Darryl first started road racing in 1972 at the age of 13. He participated in the 2nd Triathlon in the state which was held in Geraldton in 1984 and he purchased his first mountain bike in 1986.
With a deep-seated passion for bikes, Darryl was given the opportunity to open a bike shop in Geraldton and on September 19th 1988, The Bicycle Entrepreneur opened.
Throughout the 22 yrs that Darryl owned and operated the shop, he employed teenagers with a passion for bikes, to work after school and on Saturday mornings. One young enthusiast was Matthew “Mop” Blackwell, who started working with Darryl and his wife Vicky, in 1993 at the age of 14 and continued until he finished high school in 1995.
In the early 1990’s, Spokes Cycle Club was formed, with Darryl was lucky enough to hold the position of President for a number of years.
By 2009, Darryl and his wife were ready for a change in their lives, so with the sale of the shop in 2010 a move south to Bunbury made in 2014. Both got ‘normal’ jobs until 2016 when Darryl started working at a local bike shop as their mechanic.
After finishing high school in Geraldton in 1995, Mop moved to Perth in 1996 to continue his studies at university. He also started a part-time job at Fleet Cycles in Fremantle, which eventually became full time when the passion for bikes proved to strong.
In 2000, Mop moved to Sydney, secured a job in a bike shop and continued adding to his extensive knowledge of bikes. He was also gaining a respectful reputation as a bike mechanic within the industry and in 2025, he was asked to be a Neutral Parts Mechanic for Shimano at the National Road titles held in Perth.
By 2004 Mop was ready to come back to Perth. He started working for Glen Parker Cycles in Nedlands where he remained until 2017, then a move to Churchill Cycles in 2018.
For some time, Mop had had a desire to open his own bike shop, but was unable to find something in Perth that he could afford. He decided to pursue that dream in the South West and moved down for the lifestyle.
In early March 2019, he rang Darryl with the idea that they open a shop together in Bunbury. A vacant premise was found and leased in April and after many long days, painting and fitting out, Bunbury Cycles commenced trading on Wednesday 17th at 4/12 Stuart St.
