Charlie Verral has passed away

Charlie passed away Thursday August 14th. We had a wonderful celebration of Charlie September 27th. The bike ride got rained out, but we had 30-40 people here, some who had not seen each other for 30+ years. Picture to follow,

If you have any pictures of Charlie, or any interesting stories, please email them to info@robandcharlies.com.

From Carol Christiansen

words to remember Charlie Verral

I have spent quite a bit of time in the past few weeks thinking about what I might say about Charlie, so here goes: He was one of the kindest people I have ever met and also one of the most eccentric.

I first met Charlie in February 1992. I was 30 years old and had traveled to Santa Fe from California, where I grew up. I was recently divorced and had quit a job I’d been doing since college. I was really into cycling and had a vague idea that I wanted to learn about the bike business. On my first morning in Santa Fe, I looked in the yellow pages and saw an ad for Rob and Charlie’s. The ad was kind of funky and friendly, and it seemed like an inviting place, so I went over there. I walked in, saw Josh for the first time, and asked if Rob or Charlie was there.

Charlie came out and brought me back to his little office in the back and I told him I had no real experience but I was looking for a job in a bike shop. We talked for a while and he told me I could start the next day.

When I look back on it now, that was one of the kindest gestures I have ever received. I was a little lost, unsure of what I was going to do next, and Charlie, without knowing me at all, gave me a job and a place to be. Again, looking back, it also gave me some confidence to take risks, trusting that things would work out OK and that has helped me a great deal along the way.

It took a while for me to understand that Charlie’s main motivation was less about making money and more about helping people. He was enthusiastically learning sign language so he could communicate with a young man named Brian, who was deaf and came to the shop in the afternoons to fix bikes. There was a severely disabled man named Dino, who needed all kinds of help keeping his very low-to-the-ground tricycle going, and Rob and Charlie’s was there for him whenever he needed parts or repairs. It was frightening that Dino was often hit by cars, which I am sure did not see him, but I know Charlie was very concerned for his safety.

On the eccentric side, it took a while for me to realize that Charlie actually lived at the bike shop and did not venture out much. One time the guys and I calculated that Charlie got six minutes of sunlight a day between going to the bank and going to the store to get a sandwich for lunch.

In the early 1990’s the shop was filled with parts from days gone by. If you needed something for a 70’s Italian 10-speed this was the place. It was a bicycle parts museum, and though I am sure I did not appreciate it at the time, there was a kind of historical beauty amid all that dust.

Charlie had a unique name, Charles Spain Verral VII (the seventh). One time when I was in New York, I visited Charlie in Greenwich Village at 79 Jane Street. He was caring for his elderly mom during those days, and all along the wall were portraits of all the Charles Spain Verrals, including Charlie. I thought wow, that is a big load to carry if you want to do something different with your life. Getting on a bike and riding all the way to Santa Fe to start a bike shop might seem a little crazy, but it was a brave decision.

I am glad he came to Santa Fe, and I am glad I walked into Rob and Charlie’s. That job was the most fun I’ve ever had at work. Stephen, Josh, Kether, Adam, Phil, Adlai, Jerry, John, Stefano, Sol, Eliot, and, of course, Charlie made it great. I always smile when I think of Charlie and am grateful for the kind and gentle person he was.

Fondly and Sincerely,

Carol Christenson