Tour de Palm Springs brings business to local bicycle shops
Organizers are bracing for as many as 10,000 cyclists to ride in the 16th annual Tour de Palm Springs on Saturday, Feb. 8.
With so many cyclists about to hit our valley streets, it’s good news for local bike shops that are seeing a spike in business.
At Joel’s Bicycle shop in Thousand Palms, head mechanic Kevin Johnson says they normally see about a 10 percent bump in sales leading up to the Tour de Palm Springs. He says they can’t keep up with the amount of people who want to get their bikes serviced before the ride.
It’s the same story at Palm Desert Cyclery, where owner Christopher Cross, who also owns Palm Springs Cyclery, says the demand for bicycle repairs and tuneups has been overwhelming.
“(We’re) booked out about two or three weeks this time of year, so it definitely pushes us out further. And so if you don’t have an appointment, you might have trouble getting your bike tuned up this time of year in a bike shop,” said Cross.
The good news for cyclists: if they have mechanical problems during the tour there will be support and gear stops along the various routes manned by mechanics that can take care of flat tires and other minor issues.
