Bike Shops Positioning to Stay Open as Essential as Other Retail Closes

In Boulder, University Bicycle general manager Lester Binegar and Russ Chandler, owner of Full Cycle both sent letters to the Boulder City Council urging that they be allowed to remain open should most all retail operations be ordered to close.

The letter (below) emphasizes bike shops as essential, as bikes are a needed mode of transportation and as a necessary form of exercise that can be practiced safely. Both shops, and many others, are implementing rules for safe customer contact and handling customer bikes in need of service.

Wheat Ridge Cyclery just sent a notice out suggesting customers who need service might even be able to have their bikes delivered to them when they are fixed. Their annual spring sale is now only being offered only on their website.

As more and more mandates are made to limit public gatherings where will lines be drawn as essential versus non-essential businesses? Feel free to share this letter with your favorite shop.

Boulder City Council:

We know you are faced with many tough decisions right now. We hope that if you need to follow suit with larger cities and close down consumer access and interaction to a few critical services, you consider letting bike shops stay open if they so choose.

University Bicycles and Full Cycle have already put in restrictions to allow access to people who need to get or keep their bikes running. Such as limiting five or six people into the store at a time. Here’s an example.

We’re seeing explosions of bike use in big cities as an alternative to public transportation. Here in Boulder, the additional benefit will be about family time outdoors, safe, healthy, solo exercise, and a great escape from home and the media.

We don’t expect the shops to be selling many bikes. We’re all expecting a spike in demand for service and repair work. The focus is on making products and services available to keep people’s current bikes running. 

Boulder by all accounts leads the nation as a city that makes biking convenient and accessible. Of course there’s risk to both the shops and customers. Let’s let the shops and the customers make their own decisions by letting the shops stay open. 

Recent Articles

Comments

0 Comments

SUBSCRIBE TO OUR WEEKLY EMAIL
LET’S STAY CONNECTED!
303 SEARCH
WATCH NOW – 303TV

Random Posts You might like

Pin It on Pinterest