Aptly named, Owl City Cycles opened its doors May 3 in Houston, Minn., the home of the International Owl Center. Derek and Brittany Wallace opened the new bicycle shop at 111 East Cedar Street and proudly proclaim that it is the only bike shop in Houston County!
The Wallaces chose Houston for the location of the shop for a couple reasons. They have family in Houston and Houston is located at one of the ends of the Root River Trail.
Derek first got into biking as an adult when he moved to La Crescent. He quickly learned that it was fun to commute via bike to La Crosse, Wis. Riding a bike as a kid, he had simply biked for fun; as an adult he realized he could also cover some serious ground on a bike.
He eventually got into biking events and races. Derek started with a 20-mile ride and then moved on to a 40-mile ride. His next ride was a ride to west central Minnesota on his commuter bike, wearing cut off t-shirts and tennis shoes. That ride covered just under 400 miles in a mere four days.
The next challenge came when his cousin asked him to do the Maah Daah Hey (native for “here for a long time”). They rode 107 miles cross country through the North Dakota Badlands. Derek has participated for five years in local gravel events. He was in the WinSton Gravel Cup for two years when Houston hosted the event. This year, Derek plans to ride in the Old Fashioned in Hokah.
Derek offers three levels of bike services. The Screech Owl, so named because a screech owl is a smaller owl, is an entry level service; the Barred Owl is the next level. It was named that because Derek was most familiar with the barred owl. The top tier service is the Barn Owl, so named because it is a rarer owl. Derek works on all bikes from your aging Huffy to your favorite racing bike; you can contact him at (507) 896-2100 to arrange for a service appointment. Wallace commented that the great thing about a bike is that you can have it for 40 years and still use it!
Owl City offers six e-bike rentals for $50 for four hours or $75 for 4 to 24 hours. The e-bikes are Reid Black-Top 1.0s; they also have Reid Black-Top 2.0s for sale which have wider tires and can be used for cross country, off-road adventure and hunting.
Kids’ bike trailers and tag-alongs are available for rent; the cost is $20 for four hours or $30 for 4 to 24 hours. Owl City has two Burley kids’ trailers and one Weehoo bike tagalong which allows the child to pedal as well.Helmets are included with the rentals. Owl City does not rent any other bikes.
A great selection of bikes are available for sale. Derek chose to carry Cleary bikes which are high quality, kid specific bikes. According to Derek, the bikes will last for multiple kids – a family can buy one bike and use it for many years.
The Jamis bikes are a family-owned, woman-owned company from the east coast. The company was started in the 1980s, only sells to brick and mortar cycle shops and provides great service.
The State Bicycle Company offers good, affordable entry level bikes for gravel biking. Reid supplies affordable e-bike options for customers.
Derek and Brittany have filled the shop with all things bicycle. All of Owl City’s biking apparel – gloves, shorts, bibs and shirts – is manufactured in California by Voler. The helmets are from Bell, a staple in moto sports.
A display of biking accessories fills a wall of the shop. One of the most unique items is an owl-shaped water bottle holder.
All kinds of biking snacks, foods and beverages are stocked in the shop including coffee from Carlson Roasting Co., Embark Maple Syrup from Viroqua and Spring Grove Soda.
Derek and Brittany live south of New Albin, Iowa, with their children Vivian (9), William (7) and Jameson (4). According to Derek, they are 40 minutes away from everything!
Brittany’s role at the bike shop is one of support while Derek works to make his dream a reality. Brittany also works as a pediatric nurse at Gundersen in La Crosse. Derek works with his dad and brother; they are contractors with FedEx Ground.
In any spare time, the Wallace family likes to go on hiking and camping adventures. As the kids get older, they’ll be getting into biking more, as well.
Derek is well-pleased with how Houston has received Owl City Cycles. Many locals have brought in their bikes to be serviced.
Brittany enthused, “There is so much potential in Houston! It’s a beautiful town, bursting with opportunity!”
Both Brittany and Derek invite everyone to stop in and explore Owl City Cycles, their well-stocked bike shop!
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