Bike Shops: Cycle Path Bike Shop

WHY WE LOVE IT: In the early '80s, Maxine Rantane, now 60, was burned out on her hometown of Washington, DC. So the avid cyclist, following a friend's tip, moved to pastoral Athens, Ohio, home to Ohio University and the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains. She was drawn by the town's liberal outlook—and its lengthy cycling season. "It never gets too hot or too cold, so you can ride all year," says Rantane, who opened her shop in 1983 and now sells Surly, Felt and Giant bikes to mountain bikers and the fixie-riding students who bump down the brick streets. Now Cycle Path is almost as much an institution as the 205-year-old college.

NO COP—OR CLUB—LEFT BEHIND: Cycle Path helps local law enforcement officers with special-order equipment and bike-care workshops, Rantane says. This ensures that policemen—including a half-dozen university patrolmen who carry as much as 40 pounds of gear—can cruise the streets and paths in all conditions.

"We want to help them switch from cars to patrolling on bike," says Rantane. For civilians, Cycle Path's most common repairs involve fixing flats and truing wheels—"the cobblestone streets are unforgiving," she says. Business slows during summer; in the fall, under-grads flock to Cycle Path for racks, locks and tune-ups. Any member of the university road, triathlon or mountain bike clubs receives a shop discount.

MAP IT: "We're not just a store—we're an information center," says Rantane, who in addition to working in the shop serves on Athens's bike-path advisory committee, helping keep commuter, mountain and trail maps current. That's why her sunny brick shop, with its wide, scuffed floorboards (and vintage artifacts such as analog odometers) serves as a clubhouse; local riders pop in for advice on everything from touring trips to local road conditions. "We just love biking and project that energy," says Rantane. "I guess that sounds a little hippie, but in this town, that's just fine."

Look It Up

Cycle Path Bike Shop 104 West Union St. Athens, Ohio 45701 athenscyclepath.com