Cannondale bikes 0
Bike sales see spike as gas prices rise
Last July, 63-year-old Adam Sacks of Lexington sold his 1995 Subaru Legacy sedan and started riding around a 15-year-old bike.
Now semi-retired, Sacks used to work full-time for his non-profit Center for Democracy and the Constitution, which advocates for solutions to global warming.
“I have to walk the walk,” said Sacks, who has since bought a new 28-speed Bianchi from Quad Cycles at 1346 Mass. Ave. in Arlington.
With governments and other groups around the world searching for ways to cut back on carbon emissions, Arlington’s bike shops have cashed in on commuters’ desire to ditch their cars for a bike.
When he bought The Bike Stop at 43 Dudley St. in November 2006, Russell Lebel had no idea how well he had timed the market.
But the national average for a gallon of gas has gone up about $1.70 in that time, according to the Energy Information Administration.
“We’re about three times busier than we were last year at this time,” Lebel said. “Gas prices have obviously contributed.”
Quad Cycles owner Rustem Gode has also reveled in the movement from gas-powered to pedal-powered transportation.
“It’s been nice,” said Gode, who has seen an increase in new bike sales and in repairs.
These days, instead of driving everywhere, Sacks bikes to wherever he needs to go, or occasionally takes public transportation.
sacks said he has biked about 3,400 miles since selling his auto.
“I lost 25 pounds since I started cycling, and I can eat as much as I want,” Sacks said.
Meanwhile, Sacks has saved the money that would have gone toward gas, or repair bills, and with his limited income, that makes a difference, he said.
“A car was a big and unnecessary chunk out of that,” Sacks said. “Once you stop driving, you realize what an absurd activity it is.”
Sacks has also been more careful about planning his trips, making sure he has enough time, and avoiding bad weather.
And Sacks sees his current job as an apprenticeship and his workplace as a clubhouse for other cyclists to watch the Tour de France or socialize.
Gode grew up in Adana, Turkey, a flat plain with mountains in the distance, he said.
His father gave him his first bike when he was four years old, and he went on to become the chief mechanic for the Turkish National Team in the 1970s before opening up his Arlington Heights shop in 2000.
In addition to doing business with retail customers, Quad Cycles established a contract with Harvard University to sell the school bikes for its departmental Bike Program. The program allows university departments to purchase Breezer bicycles for staff to get around the campuses, and for every bike purchased, the program pays for accessories, such as a lock and helmet, Locke said.
Breezer bikes have big peddles, fenders to keep water from splashing up, and a frame that would allow the rider to wear a long skirt.
“they are designed on the side of commuting,” said sacks.
Other bikes in the store have thinner wheels and bigger price tags.
At The Bike Stop, Lebel said he wants to cater to the casual biker, and those who like vintage models.
Wedged in between the Minuteman Bikeway and Dudley Street, The Bike Stop has a colorful graffiti mural on its outside wall and bikes covering the interior.
A 1976 bicentennial Huffy, with white stars and red and blue stripes hangs above the cash register, and another bike, dating back to 1924 hangs from another part of the store.
“We like old school bikes,” said Lebel, who is also a woodworker, making custom cabinets with his father in Peabody.
Lebel started out as a BMX racer and now he builds and sells custom bikes.
Around 95 percent of Lebel’s business comes from his entrance onto the back path; people will stop by with flat tires or other problems they run into while out for a ride, he said.
And the boom Lebel experienced so far this year has made doing business slightly more complicated, as the Cannondale Sports Group, who he buys bikes from, has almost sold out of its 2008 models, he said.
“They’re waiting for a big shipment to come in of 2009 bikes,” Lebel said. “It’s been a booming year, to say the least.”
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bappaditya paulsiliguri, june 19: a yoke of the union non-military aviation ministry from untrodden delhi today failed to visit sikkim to inspect the extend of the upcoming gangtok airport justified to the interminable blockade of the national highway 31a by the gjmm agitating over a separate gorkhaland state in darjeeling, the gjmm has brought the sikkim lifeline to a halt since 16 june evening through its blockade of the highway.the three-fellow union civil aviation the cloth team, headed by the departmental secretary mr ashok chawla, landed at the bagdogra airport next-door siliguri at 12:15 pm today. the other two members in the troupe included, the airports authority of india member operations mr praveen seth and the president director (engineering-leading headquarters) mr raheja.they were scheduled to drop in on sikkim by highway and take stock of the progress of the sikkim’s from the start airport project coming up at pakyong, 31 kms high gangtok. the team was also supposed to hold a meeting with the sikkim chief secretary in gangtok, before leaving the mountain state tomorrow.”but payable to the closure of the nh 31a, they dropped the sikkim trip and port side for guwahati at 12:45 pm. from guwahati, the team would go to meghalaya to inspect the programme work of the upcoming airport at the capital town shillong,” in touch mr kk bhowmick, airport director, bagdogra. the civil aviation team’s visit was related to the unshackle of further central funds.the oldest civilian airport project of sikkim, the foundation stone of which was laid by the ancient vice president, late mr krishan kant on 6 april 2002, is already lagging behind schedule. according to mr buddhi rai, pro, sikkim supervision in siliguri, the upcoming gangtok airport with a proposed 1600 metre runway and a 106 x 76 metre apron would accommodate two 50-seater atr aircrafts at a regulate. sikkim has a helipad at gangtok, wherefrom a regime of india subsidised helicopter rite to bagdogra is run.http://www.thestatesman.net/page.news.php?clid=10&theme=&usrsess=1&id=209095
