Foster feeds his passion for bikes at Ride On
RON FOSTER
Most people ride bicycles when they are kids. A small percentage continue to regularly ride bikes into adulthood, and for some of them, it becomes a passion.
Ron Foster of Miltonvale is one of those passionate people.
A low-key, soft-spoken man with a quick sense of humor, Foster has an interesting outlook on life formed from living all across the United States.
Born in Marion, Indiana, Foster's family moved to Montana when he was a toddler. “The town was called Two Dot,” Foster said with a laugh. “The population? Who knows. Definitely a farming community. Back then the state had no speed limit. If it was a nice day, you could do 100 mph.”
Foster graduated from high school in Forsyth, Montana, and moved to Miltonvale, Kansas, to attend the Miltonvale Wesleyan College. The college closed in 1972.
“The good thing was, I met my wife Linda here,” Foster said.
Foster then moved to Greenville, Illinois, where he earned a bachelor's degree in English.
The next stop on Foster's tour of the States was Arizona. “I was using my BA in English to work as a janitor at a Christian elementary school,” he said with a smile.
Foster and his wife then relocated all the way to the West Coast, to Santa Barbara, California. “I ran a bike shop there for about three years,” he said. “I then went to UCSB (University of California–Santa Barbara) and got my teaching credential. I taught first, second, and third grade in a town called Buellton. I liked teaching. I must have – I stayed with it for 30 years.”
After teaching for 21 years in California, Foster's wife Linda wanted to move back to Kansas – to Miltonvale – to be closer to her parents. In 2010 the Fosters relocated a final time from the mild-weather coastal area of Santa Barbara County to the temperature extremes of north central Kansas. “Miltonvale is a beautiful place, too,” Foster said. “My wife and I always say: 'Don't miss what we did have and enjoy what we do have'.”
Foster taught school in Clay Center for nine more years before he finally decided to retire. All along the way, amid all his journeys, Foster continued his love affair with bicycles. “Linda and I liked to ride up in Oregon and Washington. We'd do 500 mile trips and camp along the way. We also did a bike ride from San Francisco to Santa Barbara. That was a beautiful trip. The best part of trips like that are the people. You hear so many interesting stories.”
Retirement was not a comfortable word for Ron Foster. He bought a building on Miltonvale's Main Street and opened the Ride On Bike Shop. “I needed something to do. I can't just sit around.”
Foster's shop sells just about every kind of bicycle accessory new, but he doesn't sell new bikes. He spends most of his time repairing used bikes. With the closest bike stores either in Salina or Osborne, Foster's customers come from all over the north central Kansas area. “I have people come in from Concordia, Clyde, Clay Center and Minneapolis.”
For Foster, working on bicycles brings him a certain kind of fulfillment. “I really like doing this,” he said. “It's interesting. Different bikes have different problems, and you have to figure it out.”
Of the hundreds of bicycles he's worked on in his life, has he ever come across a repair job he couldn't solve? “I've been lucky. I've been able to figure things out. Sometimes it might take a little while.” He then paused for a moment, smiled again and added: “There's always YouTube.”
When Foster thinks about the future, he has no exit strategy for Bike On. “”I just keep going, one bike at a time. When the time comes, I'll know.”