Bike Depot brings cycling education to Findlay Market

Just in time for National Bike Month, a vacant storefront at 124 W Elder Street has been reborn as the Bike Depot. Saturdays at Findlay Market, Queen City Bike will offer classes on bike safety, bike repair, and other information on how people can incorporate cycling into their daily lives.

Jim Coppock of Queen City Bike, and citizens' advocacy committee Bike/PAC, says that opening the space at Findlay Market during Bike Month was no coincidence.

"Last year, Sarai Snyder from Reser Bicycle Outfitters had a tent with information, bike pump, and other stuff at Findlay every Saturday during bike month and said it was the best place to be as far as interested people stopping in," he says.  "I floated the idea about using the storefront."

Coppock hopes that the Bike Depot's presence helps further efforts to make Cincinnati more bicycle-friendly. "The promotion of bike month activities at bike stores, especially Reser Bicycle Outfitters, and Park+Vine store have been part of the formula," he says.  "So, there are certainly bike promotion and education at other locations."

So far, it seems to be working.

"The press coverage, blogging, promotion by Metro and TANK and word of mouth this year is significantly better than in previous years," Coppock says.  "I'm not a PR person, but I'm guessing that you have to plant the seed with about a hundred people for each person that really tries it."

He also says that they're looking into the feasibility of opening a full-service bike shop, but there are no definite plans.

Writer: Kevin LeMaster
Source: Jim Coppock, Queen City Bike and Bike/PAC
Photography by Scott Beseler