GREENFIELD – As a child in Charlemont in the 1980s, Matt Sullivan used to travel regularly to Berkshire East for ski lessons.

“I saw the guys behind the counter handing out rentals and, yeah, these guys were so horny and cool in the ’80s. These guys were like rock stars,” he recalls. “You know we’ve always admired these guys and I knew I wanted to be like that someday and just be in the mix.”

Now 42, Sullivan feels like he’s been part of the band, with the opening of Outer Limits Cycle & Ski at 334 High St.

“It’s not really a job for me. I wake up (in the morning) and get pumped, man. … It’s just awesome, ”he said. “And I kind of created this place for people to come and relax, relax and sit on the bench, relax and talk.”

The building had been Jack’s Cleaners for many years. Sullivan said he approached the owner, whom he knew as a customer at another bike store, and asked if he was ready to sell.

“Then he sold it to me for $ 60,000,” Sullivan said. It takes its business name from the 1960s science fiction television show that is often compared to “The Twilight Zone”.

The Montague resident moved in on August 31 and worked to convert the place into his store. He maintains and sells bicycles, skis, snowboards and skateboards. In the basement is new equipment to correct imperfections in skis and snowboards as well as to flatten and wax them. Sullivan said when the building was purchased, paint was peeling off the basement walls and he had to pressure clean the space.

“It was like walking into a barn after… 60 years,” Sullivan said.

Sullivan opened his mobile repair shop, which he will continue, on Jan. 1 and will mountain bike year-round, even managing the Outer Limits Racing team.

“It’s a big part of who I am and this shop,” he said, adding that his “sweetheart,” Amber Orcutt, will be working at the front of the house.

Sullivan made his debut in the industry in 1998 when Robert Perry, nicknamed “Bike Bob”, hired him at Bicycles & Skis Unlimited at 322 High St., where Crocker Communications Inc. is now headquartered. He said cold weather usually doesn’t hamper the bicycle business.

“People will start bringing in their big bikes (mountain bikes with oversized tires) to have their tires replaced with spikes,” Sullivan explained. “I know a lot of people around here. … I’ve been making bikes and skis for people for a long time.

Contact Outer Limits Cycle & Ski at 413-325-5143 or [email protected] More information is available at externallimitscyclesmobile.com.

Contact Domenic Poli at: [email protected] or
413-772-0261, ext. 262.