Casey Roberts loves bikes, coffee and Durango. His love for those things inspired him to open the Durango Bike Project in February.
The new business is a café and bike shop selling consignment bike parts, maintenance services and espresso drinks. But, Roberts said, the intention he had when starting the store was for it to become a community hub where cyclists could gather for an espresso for their ride, talk about bikes and trails, and support local efforts.
“I wanted it to be something that could add to the cycling community in Durango, that would just be a space for people to hang out and catch up, have a cup of coffee, watch some bike racing,” he said. “I wanted it to be a way to give back to the community.”
Roberts, who works as an orthopedist at Mercy Hospital, said he got into cycling after graduating from Fort Lewis College in 2007. Through college and biking, he became friends with many of the sponsored cyclists who call Durango home, and started receiving their hand-me-down gear. That got him thinking about doing consignment, first as a website, and now as a physical store.
“I started the Durango Bike Project Online four years ago,” he said. “I realized that there was a huge supply of really, really nice bike gear in Durango, and so I just kind of figured that if the right physical location opened up, I’d jump on it.”
The consignment store is meant to distribute some of that gear to people who are not sponsored athletes; a more affordable and eco-friendly way to get people quality bike components. But Roberts wanted the business to go further, he said.
“With all the public land stuff that was going on, we figured that we’d give 100% of all of our profits from our first year in business back to San Juan Citizens Alliance and Protect Our Winters,” he said. “This was never something that was supposed to be a moneymaker. It was always going to give back to the community.”
Roberts said that in addition to supporting environmental nonprofits, he eventually wants the project to sponsor races, support Durango DEVO, give scholarships to FLC and donate to programs like Silver Stallion, which aims to empower young people in New Mexico and the Navajo Nation through bicycle mechanic and specialty coffee education.
This weekend, DBP will host a viewing party for the first stage of the Tour de France to rally support for Sepp Kuss and Quinn Simmons, two Durango-based cyclists representing the United States in the biggest road biking event in the world.
“Thanks for the early support, and we look forward to seeing people before or after their ride for a coffee,” Roberts said.
sedmondson@durangoherald.com