When Tim Watling opened the doors on 1st August 2016, he expected to be spending most of his time finding ways to attract customers. Instead, he spent his first day servicing five bikes. That set the pattern for every day for the first five months, before the cold January weather took its toll, and Tim finally got the time to focus on his website.

Suddenly, and completely unexpectedly, in February 2021, Tim passed away, leaving behind a legacy that none of us could ever have predicted. And largely because of the incredible community that built up around Tim and WMC, particularly with the members of Sofa to Saddle, we took the difficult decision to keep the doors open.

For Tim, West Malling Cycles was an expression of his passion for cycling, and those who ever asked for his help, will have been delighted with the patience and understanding with which he would deliver it. We still regularly get visits from previous customers, who are only too happy to regale us with their own personal stories, of how Tim ‘saved their lives’. Cyclists are prone to exaggeration😉