The Bike Barn

Biking back to basics
Owners of new Culver business hope to enhance community through cycling

By Jeff Kenney
Citizen editor

Riders taking part last week in Culver’s annual Tour de Max bike ride – and area residents in general - - undoubtedly noticed a new business in town, one whose doors opened the same day as the Tour.

That’s no coincidence; nor is it coincidence that Culver’s newest business, The Bike Barn, was one of this year’s sponsors of the long-running Tri Kappa event. It’s all part of Don Baker’s and his wife, Janet Halling’s, vision of encouraging cycling as a viable mode of transportation around Culver and Lake Maxinkuckee.

“People in a rural setting (like ours) can’t survive without a car,” notes Baker, “but we can run to the store, the post office, the beach, or to school on a bike. Just because we’re a mobile, automotive society doesn’t mean we can’t do that.”

Cycling, he adds, can have an important role to play in tough economic times like these. “People are looking to get back to basics and maybe they’re not going on family vacations to far off destinations

but want to have fun close to home. Biking is affordable to get involved in. A lot of folks already have bikes, and there’s no reason they can’t enjoy them.”

Baker stresses he and his wife came to cycling as casual riders, so customers need not fear they’ll be bombarded with pressure to buy an expensive, high-end bicycle or be made to feel idiotic if they don’t know how to maintain their bike. “We want to be the opposite of the stereotype of the bike shop where somebody chuckles and says, ‘You need to get a new bike!’ If you have an old bike in your garage that needs fixed up, we want to help you do that.

“If our customers aren’t enjoying themselves and their bikes and smiling, we haven’t done our job…we don’t want them to have reasons to go out of town or to a discount store (to buy a bike).”

Some of Don Baker’s early bicycling experiences were on the streets of Culver, where his roots run deep. His grandfather JC Beck moved here in the 1930s and built a house on west side of town. His mother, Janet Baker and uncles Tim and Terry Beck grew up in Culver.

Though Don’s early years were spent in Terre Haute, Indiana, he and his mother moved back to Culver when Don was in the fifth grade; he stayed here until his graduation from Culver Community High School in 1987. He and Janet met at Purdue before moving to northwest Indiana and eventually Chicago. Don may be remembered by many in the area for his musical talents, and indeed his playing in various bands throughout high school continued on into his Chicago move in 1997, where he stayed involved in music.

Visiting relatives in Culver a few years back led Don and Janet to realize how much they enjoyed being here and its potential as a place to raise a family, says Don. Their son Graham was born a year ago in April. Baby and mom live in Culver throughout the week, while Don continues to work in Chicago during the week, returning to Culver on weekends, which is when the Bike Barn will be open.

“We’re hoping the Bike Barn is something that will not only be a good addition to the area,” Don Baker explains, “but also something that will bring Dad to Culver full-time, to reunite our family. One of the broader missions in this is a new career and direction (for me).”

Baker also praises his wife’s hard work in getting the Bike Barn rolling. “She’s been indispensable in a lot of details I wouldn’t be able to take care of, given the distance (from Chicago to Culver).”

It was riding in the MS150 annual cycling event and multiple sclerosis fundraiser, in connection with the Chicago consulting firm for which Baker works, which propelled he and Halling into a new enjoyment of cycling.

“As an adult I realized (cycling) is great in terms of activity and spending time together,” he recalls. “We’re definitely on the casual side of it. A lot of people haven’t been on a bike in a while, but there’s no reason they can’t experience that joy. A lot of people have bikes that work fine in their garages that might need some TLC or service, or maybe a tube patched or something like that. We want to encourage people to enjoy cycling at whatever level they’re comfortable.”

Besides offering service and repair of bicycles, the Bike Barn, Baker says, will offer new bikes as well as a small selection of completely rebuilt vintage bicycles. The shop is an authorized dealer of Fuji bikes, which Baker points out is one of the world’s oldest cycling companies, in operation since 1899. The store will carry everything from entry level cruising bikes, to mountain and hybrid bikes, with products geared toward entry level and intermediate riders as well as high-end cycling enthusiasts.

Additionally, visitors will find a full line of bike parts at the Barn: tires and tubes “of just about every size,” and accessories like helmets, kickstands, grips, baskets, racks, bells, and horns. Baby seats and child seats will be available with plans to carry child bike trailers as well as helmets for toddlers through adults. “We decided not to carry bike locks,” Baker adds with a chuckle, “since this is Culver. But we can order those for you!”

‘Baker says the shop wasn’t originally planning to feature bike rentals, but “almost everyone we talked to has asked us about rentals.” As a result, a number of bicycles are available for rent.

And word of mouth has been building buzz about the store locally amongst casual riders as well as serious bicycling enthusiasts. “People who really like bikes are coming out of the woodwork and telling us how excited they are not to have to drive out of town or to a discount store or go to the internet,” says Baker.

He and Janet are not alone, then, in hopes the store’s existence can open a number of options related to cycling in Culver, from the potential for classes and instruction, to the possibility of special group rides, be they oriented towards families, children, “hard-core” cyclists, or historical rides and the like. The couple feels Culver is an especially advantageous spot for cycling, with the beautiful ride around Lake Maxinkuckee and Marshall County and Plymouth’s “underutilized” cycling routes, of which Baker praises and whose use he hopes to encourage.

If it isn’t clear so far, the owners of the Bike Barn intend to be a small-town, community-oriented store. “If it’s a matter of taking extra time to offer the service, we’re willing to do it,” Baker notes. “It’s a matter of listening to the customer and finding out what their need is.”

The Bike Barn is located at the corner of Main Street and Lake Shore Drive, and is open Saturdays from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Sundays from noon to 4 p.m. The store can be reached at 574-842-3606 and is online at www. bikebarnculver. com