Carlsbad Village Business Spotlight- North County Family Bicycles

“Bicycles are the physical embodiment of freedom.”

Carlsbad resident Michael Kimmitt opened North County Family Bicycles, 300 Carlsbad Village Dr. Suite 300SB, just in time for San Diego Bike Month. The timing is apt: Kimmitt sells and repairs bikes designed for everyday riding, the main goal of Bike Month, from commuting to family outings, grocery shopping to beach cruising. Kimmitt stocks quality kid bikes, folding bicycles and cargo bikes. NC Family Bicycles also specializes in bike “make-overs” to transform average bikes to perfect ones that fit customers’ personalized needs and styles of riding. For growing riders, Kimmitt offers the Kids’ Bike Exchange Program, which puts the full retail value of a current bike toward a larger bike for kids, even if the original was purchased elsewhere.  NC Family Bicycles also offers Lifetime Flat Tire Repair.

NC Family Bicycles is dedicated to the idea that bicycles “create freedom, and the right kind of bicycle creates the freedom you’re looking for.” Kimmitt proudly shares that his entire staff bikes to work,  and he chose to open in Carlsbad because, as a resident, he knows the Village is a great place to travel by bicycle. He credits the improved bicycle infrastructure and ideal weather. Located just off Rt. 101 on Carlsbad Village Drive, NC Family Bicycles is the third in a triad of bike shops including Pedego Carlsbad and Ride Cyclery, which each specialize in different types of cycling.

“Bicycles are one of the last consumer machines that an ordinary person can purchase, and can come to thoroughly understand,” Michael remarks. NC Family Bicycles looks forward to assisting Carlsbad residents in their everyday riding, upgrading their current bikes and introducing recent advancements in bikes designed to transport kids and cargo.

Kimmitt also hopes to host local social rides that encourage new riders to build confidence. This weekend, NC Family Bicycles has partnered with the San Diego County Bicycle Coalition as part of Walk + Bike Carlsbad to host Tips for Biking with Kids on Saturday, May 30^th, from 1:00PM-2:30PM. Join us or stop in anytime. NC Family Bicycles is open 7 days a week.

Walk + Bike is a partnership led by the City of Carlsbad, Circulate San Diego and the San Diego County Bicycle Coalition to promote walking and biking around Carlsbad, with a special focus on the downtown Village and surrounding areas. The 12-month campaign is funded by a grant from the San Diego Association of Governments and includes events, outreach to schools, business promotions and other activities to get more people walking and biking instead of driving on short trips around town. For more information, visit www.carlsbadca.gov/walkbike.

Sponsor Spotlight: car2go San Diego

The Bike Coalition would like to thank car2go for continuing their support this year!

car2go has been sponsoring the Bike Coalition since 2011, when they first launched in San Diego. Our partnership seemed like a natural fit, as we are both promoting alternative ways to get around San Diego that are good for people and good for the environment.

Haven't heard of car2go? car2go offers an innovative mobility solution in rapidly growing urban areas via a carsharing network of eco-friendly smart cars around the world. And San Diego was the first location in North America with a 100% all-electric fleet! A flexible and "on demand" mode of transportation, car2go complements existing public transportation by bridging the gaps between the “first and last mile” of a member’s commute. Today car2go is the largest carsharing company in the world with more than 1,000,000 registered members in 29 locations with access to over 12,500 interconnected vehicles across the globe.

car2go San Diego has reached a couple of milestones themselves this year. The company has seen more than 1 million car2go trips since its initial launch in San Diego in November 2011. They also recently added a new fleet of 400 all electric Generation III smartfortwo vehicles and expanded to 45 square miles to accommodate more members and trips. Learn more about car2go and how to join.

Did you know you can fit some folding bikes in a car2go! Combine the two to get around town more easily.

Other benefits:

Charging included
Parking included
Insurance included
Park it almost anywhere within the San Diego Home Area for free
No reservation required
No late fees
Hundreds of cars
Smart-phone friendly

Carlsbad Village Business Owner Spotlight - Pedego Carlsbad

Pedego Carlsbad is the local bicycle shop in Carlsbad Village and looking forward to celebrating their two-year anniversary serving the community this spring. Located conveniently on Carlsbad Village Drive near the Coastal Highway, 355 Carlsbad Village Drive, they sell and service both traditional bicycles and electric assistance bicycles. Denise Buckingham chose the Village because “it is a quaint place, with a small town vibe. I don’t run into any grumpy people. All the business owners are nice, and of course, we live in Carlsbad.” Denise has seen a large increase to Pedego Carlsbad’s business with the infrastructure improvements in the Village, especially with the increased bike lanes and bike racks.

As a Carlsbad resident, she has seen more and more people choosing to ride bicycles. Three-quarters of her employees ride their bicycles to work, a higher percentage than the year before, as employees see the feasibility and economic benefits to riding in Carlsbad, instead of driving and parking a car.

When asked what could be done to increase walking and biking in the Village, Denise responded, “One of the things we could do to increase it is better maps. People always ask me for maps. It would be great to have a handout with a map and information about biking- where to bike and how to get there. Educate people, to be more aware of biking safely, and biking routes with fewer cars. A lot of residents are unaware of bicycle laws and where is best to ride. With all these bike racks, biking is easy (in the Village).”

 

They found their customers come from a diverse crowd with an increased demographic coming from a thirties plus crowd, looking for to be active but don’t want to go to the gym. Electric assistance bicycles help riders get over the various hills in Carlsbad. “We promote biking, we do bike tours and I feel we are helping a lot of people.” Recently a couple rented a pair of bicycles and returned engaged!

Pedego Carlsbad has partnered with Linda’s Yogurt, who provides sandwiches for the Couple's Romantic Ride package that Pedego Carlsbad offers. Additionally, they participate with Carlsbad Causes for Community, non-profit of local businesses and Carlsbad residents who collaborate to raise money for various community causes by organizing and implementing events and projects that serve the community. Denise likes that her business is able to serve her community and help promote a healthy lifestyle. She is also looking to increase business partnerships to help grow the connections with other businesses.

Finally, when asked about getting more people riding in the Village, Denise said if she were new to biking she would look for safe places to ride. The San Luis Rey River Trail in Oceanside offers a safe, open space to build biking skills where cars are not a factor. “Some people are nervous about cars, and they are little wobbly, so the trail gives them a place to ride and become comfortable on a bike.” Pedego Carlsbad offers a drop-off service to the trail, so people can rent a bike and build confidence in a less stressful environment. Customers have returned from that experience and later bought bicycles. More people biking in the Village means healthier residents, increased parking for tourists, and a better way to enjoy the Southern California weather.

 With Walk+BikeCarlsbad, the San Diego County Bicycle Coalition, in a partnership with the City of Carlsbad and CirculateSD, aim to educate businesses and residents best practices in biking and walking in the Village, and show the economic benefits of bike and walking.

More information about the year long campaign is HERE- on the City of Carlsbad website.

Bike Friendly Business Spotlight- Snooze

We just wanted to share a great example of bike-friendly business:

One of the pit stop locations on Bike to Work Day was at Snooze AM Eatery in Hillcrest. The lucky cyclists who rode by Snooze that Friday were treated with Noosa yogurt parfaits with Snooze's house made granola while picking up their Bike to Work swag. While we love Snooze for continuing to host delicious pit stops, we really love them how their business embraces bicycling.

Employees at all six Snooze locations (one in our County) participated in Bike to Work Day- and even had a friendly competition between stores. They had 3 Snooze vs. Snooze competitions to see which stores could reduce single occupancy driving miles the most. Great news from Robert Butterfield of Hillcrest Snooze- "I'm proud to say that our Hillcrest store had more biking miles, and fewer driving miles, than our VERY bike friendly brethren in the downtown Denver store!! We're winning!"

We are happy to hear it Robert! Friendly competition is a great way to encourage employees to bike more. What if more businesses operated this way? 

Show Snooze some love by stopping by on your bike for breakfast. Park your bike in one of the first bike parking corrals installed in San Diego- located nearby, eat your heart out and ride off the food coma when you're done!