Renewables & Environment - Smithville, Missouri, United States
Let's Ride Bicycles has been serving the Kansas City northland cycling community since 2016 as the bicycling division of Motorcycle Closeouts, which was established in 2002 by Rusty Beck. To understand how a bicycle shop ended up inside a motorcycle apparel store, we'll have to go back about 40 years.As a kid, I really loved things with wheels, namely bicycles, motorcycles, cars and trucks. When I was barely a teen ager I started buying wrecked bicycles, repairing them, keeping the coolest ones for myself and selling the rest. At times I had 20 to 30 bicycles in various states of repair in my parents' basement. Before long, people I didn't even know were knocking on the door looking to buy a used bike and my first business was born.I used the profits from the bicycle business to buy my first motocross bike when I was 16. And thus began my long history of motorcycling. Motorcycles didn't replace bicycles in my life, I really enjoyed both. I spent countless hours riding BMX bikes and dirt bikes (don't tell anyone) in the woods along the Blue River which is now home to some of the best mountain biking trails in Kansas City. I bet I crossed the train bridge on 118th Street several thousand times on my way back to the river to ride or fish.Fast forward about 20 years to an adventure motorcycle ride in Arkansas with my riding buddy Randy, where we decided it would be a great idea to launch a web site focused on selling closeout motorcycle riding apparel. Within a few months I had the web site up and running and opened a retail store on North Oak, near Barry Road. Things were going well and we were outgrowing our space, so in 2009 I relocated the business to a larger building in Smithville with a side benefit of being closer to home and my kids' school.Motorcycle Closeouts had been sponsoring a BMX team for several years, which had me thinking about bicycles more and more. So, in 2016 when the opportunity to become a Giant bicycle dealer arose, I jumped at the chance. The following summer Trek was looking to expand their presence in the northland enabling us to add Trek bicycles and Bontrager accessories to our lineup.I feel truly blessed to be so involved with two of my favorite activities: motorcycling and bicycling. So, while it may be unusual to have a motorcycle apparel store and a bicycle shop under one roof, I think you'll find motorcyclists and bicyclists have a lot in common. We all love adventures in the great outdoors, look forward to the challenge of travelling on two wheels, and enjoy doing things a little differently than the masses. Stop in and say "Hello" and you'll know what I mean. -Rusty
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