Get your Chili on! 7th annual HOMETOWN BICYCLES Chili cookoffWe’re excited to chow down with you at our 7th Annual Chili Cook-Off! Join us on Sunday 11/12 from 5-7 PM for food, fun, and good company.WANT TO ENTER? Want to enter your culinary talents, then register. Just use your name (Not your chili) after all we need to keep the voting ANONYMOUS (Shaun’s chili will be Number 7) Wink, Wink!WANT TO ENJOY? No need to sign up if you’re just coming to eat! Chili will be ready by 5 PM, with voting until 6:30 PM. Come choose your favorite! There is no cost to attend our event, but please consider bringing a donation for our Toys for Tots drive! Toys for Tots: Get Into the Giving Spirit REGISTER HERE
Date: 11/12/2022 (Sat.) Time: 5:00pm – 7:00pm EDT
Listen to the cat.
Last spring we went from having 12 bikes to work on and, in the matter of one week, over 200. Now, I know that our crew is good but it was impossible to get you back on your bike in our normal repair window, OVERNIGHT, we went to over a month for repairs. To be fair, we have made some significant changes to the shop to reduce your wait time. We have added some new crew members, created more efficient service bays even upgrading our point of sale system to make communicating better. NOW IT IS IN YOUR HANDS.The Fall is the best time to get your bike in. Not only would you avoid the spring rush, but waiting longer can get your bike salt covered and can lead to further repair. We are also offering FREE STORAGE ($50 value) if you bring your bike in for a tune-up now.Like we said above……… LISTEN TO THE CAT.!Need room in your garage? We can store your bike for you.BIKE STORAGE If you need to make extra room this fall/winter, we can store your bike for $50.00 for the season.
FREE WINTER STORAGE with Tune-Up! Bring your bike in anytime between now and December 23rd for a tune-up and we will store it at the shop until spring! This means your bike will be all set to roll come those early days of cycling weather in March. No wait, no hassle… just freedom to get out there and ride.We have room to store up to 320 bikes, so take advantage of this opportunity while space permits. For $25, we can even deliver your bicycle to your door this spring!
Want to stay up to date on how we are making cycling safer in Livingston County…………………….. Like our page!Livingston County Non-Motorized Advisory Committee. Promoting and encouraging active mobility in Livingston County via the implementation of Complete Streets and Trails that allow people to safely walk, run, bike or wheel regardless of age or ability
Fitness classes will still be running at the shop: 6 PM: HIIT 7 PM: Pound
Entrepreneurship Event: MARKETING!
Tuesday, December 10 from 6-8:30 PM
Attention all Go-Getters! This one is for you!
Men and women of all ages, join us at Hometown Bicycles for a fun, engaging and informative program aimed at business owners, start-ups, and entrepreneurs who want to enter the new year with a solid marketing plan.
A panel of experts will present information on print marketing, graphic design and how to truly capture the spirit of your business, web/online presence, and general promotion and marketing must-knows! There will be time for a Q&A session following the speakers, plus refreshments, takeaways, and time to chat with like-minded folks in our community.
So that we can fully focus on YOU, we will be closing the shop early for this event.
Our 4th Annual Chili Cookoff was a saucy, spicy, succulent good time!
What a terrific turnout on Saturday 11/9 — thank you all for coming out to join our kickoff fat bike friendly ride, share your fantastic chili recipes with us, provide an inquisitive audience for Guinness World Records contender Bill St. Onge, and for choosing our Chili Cookoff winners!
DRUM ROLL PLEASE…
OVERALL WINNER: Ann & Miles Janicki’s Chili Cornbread Casserole
MILD WINNER: Ann & Miles Janicki’s Chili Cornbread Casserole
MEDIUM WINNER: Gary Kulhanek’s Happy Tongue Gourmet Chili
SPICY WINNER: Mike Dyer’s Dirty Brat Chili
Many thanks to Miles Janicki for capturing some of these fun images!
Save the date for next year’s Chili Cookoff: Saturday, November 14, 2020, one week post-Iceman!
THIS SUNDAY 11/17 at 2 PM
Our Fat Bike Friendly Ride is back for another season of fun. This week, we will be riding the Blue Loop of Island Lake and taking a side adventure into the Badlands. Fat tire or plus tire bikes are highly recommended if you want to play in the Badlands.
Helmets are required, as is a signed 2019 waiver. All skill levels welcome.
Are you REALLY gonna let someone else win? Or are you gonna BRING IT!?
Your chili isn’t going to cook itself, you know…
Welcome to…
Saturday, November 9th from 4-7 PM
We know — and you know — a lot of competitive people. A LOT. On the roads and trails AND in the kitchen. Our event this Saturday combines the best of both worlds!
KICK OFF OUR FAMOUS WINTER FAT BIKE FRIENDLY SHOP RIDE: Team Hometown Co-Captain Mike Dyer is leading this one! Leaving from the shop at 1:30 PM, the posse will ride over to Island Lake and cover the blue loop and the badlands. Yellow loop too, if time permits! Bring your mountain bike or fat bike. Don’t have one? We rent them!
CHILI COOKOFF: Stir up your favorite recipe and drop it off at the shop by 4 PM. People’s Choice judging will begin at 5 PM, and the winners will be announced by 7 PM. We have THREE categories to enter this year: Mild, Medium and Spicy. A winner will be selected from each category PLUS some lucky soul will take on the title of OVERALL BEST CHILI. Our very own Shaun has handcrafted some truly awe-inspiring trophies.
MEET GUINNESS WORLD RECORDS CONTENDER BILL ST. ONGE! Bill will be at the shop with his bike and gear to talk about distance riding, and specifically his upcoming quest to take on the official Guinness World Records title of “Oldest person to circumnavigate the planet by bicycle”.
Bring your curiosity and questions! Check out his blog HERE!
SHARE YOUR HARROWING ICEMAN STORIES! We’ve seen the pics, we’ve serviced some of the surviving bikes, we’ve heard the tales of sinking into inches upon inches of mud… now’s your chance to come talk about it with other cyclists who were there, not to mention everyone who wasn’t there but WANTS to try this epic ride!
Team Hometown Bicycles represented at Iceman in droves.
Congratulations to Scott Simpson (above, top right) for his 4th place single speed podium. Great job, Scott!
Super proud of everyone who conquered this race in whole or in part.
We wish you a scary, happy, spooky, festive, full-of-candy Halloween!
Halloween Hours: 9 AM-5 PM
Welcome November… Here’s what’s cookin’!
Saturday, November 9th from 4-7 PM
The name tells the tale! Celebrate 4 years in our “new” location, swap harrowing Iceman stories, kick off our famous winter fat bike friendly shop ride, and eat and judge chili!
Stir up your favorite recipe and drop it off at the shop by 4 PM. People’s Choice judging will begin at 5 PM, and the winner will be announced by 7 PM. Be sure to bring your garnishes and serving utensils, and your recipe ingredients written on an index card for allergy-conscious diners.
When you sign up, don’t let us know what kind of chili you’re bringing. It needs to be a surprise! We are all about unbiased voting, folks!
PLUS meet Guinness World Records contender, Bill St. Onge, before his round-the-world bike trip!
Bill will be at the shop with his bike and gear to talk about long-riding in general, and specifically his upcoming journey to take on the official Guinness World Records title of “Oldest person to circumnavigate the planet by bicycle”. Bring your curiosity and questions!
Words from Bill: “This coming December, I leave to cycle around the world… that’s “cycle,” as with a pedal-bike. The ride will start and stop in Palm Springs, CA. It will take up to 14 months and cover a total of 34,000 miles across 28 countries. This is a self-supported effort, meaning I’ll travel without the aid of a support team or support vehicle. When finished, I’ll be 71 years old and my knees will probably hurt.”
Hometown Bicycles 