Busho’s love of biking turned into long sports career

There’s a good chance that anybody who has needed a bicycle repair in Owatonna over the past four decades has had the hands of one person doing the repairs and allowing for a smooth ride.
For 41 years, Wayne Busho’s name has been synonymous with bicycle repair and service. Last Friday the legendary bicycle repairman hung up his tools for the last time and retired from Straight River Sports, the same company he worked for the entire time.
Busho turned a love for outdoor sports into a career. “I was always interested in sports, particularly biking,” he said. He recalls always being on his bicycle as a youngster.
He found his love for biking a natural fit with his career.
Throughout Busho’s career, bicycles have changed significantly and become much more technical. One example of the technical change is hydraulic brakes on many bikes.
Busho was certified in different brands of bicycles and kept his skills updated with several training sessions each year. Whether it was a minor tune-up or a major overhaul, bicyclists knew they were in good hands with Busho and other staff members.
In addition to making repairs, Busho also provided a friendly face to help customers with their bicycle rentals, other sports rentals and parts and accessories. Some of the more popular items included hockey, soccer, roller blades, mopeds and winter apparel.
As Busho reflected on his long career, he noticed his time began spanning generations. He started to see kids from years ago now coming in with their young children. “It’s time for me to go,” he said.
Over the years he enjoyed the job mostly because of the interesting people he met. “You get to know half the town,” said Busho, who grew up in Owatonna and graduated in 1976. He added he often helped many of his old teachers.
Busho says he focused on customer service throughout his career. “I tried to be friendly and ask questions. You also have to listen and don’t assume anything,” he said. He also tried to educate people about whatever need they had at the time.
While waiting on customers, Busho enjoyed engaging them in conversation. But he said he had to be careful to not talk all day because he had other work to get done.
He credits his long-time friend, Corky Ebeling, former Parks and Rec director for Owatonna, for providing growth to Straight River Sports. During his tenure with the city, Ebeling was instrumental in completing the Owatonna trail system, which includes 10 miles of trails plus additional off road.
“Owatonna has done a great job with the trail system,” Busho said. He added many communities don’t have what Owatonna offers with its trails.
In the early years, it wasn’t uncommon for Busho to work six days a week and at least 60 hours every week. “When you’re young, it’s not bad, but it catches up to you,” he said.
One thing he’s not going to miss is the strenuous requirements of the job. “You are always standing on your feet. It’s not a sit down job,” Busho said.
Busho found the busiest time at the shop came recently during the COVID-19 crisis, which has brought out families in droves wanting to get outdoors. “We’ve never been as busy as we have the past four months,” he said. “We thought it was going to be dead and we would have to close, but it turned out to be the opposite,” he added.
COVID-19, Busho says, is the perfect time for him to bow out and explore retirement.
He has also found time to be involved in civic organizations serving as a past board member of the Steele County Historical Society. “I’ve always been interested in history,” he says.
In the next couple years, Busho hopes to get a drive-in theatre in the Village of Yesteryear. “The village has everything represented, but it doesn’t have a theatre,” he said. “Theatres were a big part of our communities.”
While he has focused on repairing bicycles for so many years, it often didn’t leave him a lot of time to do his own riding.
“Maybe now I can ride a little more,” Busho said with a smile.