A CYCLING enthusiast is living the dream after taking over a bike shop where he first worked as a teenager.

Ryan Phelan, aged 26, has bought MK Cycles in Tonge Moor Road, Bolton, from previous owners Mike and Barbara Nortley, who have retired.

Mr Phelan had been the manager for almost four years and jumped at the chance to buy the business.

The shop first opened in 1976 and today stocks a range of bikes costing from £100 to £10,000.

It offers mountain, road and hybrid bikes along with children’s bikes, BMXs and electric bikes.

It also has clothing, accessories and spare parts, maintenance and repairs.

Mr Phelan, who lives in Markland Hill, first worked there on Saturdays as a youngster while attending St James’s Secondary School, Farnworth, and then Bolton North Sixth Form College, Smithills.

He said: “After doing a work experience placement at the shop, I was offered a job when I was 15. I worked here until I went to university in Lancaster to study sport and health.

“While at university I did bar work in Bolton town centre and also worked at Tesco in Middlebrook for 18 months.

“When I finished studying, I came back to work here again. When a former manager emigrated, I took over the manager’s role. I continued that for nearly four years until the recent takeover.

“Cycling has always been one of my main passions. It’s great to have a job and, now, my own business which is linked with my hobby.”

Mr Phelan has a mountain and a road bike, and enjoys cycling in the hills around Bolton.

The shop sells about 400 bikes a year. It also offers government-backed cycle-to-work schemes where businesses can offer staff a bike and accessories at reduced cost.

The shop’s other staff are mechanic Frank Brooks, from Bury, manager Andrew Foden, from Swinton, and Saturday worker William Bradley, from Bromley Cross.