Bike E.R. tunes bikes to aid Caldor Fire victims
New Truckee business raises $1,350 for those impacted by fire
Special to the Tribune
Courtesy of Bike E.R.
Truckee’s newest businesses launched operations last weekend, seeking not profit but to offer aid to those impacted by the Caldor Fire.
Working out of an old ambulance, Bike E.R., which offers mobile bike and ski repairs, opened business on Sunday by giving out free tune-ups as part of a fundraiser for Caldor Fire victims.
“My friend Jenny Geresy owns Grizzly Menswear and it was her idea,” said Jeremy Woodard, owner of Bike E.R. “She asked us if we’d do some free tune-ups — anybody that made a donation, we tuned their bike up for free.”
Woodard said Bike E.R. raised $1,350 during its unofficial Sunday launch, and that the company is looking to do more in the future.
“It was over Labor Day weekend, a lot of people were out of town,” said Woodard. “We were surprised with the turnout, but I definitely think it could be bigger and better on a different weekend.”
Ahead of Sunday’s fundraiser, Woodard said he spent roughly a week racing to get Bike E.R.’s ambulance ready.
“I was really trying to get it dialed in,” said Woodard on the ambulance, which he’s retrofitted to fully service mountain, road and e-bikes. Additionally Bike E.R. has winter sports services for skiers and riders, offering everything from hot waxes to trimming ski skins.
“There’s pretty much nothing we can’t do in the ambulance,” added Woodard.
Bike E.R., along with meeting customers at their homes for services, will operate similar to a food truck, showing up at breweries and other local businesses to offer tune-ups. Woodard said the philosophy behind the company comes from experiences his friends have had at other shops where they’ve often felt intimidated by a lack of knowledge of biking or skiing.
“I’ve always been super disappointed with sort of the pretentious nature of bike shops,” said Woodard. “A lot of my friends that ride bikes, but are not super into the bike scene, always feel uncomfortable going into a bike shop. They feel like there’s a barrier to entry and if you don’t know the lingo they talk down to you sometimes. I’ve always wanted to open my own shop to debunk this pretentious bike attitude.”
For more information on Bike E.R., visit http://www.thebikeer.com.
Justin Scacco is a reporter for the Sierra Sun. Contact him at jscacco@sierrasun.com or 530-550-2643
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