would be Mr. Leslie W. Wilson.

He has diagnosed thousands of cycle problems -- from simple tyre punctures to more complex engine malfunctions -- in the course of 33 years as one of Bermuda's best cycle mechanics.

Mr. Wilson, along with his wife Mrs. Mabel Wilson, son Mr. Leslie Wilson Jr.

and daughter Ms Wendy Wilson operate the Leslie W. Wilson Cycle Shop on Union Street.

"I can still remember my first bicyle,'' Mr. Wilson says as he strokes his moustache while looking off into the distance. "I was in my early teens and going to the Berkeley. I got all these old parts from my family and friends and put it together.'' From putting cycles together, Mr. Wilson graduated to simple repairs at his first job at Robinson's Cycles on Court Street.

"Before 1945 there were no motorcycles or cars,'' he said. "But after that adults stopped using bikes. In the last ten years with the fitness craze bicycles have come back in.

"During the 1970s, the Cyrus moped was the most popular cycle. We used to act as a sub-agent for the distributors who were in Flatts at that time.

"We carried the parts and youngsters would come in looking for parts. I used to tease my wife about it because she would often have to tell the kids what parts they really needed. She was like a doctor without a licence.'' Not bad for a person who confesses to not knowing anything about bikes before she came to work in the business.

When Mrs. Wilson started out with her husband at their first shop on St.

John's Road in 1960, she worked as a receptionist. Later he was joined by his son and daughter. His other three daughters used to help out with the business but are now pursuing their own careers.

After buying the building on Union Street around 1973, Mr. Wilson has made a few changes to its structure, but the most striking changes have occurred in the types of cycles and accessories sold.

"We dropped the floor down a level to make room for the cycle display but the building is basically how we found it,'' Mr. Wilson says.

"The cycles have changed remarkably though. From a manufacturer's viewpoint they are much simpler than bikes made in the 1940s and 1950s. Bikes now can be adapted without too much hassle, even though they carry more gears than the standard three speed Sturmey Archer of my day.

"With everybody into fitness that's just as well, because the average riders want to get their excercise without breaking their backs.

"The multiple gears make today's cycle more terrain ready, so the cyclist can match the gears to the terrain without too much bother.'' Mr. Leslie Wilson, his wife Mabel, daughter Wendy and son Leslie Jr.