Leave It Better Than You Found It

Since taking over the shop in 2013, we have taken pride in offering a different bike shopping experience. Offering a better retail experience was our number 1 priority and still is today. Once settling into a rhythm with providing this, we were able to add to our focus and branch out to establish bike advocacy as an additional priority. In 2018, we saw a considerable shift in the attitude toward cycling specifically in the world of mountain biking. Land managers sensed the need to provide riders with more places to ride as long as riders were willing to step up and steward these areas. The tides of trail advocacy began to shift in a positive direction.

At the BICYCLE WORKSHOP, we got behind Palisades MTB (PMTB) and became the driving force with the organization to move the ball forward. Sterling Forest State Park was the first project for which PMTB found traction and immediately the shop dedicated resources to getting trails built. From fundraising to volunteering time to building trails, we helped get the job done and we were pivotal in building the Augusta Mine Trail in a few short months in 2021-2022 and now rebuilding the Redback Trail this summer. These are trails that required a hybrid effort between machine-built and hand-built sections and hand-finish work. What usually takes a full season to build, we did in months due to fundraising to pay for a contractor to bring in a machine and a professional operator to get the job done. In addition, we did this with no injuries that are usually associated with building trails by hand in difficult terrain.

While our jobs, businesses, and homes may come and go and may not be here in 50 years, these trails that we are building will probably be here long after we are. We take pride in knowing this. This is what the WORKSHOP is all about.

If you would like to learn more and get involved, click below to check out PMTB’s website.