Bike Shops See Increase in Cyclists During Pandemic

DULUTH, Minn.– As the pandemic goes on, people are continuing to find different ways to get some fresh air. Leading biking to be as popular as it’s ever been in the Northland.

“Driving around town I’m seeing more and more people out and about and on their bikes,” said Steve Meyer, Owner of Stewart’s Bike Shop in West Duluth.

Stewart’s Bike Shop has kept busy over the last couple months.

Meyer says that his shop has been the busiest he’s ever seen. A big reason why has been people trying to find different ways to get outside during the pandemic.

While the COVID-19 related issues have prevented getting additional bikes and parts in the store. That hasn’t stopped the service shop, which has been busy with avid and casual cyclists.

“A lot of mountain biking because we have so many trails,” said Meyer. “We are also seeing a lot of different road bikes and whatnot in for service that maybe haven’t been serviced in quite some time.”

Amy Demmer is one of those cyclists. She bikes to and from work by herself and enjoys riding trails with her family.

Demmer says there’s definitely been in increase of bikers on the trails. With the higher amount of people, everyone can still safely ride because of all the places to bike in the area.

“I think that it’s really important in the city of Duluth to have multiple ways to get around,” said Demmer. “We have a lot of roads that are just for cars. I’ve been super impressed with [the city of Duluth] closing down the roads and having additional space for pedestrians and bicyclists to use the streets.”

Meyer is encouraging people to bring in their bikes to the service shop if needed so they can get out and ride. The bike shop says their service shop is first come first serve and it should take three to five days for repairs to be completed.