By By KATHIE HEMPEL / Niles Daily Star
NILES – Warm weather and bike rides go together like ice cream and hot fudge.
Niles residents are fortunate. To find the perfect bike or an organized ride, they take a stroll down Main Street and peddle away.
Chris Pawielski, co-owner of Cycle and Fitness at 211 E. Main St. provides ample choice of bicycles to suit every age and every level rider. From the jogging carts for Mom's eager to get back into top shape after delivery to bikes for the professional long distance or mountain bike enthusiast, Pawielski can fill your need.
"We carry three main lines of bikes. 'Specialized' accounts for the majority of our sales with everything from kid's models to comfort cruisers and racing models. Haro is a supplier of BMX and mountain bikes. Electra has wonderful cruiser-type bikes with comfortable saddles," Pawielski said.
The service department at Cycle and Fitness exists to service all makes and models of bikes, not just those the store has sold. However, there is a special service advantage to those who purchase their bike at the store.
"We include a full year of maintenance with every bike we sell. That way we make sure that our customers can be sure to get all those little adjustments, needed as the bike is breaking in, are done," Pawielski said.
Cycle and Fitness's accessory line seems limitless as customers peruse the walls, filled with all sorts of items to make a biker's ride more safe and comfortable. Included are: cycling specific shoes, bike racks for car and home, tow-behind strollers for infants and toddlers, baskets, horns, lights and any number of other replacements parts.
"We carry a wide line of replacement comfortable saddles for the casual rider. We sell helmets and fit them not only to the rider but the bike, as well," Pawielski said.
The store has its own website where enthusiastic riders can meet and plan rides. Two evenings a week there are regular rides planned by Pawielski.
"On Tuesdays we have our mountain bike ride that begin at a variety of locations. We post the starting point on the website and others can use the forum to suggest rides. Each Thursday we have our adult bike ride that begins from the shop at 6:30 p.m. We post the expected pace and type of ride so those planning to participate will know if it will be a fast ride or for those who enjoy a more leisurely pace," he said.
Similar rides happen at the Cycle and Fitness location in Saint Joseph, where Pawielski worked prior to opening the Niles location with partner Mike Jones, his former boss. He hopes that rides here will grow to be known as well and experience the same growth.
"Once that growth happens we can divide the rides for both the fast and more leisurely ride participants," he said.
Pawielski and sales and service man Larry Lentz are dedicated to making bicycling more accessible and enjoyable for families and individuals. Those interested in participating in the forums are invited to visit www.cycleandfitness.net.
Currently, hours for the store are Tuesday to Friday 10 a.m. to six p.m. and Saturday from 10 a.m. to four p.m. The store is closed Sunday and Monday.
Pawielski is very much a community oriented business owner. Early this spring he was largely responsible for getting the new bike racks placed in the downtown area.
Wanting to have a stand in front of Cycle and Fitness for his customers, he approached the city council about the idea. The council thought it merited them adding three more to the downtown area.
Pawielski then not only placed the one in front of his shop at his own expense, but sold the other racks to the city at his cost and assembled them at no charge.
A member of the local Chamber of Commerce, Cycle and Fitness will be celebrating their grand opening this Thursday at 11 a.m. For more information readers are invited to visit, www.nilesmi.com.