Fittingly, this story begins with a bike ride.
Husband and wife shop owners John Bowman and Beven Rich were living in Michigan when Beven went on a 7-week-long charity ride (called The Big Ride), which took her through Idaho en route from Seattle to Washington, DC. She was hooked. The couple had been itching to move west, but this ride made Beven fall in love with Idaho in particular. Soon after, the two packed up for the Inland Northwest to continue their industry of passion: bikes. They rolled into town with their U-hauls the Wednesday before the first Ironman CDA. For over 20 years now, Mountain View Cyclery has been serving the North Idaho cycling community and beyond.
“We’ve been fortunate to watch the cycling community take off, not just in North Idaho, but the whole region,” says Bowman. “Although it’s not perfect, we honestly have better bicycling infrastructure here than most places would even dream of. And it keeps getting better.”
Bowman is passionate about the entire cycling scene. Outside of Mountain View, which is a full-service bike shop located in Hayden, Bowman improves local biking infrastructure with his trail-building efforts. Thanks to his dentist, who was a shop patron, Bowman got connected with trail building in Idaho and was instrumental in establishing the Empire Trails system around Spirit Lake, which “snowballed,” in Bowman’s words, to the approximately 10 miles of trail it is now.
This summer, Bowman is teaming up on a new project with Evan Frantz of Cykel Works to recognize the dream of establishing a trail system on Rathdrum Mountain. In what will be known as the “StormKing Trails,” Bowman and Frantz, who are also both musicians, plan to bring their creativity to play and create a state-of-the-art trail system that will highlight the beauty of the land with a flowier ride than the Empire Trails. The first trails on Rathdrum Mountain should be complete in early summer this year, and Bowman says they can’t wait to share the “finished album” with the public.
“Having the ability to work on these trail projects really helps us contribute to our local environment for years to come,” says Bowman. “We have been given the ability to contribute to making our corner of the world a better place, in our own little way. Ain’t going to mess that up.”
Meanwhile, things at Mountain View Cyclery roll on with a passionate staff who feed off one another’s energy. The full-service bike shop offers tune ups, bike fittings, suspension service and brake bleeds. They carry a variety of brands, from Aventon to Jamis, Pinarello, Nukeproof, Marin, and Otso. And they love to talk shop.
According to Bowman, the future is bright. His only wish is to find a bit more time to ride. Visit Mtnviewcyclery.com or visit the shop at 8933 N. Commerce Dr. in Hayden, Idaho.
