November 1, 2007

Nation's Largest Bike Organization Honors Bicycle Travel Award Winners

Florida bicycle shop takes award for best bike travel shop in U.S.

Missoula, Montana — Adventure Cycling Association, North America's largest cycling membership organization, is pleased to announce that a Florida bicycle shop is the recipient of its 2007 Sam Braxton Bike Shop Award.

“Adventure Cycling's national awards program recognizes the ‘above and beyond’ contributions made by individuals and organizations in America to improve conditions for bicycle travelers,” said outreach and education coordinator Becky Douglas. “These awards are celebrated by the bike industry, cycling groups, local communities – and especially by the many thousands of traveling cyclists who benefit from the selfless actions of these award-winners.”

The 2007 Sam Braxton Bike Shop Award goes to Bicycle Outfitters from Seminole, Florida for their support of the active bicycling lifestyle. The staff at Bicycle Outfitters patiently and proficiently guides customers through the process of gearing up, fitting bikes and choosing routes. As Marci Moore, a member of Adventure Cycling, proclaimed in her nomination, “This shop specializes in getting people on bikes for life. These guys are terrific and they have in a way saved our lives. We are healthier and happier. They change lives everyday by helping people at all levels embrace cycling for a lifetime.” Bicycle Outfitters is committed to getting more people excited about bike travel and goes to incredible lengths to achieve just that.

Bicycle Outfitters, a member of Southwest Florida United Bicycle Dealers (SWFBUD), is a full-service bicycle shop founded in 1988. Bicycle Outfitters offers rides and events, rentals, sales, mechanics services and is a valuable resource for all bicycle questions. They show an incredible dedication to their customers, spending as much time as possible with people in their store, regardless of their level of cycling. They listen well, and help customers make informed choices. They are great mechanics, and not only maintain bikes well, but always take the time to explain basic repairs to interested riders. They help customers prepare for rides of all lengths, including epic multi-thousand-mile rides, and they pay attention to all of the details that bike travel requires, from food suggestions to book recommendations.

“Bicycle Outfitters carries everything we need for long distance riding but more than that, they care that our experience is so great that we want to continue cycling for a lifetime. Their encouragement, their knowledge, their experience and their ability to do whatever it takes to make sure we have what we need when we need it,” said Moore. There are thousands of bicycle shops in America, but Florida is the home state of Adventure Cycling’s 2007 Bike Shop of the Year winner.

The 2007 Pacesetter Bicycle Travel Award goes to Neil Gunton, founder, programmer, webmaster and editor of crazyguyonabike.com. This free, independent website hosts bicycle touring journals, forums and resources and is a world-class resource for bicycle travelers. Neil is one of the mainstays of the bike travel world and we are thrilled to acknowledge and honor his work. The 2007 June Curry Trail Angel Award goes to Toaster House hosts Nita Larronde and Don Kearney, and Pie-O-Neer Café owner Kathy Knapp from the tiny but big-hearted burg of Pie Town, New Mexico. Pie Town is a huge highlight on Adventure Cycling’s Great Divide Mountain Bike Route. The 2007 Volunteer of the Year Award goes to Chuck Harmon from Dublin, Ohio for his outstanding volunteer service to Adventure Cycling Association. He has been instrumental in creating the Underground Railroad Bicycle Route and in helping us forge a partnership with Web Junction, a project to link libraries and the Internet.

Adventure Cycling is always on the look-out for bicycle travel heroes. If you would like to know more about past winners and how to nominate your hero, click on http://www.adventurecycling.org/awards.

Adventure Cycling Association, a 501(c)(3), 43,000-member nonprofit, is America's largest cycling organization. Dedicated to inspiring people of all ages to travel by bicycle, Adventure Cycling’s services include bicycle-route development and mapping, publishing (including Adventure Cyclist magazine and The Cyclist’s Yellow Pages resource directory), and a guided bicycle travel program. Adventure Cycling’s route network in North America comprises 38,158 miles of mapped, on- and off-road bicycle routes. For more information, visit www.adventurecycling.org.