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Passion For Pedaling Drives Shop Owner

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By GEOFF FOX, The Tampa Tribune

Published: October 3, 2007

LAND O' LAKES - People who think riding a bicycle to work would be little more than a dangerous way to compromise their personal hygiene have never met Geoff Lanier.

The co-owner of Suncoast Trailside Bicycles burns calories, saves money on gas and indulges his passion for pedaling as often as possible by riding roughly 12 miles to the shop in the SuperTarget shopping center off State Road 54, across from the popular Suncoast Trail.

When Lanier gets to his new job, he does what anyone interested in working with the public after biking 12 miles should do: He washes up.

Out back.

With a garden hose.

'People say there's no way they could commute to work' on a bike, Lanier said. 'There's always a way.'

While working on a tire at the shop, he quickly added that he keeps his shorts on while washing outside.

Lanier owns the store and repair shop with David Luppino, who also owns Carrollwood Bicycle Emporium on Dale Mabry Highway and Oliver's Cycle Sports in Tampa Palms. Suncoast Trailside Bicycles opened about three weeks ago.

Tonight, the store is hosting a ladies' night starting at 6:30.

Sponsored by Trek bicycles, the event will include information about comfort, repairs and maintenance.

A Trek representative will be there to answer questions.

The 1,300-square-foot store features an assortment of bicycle brands, including Trek, Gary Fisher and Lemond Racing Cycles, and an array of products such as water bottles, bottle holders, seats, helmets, locks, child trailers, baby seats, socks and tiny computerized gadgets.

'The computers can track your average speed, maximum speed, distance, time,' Lanier said. 'Some of them have a heart-rate monitor. Some have GPS.'

He paused and looked around the store.

'We have any kind of accessory you can think of,' he said.

Lure Of The Suncoast Trail

Luppino said he long thought property across from the Suncoast Trail, immediately west of the Suncoast Parkway, would be a prime location for a bike store.

'It was because of the trail and there's not much out that way in Pasco, toward Trinity,' he said. 'But the area's growing and so will the shop, hopefully. You've got about 42 miles of trail and parking and all the growth. Those four corners at S.R. 54 and the parkway are going to be huge.'

There already is a high volume of cyclists and walkers on the trail. Every month, an estimated 2,500 to 4,000 people use the path that begins in north Hillsborough County and winds through Pasco and Hernando counties, said Joanne Hurley, a member of the Suncoast Trail Advisory Group, which works on trail issues and events.

'It's people doing some sort of riding, walking, Rollerblading or bird watching,' said Hurley, also a community relations coordinator with the state Department of Transportation. 'But bicyclists are the people that most often use the trail.'

She said Luppino has donated enough money to build three 8-foot-by-12-foot covered wooden shelters along the trail. The shelters have a bench and water station, so people can rest, replenish fluids and avoid the elements.

Luppino's stores also are affiliated with Southwest Florida Bicycle United Dealers, a group of Bay area bike shops committed to improving conditions for bicyclists in the region.

To Lanier, a former cross-country runner and triathlete, advocating for bicycle safety and touting bikes as a legitimate form of transportation seems as important as making sales. 'Bicycles are vehicles,' he said. 'We're required to follow all the regulations and rules as other vehicles and we're supposed to be allowed equal space.'

Encounters With Drivers

In more than 20 years of riding bikes on trails and streets, he has experienced the impatience and anger some motorists direct at bicyclists. 'You get stuff thrown at you,' he said. 'You get yelled at. People going, 'Get off the road and on the sidewalk.' I just roll with the punches, though. As long as I don't get rolled over, I'm a happy man.'

FIND OUT MORE

For information about Suncoast Trailside Bicycles, call (813) 920-2225 or visit www.stsbikes.com.

Information on traffic laws and bicycles can be found at the state Department of Transportation's Web site, www.dot.state.fl.us. To access the information, click on the 'Pedestrian & Bicycle' link, then click on 'Bicycle Laws.'

Reporter Geoff Fox can be reached at (813) 948-4217 or gfox@tampatrib.com.

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