*** Recumbent enthusiasts find haven at Go-Bent ***



Wenatchee, Washington -- 03/15/2005

~~Bent into shape~~'



Bike sales, rentals and plenty of proselytization goes on

from Go-Bent Recumbent Bikes at the end of Fifth Street

in Wenatchee — right on the Apple Capital Recreation

Loop Trail.



The faithful are bicycling enthusiasts eager for more comfortable bikes.



And when “the converted” — shop owners Hazel and Jim Baxter

— tell their curious customers to just kick back and enjoy the ride,

they aren’t kidding.



Go-Bent specializes in recumbent bicycles, which are ridden in

a semi-reclined fashion, on a wide, chair-like seat, with the riders’

legs stretched out in front of them.



With an “Easy Rider” design and faster than a conventional bike,

Hazel says recumbents are catching on with both athletes and

weekend cyclists.



“If you’re going long distance, you want a recumbent,”

Hazel said, from the small office of a shop brimming with

enough high-tech bikes and accessories to make even a

road-conditioned cyclist’s heart skip a beat. “Cycling’s four

classic pains — neck, back, wrist and buttocks — are all

eliminated on a recumbent.”



Curiosity over the bikes’

elongated shape brings many into the shop.



“Normally, they come in all day long and say, ‘Oh, wow,

look at these bikes!’ ” Hazel said. “People are beginning

to realize that they’re not just funny-looking bikes.”



The couple spends much of its time dispelling myths that

recumbents are slow or only for people with physical limits

that prevent their riding a conventional bicycle, Hazel said.



“You have a lot more push power on a recumbent,”

Hazel said.



The businesswoman of the team, Hazel works days at the shop,

keeping the shelves full and books balanced. Jim, the cyclist and

technical guy, assembles and repairs the bikes during evenings

and weekends when not at his day job as public relations coordinator

at Alcoa’s Wenatchee Works.



Jim also handles the computer system, the shop’s Web site

and online store on Ebay that Go-Bent set up late last year

— jobs he also does in the evenings.



Hazel says she enjoys the work, but Jim’s passion

for cycling got the business started in 2000.



“My body had gone through some changes. I didn’t want to

endure the discomfort anymore, and I’d pretty much given

up cycling,” said Jim, 59, once a die-hard cyclist who peddled

thousands of miles a year.



When a friend asked if he’d ever tried a recumbent,

Jim looked around but couldn’t find any local dealers.

He said he ended up driving to Seattle to buy a bike

for himself and two friends.



On the way back to Wenatchee,

the idea for Go-Bent began germinating.



He used a $20,000 inheritance to open his first shop

in 2000 at Apple Valley Industrial Park in Malaga.



But with a full-time job at Alcoa,

he turned to Hazel to run the new business.



“At first, I said ‘no,’ ” said Hazel, who was then involved in

her own passions — community service, social work and

working through her church to support people in need in the

Wenatchee Valley. Her work earned her recognition from

the governor in the 1980s.



But Jim persisted. Four months later, Hazel agreed to run the

shop on a trial basis “for three years,” and she’s still in charge

today.



During that time, the shop relocated to its current location

and gradually became filled with the $275,000 in inventory.



“This was intended to be a mom-and-pop specialty shop,

mostly to feed my husband’s passion, but it really took off, ”

Hazel said.



Visitors from all over the region visit the store, lured by the

better selection, Hazel said. The industry has also started

to mature.



“I got involved in recumbents as a market that was changing

from fringe to athletes,” Jim said. “As athletes started riding

recumbent bikes, it legitimatized the bike.”



The Baxters agreed to reinvest all the shop’s revenues back

into the business to increase inventory. Hazel doesn’t currently

receive a salary, but Jim says the shop is covering expenses and

is close to being able to support one or two employees.



As revenues grow, particularly during the late March to

October peak season, Hazel said she hopes to go part

time and return to some of her ministry work.



For now, she’ll stick to the bike business.



“Getting the business put together and making it grow is a

challenge I like,” she said. “And bike people are a great

group. They’re fun loving, and they love the outdoors.”



** At a glance



What:

Go-Bent Recumbent Bikes



Why the name?

Recumbent bikes are sometimes called “bents”



Where:

One Fifth St., Suite 110, Wenatchee



Owners:

Hazel and Jim Baxter



About the business:

Sales of recumbent and conventional bikes and accessories,

specialty trikes, tandems, bike repairs and bike rentals.



Website: - http://www.gobentbikes.com



CC - http://www.wenworld.com



Geneb...Wenatchee,Washington-USA

    All Things Northwest in BMX!

     ***** Gene`s BMX *****

     http://www.genesbmx.com