It's official! Kindred Cycles is a real deal brick and mortar bike shop. We made it through all of the countless hours sitting in coffee shops planning (Thanks Commonplace Coffee and Biddle's Escape), demo/construction, and stocking and organizing. It actually came together. There were many nights I laid awake unsure if this was the correct path, fearful I was risking the welfare of my family and my newly pregnant wife on a fool's errand. Truthfully I still don't know if the shop will continue grow and flourish as it is too early to tell but I have a strong sense that we are going to be just fine. I have to say I am incredibly proud of what Katharine and I have been able to accomplish. We could never have done this without the help and support of our great family and friends. To those of you who spent late nights with us here pointing brick or building fixtures, thank you. To those who came and helped build our bikes for sale, thank you. To those who donated tools and resources to the shop, thank you. And to those of you who have already given us your business, thank you.
Warning, I am going to get a little mushy here. A special thanks has to go out to Brianne, my wife. When I thought that this would never come together, when I thought I was being selfish for following my dreams you pushed me forward. You supported me in this venture 100% because you knew it would make me happy. You worked two jobs while I spent all my time with Katharine getting the shop together and you did this all while pregnant. Your faith in me has been unshakable. Your strength makes me stronger. Thank you, I love you.
***Okay, change of pace, it's Katharine here. Swooping in on Aaron's blogging to send a big loving thank you to my parents. Thank you for all of your support, hours of dog sitting, cereal, and allowing me to fill every corner of the house with bikes and bike stuff. I love you and I couldn't have done it without you. Also, I second all the above thank you's to family, friends, neighbors and customers. It has really been an amazing first two weeks. Back to Aaron...***
Storefront filled with stuff and a Bakfiets out front.
Accessories wall.
Where the repairs get done.
There is still more work to be done. We need better signage. And we are continuing to organize the space. It's great to have perspective so below I put up two pictures of the raw space. We are here and were ready to work to make Kindred Cycles the shop we have always wanted. We have had a great start and now the real fun begins. Operating a real bike shop. If you are reading this get your but down here and say hello.
Where we started!
Where we started. The storefront was in rough shape.
Our hours are Tuesday through Friday 10 AM to 7 PM. Saturday and Sunday 11 AM-5PM.