II, European immigrants opened a small number of bike shops across the United States: Oscar Wastyn in Chicago, Antonio Gatto in San Jose, Thomas Avenia in New York. ![]() ![]() Kids who discovered Kissler’s Cyclery in downtown Portland in the 1960s gravitated to the store to marvel at the exotic bike frames hanging from the walls, leaf through foreign cycling magazines, admire Tour de France posters, and listen to radio coverage of European bike races. Six-feet tall, tan, and lean with powerful legs and a strong Dutch accent, Frans Pauwels was an impressive figure. Like his father, he has devoted a lifetime to cycling, “I started working at Kissler’s with my Dad when I was a kid, putting bikes together for twenty-five cents a piece.” Dirk, who took over the business from his father, is semi-retired but continues to work part time fixing up donated bikes to give to kids in need and participating in bicycle safety clinics and helmet fittings. Kissler’s Cyclery, owned and run by the Pauwels family since 1959, closed its doors last year and joined forces with the Washington County Bicycle Transportation Coalition to open the Frans Pauwels Memorial Community Bicycle Center in honor of the man who worked tirelessly to promote the sport of cycling. “This is just a tiny fraction of my Dad’s trophies,” says Dirk Pauwels. There is a glass case displaying medals, ribbons, plaques, and awards – evidence of a long and successful bike racing career. Inside the front door of the bike shop is a wall of old photos, many depicting a handsome racer covered in dirt and sweat, holding a victory bouquet. Frans Pauwels and his father Rudolph after he won a
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