In the past 30 days, 30 local bike shops closed their doors in the US. One such shop is our neighbor, Passion Trail in Belmont. This isn’t one less competitor; rather, this is one fewer place making cycling convenient and fun for local residents. We’ll soon be losing another, Calmar in Santa Clara. Both great shops, and both closing their doors because climbing rents, the high cost of living here and reduced support from suppliers made it impossible to continue.

We’re proud of the fact that we’ve been your local bike shop for 37 years, and that the next generation of my family plans to carry on the tradition. Our goal will always be the same- to make sure a bike you get from us is never one more thing in the garage that seemed like a good idea at the time, but rather something you can’t walk past without wanting to get out on a ride! That’s served us well in the past, and we hope it continues to in the years ahead. And my very best wishes for the adventures ahead for those who have left this business.

I’m sure they’re going to be telling me how great it is to have more time to ride, how nice it is not to be working 70 hours/week, and that their hair is growing back. I’ll be envious but also a bit skeptical (at least the part about the hair growing back anyway). I’ll bet they’re going to be missing their customers more than they admit. Given a better environment for the small local business, I’ll bet they’d still be around, still keeping cyclists on their bikes, still making sure, like us, that people discover that life does, indeed, go by at just the right speed on a bike. –Mike Jacoubowsky, Partner, Chain Reaction Bicycles