Sati Circle with Dawn Gaden | Hometown Bicycles

Free Bike Fitting Clinic THIS Saturday with Pro-Motion Physical Therapy!

Posted on February 7, 2020 by Shaun

The Hometown Leadership Team is off to CABDA!

CABDA (Chicagoland Area Bicycle Dealers Association) is an association that promotes advocacy, best practices, education, and social events for Independent Bicycle Dealers. The CABDA Expo Midwest will take place on February 12-13 in Chicago and our Hometown Leadership Team will be in attendance, learning about tons of cool bicycle stuff! Those lucky dogs!
Because so many key staff members will be out of town, please be aware that Hometown will be CLOSED from Tuesday, February 11th through Thursday, February 13th, and will re-open at 10 AM on Friday, February 14th.

Our Winter Clinic Series continues!

Come out to the shop to learn the ins and outs of caring for your bicycle at our informative winter clinic series. For all skill levels!

All clinics are held on Saturday mornings in Hometown’s Community Room. There is NO COST to participate. Clinics are one hour unless otherwise specified.

Bike Fitting Basics: Saturday 2/8 from 11 AM – 12:30 PM
Guest speaker, Vinnie Baylerian, PT, DPT of Pro-Motion Physical Therapy, will cover bike fit that maximizes efficiency and minimizes discomfort. Learn about the mechanics of your body, and how it interacts with your bicycle. Vinnie is a certified Level 2 Clinical BikeFit Pro.
Sign up HERE!

Bike Maintenance (After the Ride Care): Saturday 2/15 @11:30 AM
In this second of a two-part clinic, we’ll talk about how to care for your bicycle AFTER you come back from your ride. We’ll show you what you need and how to use it.
Sign up HERE!

Flat Tire Fix: Saturday 2/22 @11:30 AM
This clinic covers everyone’s favorite — flat tire fixes! Bring along your wheel for some hands-on practice, or use one of ours.
Sign up HERE!

Emergency Bicycle Repairs: Saturday 2/22 @11:30 AM
This clinic is hands-on! We’ll cover quick, on-the-go bike fixes to help you avoid a long walk home.
Sign up HERE!

Where to Ride in Michigan Potluck: Saturday 3/14 from 5:30-7:30 PM
Details coming SOON!

Saturday, February 29 from 6-8 PM

Hometown’s “Winter Sucks” Soup Competition

Who’s fed up with winter? Show of hands! WE ARE! If you’re not fed up, there’s something wrong with you, and you need soup even more than the rest of us!

Whip up your favorite batch of warm-our-bellies soup and come chow down at Hometown Bicycles as we vote on THE most delicious soup in town.

Read all about it and sign up HERE!

Meet our new Ride Coordinator: Neal Glazebrook (Part One)!

Tell us about your role as Ride Coordinator. What are some of your goals for this year?
I am excited to take on this role. Last year, I was asking many questions about rides and events, and sweeping and leading rides even in my first year on Team Hometown. With this role, I now have the direction to act on improvements and adjustments to the Team and processes. I am heavily involved in our community and am looking forward to having the Team as partner in helping our community be a safe place to bike and recreate in.

I want to build our Team and promote our rides and events in new ways. I am, with my operational and marketing backgrounds, going to bring some efficiencies and benefits, and get us set up for a successful path to the future of the Team and Hometown as a whole. I want us to have our old school Hometown feel, have a great inclusive environment, make great friendships, see our Team up on more podiums and in the news. I will work with each one of you to make that happen.

Where is your favorite place to ride? And do you have a favorite ride/race in Michigan?
My love is mountain biking, although I will rock out some gravel frequently and touch the tarmac a few times a year. With that in mind, I would have to say my favorite local place to ride right now is Highland Rec. Following “Mudman 2019”, Iceman is my favorite race. I have never had that much fun on a bike!

How did you first get involved with Hometown? What made it feel like a good fit for you?
My first interaction was at the Doc May ride in 2016. It was my first ever ride with a group of people and what got me to start to dive deeper into group events. I enjoyed that ride, my interactions with the Team Hometown members on the ride, and with Shaun at the bike corral that day.

I first officially met Shaun and Dawn when I applied for a Service Manager position at Hometown. I was impressed with their shop, but things did not work out for me to take the position. Over the years, we talked off and on about opportunities and they always nudged me to come ride with the shop and join the Team.

I really saw the value of the Team and the community environment they created in 2018 when I participated in Tour de Livingston for my second year. I restored a 1968 Sears & Roebuck 10-speed to ride my first ever century in loving memory of my dogs Milo and Monte who had passed away just a few short months before. Monte’s passing was the first sign that Hometown was the place for me. Out of the blue, a package showed up from Hometown. Dawn and the team had sent us a Christmas ornament that had Monte’s name with a rainbow bridge on the other side. My wife and I were beside ourselves; the compassion shown by Hometown blew us away…

… to be continued in Part Two in our next e-newsletter…

Coffee or tea?
I drink TONS of coffee… tons.**

**He’ll fit right in, folks.

Team News!

On January 20th, Paul Wrona(below left) and Cooper Coatsworth(below right) attended the 2020 Tour deTroit MLK Memorial Ride in Detroit. Approximately 50 riders gathered at the McGregor Memorial Conference Center on the campus of Wayne State University to honor Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and his legacy.

The ride was a nine-mile loop that included sights of some of Detroit’s historic churches and buildings, the remnants of Joe Louis Arena, Cobo Hall (TCF Center), the amazing waterfront park, warehouse district, and the Dequindre Cut trail.

Great job representin’ Hometown, guys!