LUBBOCK, Texas – Lubbock bike shops said they have experienced an increase in demand amid the coronavirus pandemic.
Greg Davis, owner of DFC Cycles and Fitness, said he’s seen more sales right now than the did around the same time last year.
Davis said he was uncertain how the pandemic would affect his business so he decided to prepare.
“We saw this coming,” he said, “I started ordering early and putting back orders in a system that would allow me to bill back orders in order to be able to take those bikes later.”
He said he’s glad that his business has been able to provide a safe non-contact alternative to people.
“You know this is one of the few things that provide some normalcy in their life and some continuity,” he said, “As well as get some exercise and even destress a bit.”
Carmen Shadden, a customer purchasing an adult tricycle, said she suffered from a stroke four months ago and that she was ready to get back to cycling because it’s always made her feel at ease.
“[I enjoy] the feeling of being free,” she said. “I used to jog but my feet don’t like it anymore, so I ride bikes now.”
Davis said people who cycle get a different kind of view of the world.
“There’s no better way to see more of [what] God made than from a seat of a bicycle,” he said. “Because you can see a lot more than you can from a windshield of a car,” he said.