E-bike business continues to grow in the heart of New York Mills

By Tucker Henderson

Reporter

County Cycle Pit Stop recently moved locations to 17 East Centennial in the Old Ten Center and will be hosting an open house on Saturday, Nov. 4 in their new storefront.

Paul Bloyer, owner and operator, has been racing since 1977. He explained that the business grew out of his racing hobby as he began to sell parts and do service on the side of his full-time job to support his racing habit.

“We started that in 2011 in New Richmond, Wisconsin,” Bloyer said. “Then it was me and my son, Christopher, who is a Wisconsin state champion two years in a row. So it’s just been an extension of doing the racing thing and morphing into other things like e-bikes.”

Bloyer said that when he moved the business to NY Mills, the e-bikes were his newest addition to the business and that they have grown into the main part of the business. 

“Our new shop is state-of-the-art,” he said. “We’ve got stuff for the newer bikes, like for electronic fuel injection. We also do conventional bike repair beside motorcycle and ATV.”

County Cycle Pit Stop is the largest facility in the county when it comes to repair facilities. With knowledge in bicycles, e-bikes, ATVs, UTVs, motorcycles, e-motorcycles, and electric scooters, Bloyer is happy to work with anyone on their repair needs. Recently, he has fixed bicycles for the NY Mills school district.

“We’re big on community investment,” he said. “We did our e-bike silent auction for the fire department, I gave a bike to the NY Mills School District last year. Plus supporting community businesses too. We bank with Farmers & Merchants and Magnifi Financial as well. We like to support both.”

One local business, 15 East Centennial LLC, owned by Caleb and Brittnee Monson, recently cleared out the back portion of the Old Ten Center, making the perfect spot for County Cycle to move into.

“Caleb and Brittnee made it available for us in July,” said Bloyer. “We were looking to expand anyways and the timing was perfect for us.

“My grandsons, Tristian and Travis, helped out quite a bit with the painting and getting the new shop done,” he continued. “We did all the slat board and made it look like it does now, giving it our unique race motive look to it. It’s kind of our signature, the racing side of it. A big thank you to them for all of their help.”

Bloyer said that his favorite part of his job is meeting new people and visiting with new customers as they enter the store. He has customers from as far away as Grand Forks to Saint Cloud and he enjoys being involved.

“I’ve done repairs on stuff that probably scares most people,” he said. “Meeting new people and helping them—just being involved with a little bit of everything. To me, it’s a fun job.”

Bloyer is currently nearing retirement in his regular full-time position and looks forward to making County Cycle a full-time business starting in March of 2024. An open house will be held on Saturday, Nov. 4 at the shop from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. with donuts, coffee, pop and door prizes available during the day. A larger grand opening will take place in the next year.

“We’re a small town and we have small town values, growing and seeing things going the best for everyone—that’s what it’s all about,” said Bloyer. “We’re here to stay. I think our commitment towards the future, as I get older, then my son Chris will take over, then I have lots of grandkids to take over too. I’ve spent 20 years working on bikes, I’ve learned a lot.”