Michael Shipp, owner of Norfolk’s East Coast Bicycles shop, died doing what he loved: Biking

When Michael Shipp picked up a hobby or interest, he went all in.

And at the top of his list, according to longtime friends and co-workers, was biking.

On Thursday, Shipp died while doing what he enjoyed most — going for a ride on a beautiful day. The owner of the East Coast Bicycles shop on Norfolk’s Colley Avenue was killed after being struck by a pickup on a highway in South Carolina, according to the state’s Highway Patrol. He’d just turned 53 on Valentine’s Day.

The accident happened shortly before 2 p.m. on U.S. 521 near the town of Manning, Lance Cpl. Tyler Tidwell said. Shipp and the driver of a 1992 Chevrolet S-10 were traveling south when the truck hit Shipp’s bicycle from behind. Shipp was pronounced dead at the scene, and the truck driver was injured. The incident is under investigation and no charges had been filed as of Friday, Tidwell said.

Shipp was a lifelong Norfolk resident and graduate of Granby High School. His first job was working at Colley Avenue Bike Shop as a teenager, selling BMX bikes and skateboards, said Kyle Lippiatt, manager of East Coast Bicycles and a close friend. He worked at Colley and for another local shop before opening his own in 1998.

Shipp was on his way to an annual weeklong ride in Florida that he’d participated in for nearly 20 years, said Lippiatt, who planned to join him in a couple days.

Shipp began the drive Wednesday and spent the night in North Carolina, Lippiatt said. He stopped Thursday in South Carolina and decided to get a ride in before heading to Florida.

“It was a nice day and he had planned on just pulling off somewhere and going for a quick ride,” Lippiatt said.

Shipp’s wife, Iesha, was alerted that something had happened by Michael’s Apple Watch and confirmed it through local authorities, Lippiatt said.

On Friday, Shipp’s longtime co-workers and friends gathered at the shop to remember a man they said was well-known and loved by all in the local biking community. A gold Trek Y-Foil bike, a favorite of his, was hoisted on a wall behind the cash register with a bouquet of white flowers near the pedals.

A post on the shop’s Facebook page let customers and friends know it was OK to visit.

“We are OPEN today,” the post read. “Mike would say ‘Why are you closing? Might miss someone who wants to get a bike!’”

Those who gathered Friday described Shipp as someone who was always upbeat and positive, and passionate about everything in which he was interested and involved. The Star Wars movie franchise was among his favorites — but only the ones filmmaker George Lucas was involved in, his friends were quick to point out. “He was totally loyal to Lucas,” Lippiatt said.

Liz Schleeper — advocacy director for Bike Norfolk, a nonprofit that seeks to improve biking in the city — had known Shipp for more than 30 years and was among those who stopped. She met him when he sold her one of his old mountain bikes.

“His sheer love of life and enthusiasm for everything he did was just incredible,” Schleeper said. “He spent his whole life in this industry and he connected with everybody who was a part of the community.”

Shipp served on Bike Norfolk’s board for years and helped sponsor many of its events, she said. He often worked to assist those in need get a bicycle and gave out free bike lights to keep riders safe at night.

“We always wanted to make sure every bike had a home,” Schleeper said. “We didn’t want them to be sitting around unused.”

Safety was especially important to Shipp, said Melissa Seek, a former shop employee. East Coast Bicycles hosts bike rides through Norfolk each week, and Shipp always conducted a safety briefing before riders set off, telling them to stop at all red lights and stop signs and to call out potholes when you see them, she said.

“Safety was a top priority for him,” Seek said.

Providing excellent customer service was another, friends said.

“We could get 200 great reviews and if we got one bad one he’d obsess over it,” Lippiatt said. “He’d do everything that he could to make it right.”

And no matter how big or small the sale was, Shipp made the customer feel special, Lippiatt said.

“Whether you were buying a $10,000 bike, or a $400 or $500 bike, he treated you with the same level of excitement,” Lippiatt said.

In addition to his wife, Shipp is survived by the couple’s two adult children: daughter Arianna and son Elijah.

Jane Harper, jane.harper@pilotonline.com