THE CREATION OF BLOCK BIKES (part 1) By Rich Bartlett
In 2003 Block Alternatives was my sole source of income by means of the sportswear industry. We made a living manufacturing BMX jerseys and clothing as the minority and inline hockey pants and jerseys as the primary. I was playing a lot of roller hockey and it was a natural progression to get into the sport on the business side. We did well at a time that BMX was kinda flat-line, which seems to cycle frequently. One day my landlord called me in for a meeting and let me know that our next door neighbor was moving out. He offered me the unit before he put it up for rent. It wasn't even on my radar but I told him that we would give it a shot whether it be expansion or something uniquely different. The rent was affordable so it was worth taking a chance. We had a solid local BMX team and both Dani George and Bubba Harris lived just a few miles away. Our town has always been heavily populated with BMX legends since the beginning of the sport starting wit Bob Hannah. So we pulled the trigger and made a clubhouse for the Block BMX Racing Team. We had a couch. X-Box, ramps, a small work station and a ton of tee shirts. We immediately grew the race team to nearly 50 members consisting of riders in Palmdale/Lancaster, Santa Clarita and Simi Valley. The team was solid and a 2 year old kid named E-Dog (Ethan Wolthers) put us in the lime-lite by making national mains as a 2 year old in the 5 and under class. He went on to an number of national titles and ironically is now on the national title Jr ice hockey team.
THE BLOCK SHOP - 2500 square foot of BMX bad-assery.
We began training in the evenings and built a 4 man gate in the parking lot with a full sure-start setup. On any given night you could find Bubba Harris, Mike Day, Brian Schmith, Dingo, Dani George, Sam and Ken Cools training here. We did clinics and our team progressed and started becoming threats as expert NAG (national age group) riders. When you are surrounded by
winners you find yourself having higher expectations.
BUBBA HARRIS 3x ABA National #1 Pro & World Champion
We stared with nothing and had no intention of becoming a local bicycle retailer but things moved fast. The team demanded products and before long we went from a clubhouse that did some minor bicycle repairs to a retail bike shop that carried Schwinn, Mongoose and GT. At the time Hyundai was the title sponsor for the Mongoose and GT teams and they were solid with Fuzzy Hall, Jamie Bestwick, Coco Zurita, Cam White, Simon Tabron, Steve McCann on the freestyle side and Eric Rupe, Randy Stumphauser, Mike Day and John Purse on the race squad. This was all pre Wal Mart days and the image was solid, the brands were desired and brought instant credibility to the shop. Schwinn was legit with TJ Lavin and his little buddy Cesar Flores. Most all of these characters had been to the shop for different events like Block Jam, which was a huge music and action sports festival we put on.
MIKE DAY - Olympic Silver Medalist - Block Jam
Block Bikes organically grew and changes with the growth. We have never forgotten our roots but we were able to grow with brands like Marin, Kona, Felt, Jamis, Raleigh and currently Specialized. This gave us the ability to be a full fledged family bicycle center with heavy competitive roots in every cycling discipline. Our brick and mortar shop was super important to the building of the cycling community in this small desert town without a real cycling presence. We were and are core BMXers with national titles in mountain biking and road racing. We have brought original events and experiences which allowed us to form friendships and networks. Currently we are experiencing the changing of the guard where money is the most important element. People have forgotten where they came from, the advice and coaching given , and the experiences they were provided with. Finding the cheapest price is how people shop these days but this will be short lived. It is a fact that people need their bikes worked on, riding advice, choosing the right products and simply how to be better everyday. We are here! We have been here and will continue to be here for you! With the birth of BlockBikes.com we now have the best of both worlds and we can service out friends locally as well as those hundreds of miles away! We hope to continue to grow and become more valuable than ever. I'll continue the history in segments periodically. I've been asked countless times how we got started so we'll lay it out chapter by chapter with interesting stories in between.
