A stationary bike rests in the corner churning fresh ice cream. Bikes are hung up on the wall, some already worked on and some waiting their turn. A projector shows videos of mountain bikers landing gravity-defying tricks. There are many things to be excited about with James Tyson’s new university bike shop, aptly called PioGears. The place is stained with evidence of the mountain-bike subculture that is prevalent at DU and throughout the Mountain West. This is somewhere that it would be much more likely to hear someone reminiscing about when so-and-so supermanned off the trail than when the next spring rush event is.
Located in the Nagel Underground, (hit “M” on the elevator in the dining hall) Tyson and his four work-study disciples have built a bike sanctuary just underneath the chaotic kitchen and grocery of Nagel Hall. Tyson is also in charge of the weekday yoga and meditation services that happen in the Nagel Underground as well. The bearded, CU-Boulder graduate conveys an overlying sense of calm and pride when talking about his work and he has a reason to feel good. The Nagel Underground, which was once rotting away as storage has become a destination on campus. A place where one can relax and meditate their problems away, or just take care of the necessary transportation issues that undoubtably arise in Colorado’s fickle weather.
Funded by the Undergraduate Student Government (USG) and an outreach of The Center for Sustainability, PioGears offers free bicycle repair services and storage that can come in handy during breaks. While you do have to pay for any replacement parts, free repair is an offer that isn’t going to come from any random bicyclist repair store. The mechanics are happy to work there and the shop environment can be described as a relaxing place to hang out.
Although they officially opened last quarter for business, Thursday, March 27 was their celebratory opening. Offering free burritos from Illegal Pete’s and of course, the homemade, bike-churned ice-cream, the dedicated mechanics milled about talking shop and introducing themselves to the large crowd of students.
