RENTON, WA (BRAIN)—When owner Dave Groom and his Center Cycle staff built a pump track behind their shop, Groom never thought it would flood, especially with a drainage system.
But that’s exactly what happened as a result of the massive flooding that has hit the Northwest in recent days.
“You couldn’t even see the [8-foot] berms,” Groom said of his pump track. Even though a street two blocks away from his shop was flooded, Center Cycle didn’t experience any flooding or damage to its interior.
“Business was dead on Monday and Tuesday,” Groom said. “But it got back to normal pretty quickly.”
Shipping remains the only issue facing Center Cycle, with certain sections of West Coast’s main highway artery Interstate 5 still shut down. “They’re having to go over the mountains to get us stuff,” said Groom, adding that truck drivers are forced to slap on chains, slowing down shipments even further.
Just north in Seattle, one of Gregg’s Cycle’s shops lost power for a day, according to Nate Soloman, store manager for the Greenlake location.
A state south, Portland’s River City Bicycles came away unscathed as well. In fact, business was up due to last weekend’s U.S. Gran Prix of Cyclocross stop in the Rose City.
“It was a pretty solid weekend [of business] for us,” said Dave Guettler, owner of River City Bicycles. “Sunday had hurricane force winds. We’re a hardy bunch up here. It was a big ass party in a storm.”
—Jason Norman
