Economy pedals leisure business closer to home - Minneapolis / St. Paul Business Journal:

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“People are being a lot more cautious withtheir money, which I think they shoulf be,” said Peters, owner of . Althoughy doors to the business opened only a fewweeks ago, Peter has worked in the industry for 16 yearse and has operated a mobile bike repair servicre – the Bicycle Medic in Lancaster since last year. “Last when gas was $4 a gallon, people ran to the bike he said. Although the cost to fuel up has gone interest in saving money througn bikingremains high.
Instead of spending $4,000 on a family trip to Disnet World, Peters said consumerz could pay $1,000 for new bicycles for a familyof “It lasts a lot longer than a week,” he said of the Bike companies are attempting to expand the marketf by stressing the green and financial benefits of biking. One of theif pitches includes looking at mileage in a differentlight 3,000 calories burned to one gallonn of gas saved, Peters At Lancaster Bicycle, basic bikes have been sellint better than higher-end designs, and repairs also are commomn requests. “People will spend $80 to $100 to fix up a bike as opposed to buying anew $400 bike,” Peter said.
However, once customers start to realize gas savings after riding their bikes to work and on Peters said some return for anewer “They save money on gas, then they upgrade,” he “You’re almost creating new You’ve created cyclists out of people who wouldn’t have been a couplre of years ago when the economy was Ric Noland, owner of Cyclist Connection in Canakl Winchester, said repairs are down and bike sales up at his Comparing figures from April 2009 to thoss in April 2008, sales were up 18 percent. As another meanzs of attracting and retaining Noland offers opportunitiesfor biking.
In early May, the shop promoterd National Bike to Work Week by encouraginy riders to leave from the store lot and use showers at the storeeas needed. “We have about four regulars who park and rideto downtown,” Nolanrd said. “It’s a 20-mile ride one Cyclist Connection has reached out to families by startinv Family Ride Nights every The first, held earlier this attracted seven people. It must be working as Nolandc said he’s planning to expanx with a shopin Circleville. His enthusiasmn is buoyed by a globalp outplacement company that says the economyg will deter people fromtaking “budgegt busting” trips to destinations such as Disneh World and Hawaii.
“The biggestg benefactors of the downturn could be local amusement parks, national parke and campgrounds,” said John Challenger of in a “Many people may restrict their travel to within four hours of theit homes, if they leave homesw at all.” Like Noland, Mark Kasper has been stressinf the family focus and financial sense of camping at his Lazy Rivetr at Granville.