Yet another sign of an upsurge in cycling! Dorchester will soon have a new full-service bike shop! Dorchester resident Jack Pelletier has signed a lease at 551 Talbot Ave and plans to open his doors to business in time for the spring season, possibly in March.

“I’ve often thought that the neighborhood needs a bike shop, especially as there is growing interest in cycling in the area,” wrote Pelletier in a recent email to the Union. “This summer I was talking with friends in the ‘hood about what we can do to encourage someone to open a shop in the area, and out of that conversation I thought that I could do it. I’ve been thinking and researching since then.”

The Union was part of that research this summer when Pelletier volunteered to help out at the Union’s Bike To Market stand at the Ashmont/Peabody Farmer’s Market near his future shop and asked for information on the demand for bikes and repair in the neighborhood.

Not having a full-service bike shop close by is a common complaint for folks in Dorchester, and Pelletier’s shop, to be called “Ashmont Cycles” sits in what the Union considers a new cycling community on the rise. The Union advocated with help from other neighborhood groups for a bike lane on Talbot Avenue, now painted, and worked hand in hand with DotBike to convince the MBTA to install a bike cage at Ashmont Station coming in 2011. DotBike also worked independently to get bike lanes on Dorchester Avenue-and a mix of lanes and sharrows will likely hit that street next year. Finally, the area will soon have large pedestrian plazas and innovative storm water management features as part of a Boston Redevelopment Authority reconstruction project.

Pelletier has worked as an attorney in real estate and litigation for the past ten years, did a stint as a school teacher before that, and worked in bike shops during and after college in Maine. He’s from Lewiston, Maine, but happily married OFD (Originally From Dorchester), and can often be seen hauling his two young ones to day care and school in a bike trailer each morning.

“The primary need in the neighborhood is bikes and products for families to enjoy cycling, and commuters and other folks who are interested in incorporating cycling into their daily routines,” wrote Pelletier. “Ashmont Cycles will carry bikes and products to help people do that, and to help them feel more comfortable cycling in and around Dorchester. Also, it will serve recreational cyclists who enjoy great road riding just south of Dot, as well as growing number of mountain bikers.”

We wish you luck Jack!