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Couple say you deserve a pedal

Tribune photo by Julie Busch

and Kellie Cyr own City Bike Tampa on Cass Street, which opened July 2.

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By JOSE PATINO GIRONA

jpatino@tampatrib.com

Published: July 8, 2009

DOWNTOWN - Kellie and Jason Cyr are investing their future in downtown Tampa.

A year ago they moved with their three daughters into a Harbour Island town home. And last month they opened City Bike Tampa, 212 E. Cass St.

"We believe in the urban life," Kellie Cyr said.

"Being that we live down here ourselves... we talk the talk and walk the walk."

Their store sells and rents urban commuter bikes with one gear, narrow tires and weighing less than 20 pounds. They also sell and rent mountain bikes, beach cruisers, road racing bikes, children's bicycles and BMX freestyle bikes.

But the shop is more than bicycles and a service center for bike maintenance and tune-ups.

It sells and rents longboards - skateboards that are 44 or 52 inches long - along with sticks to propel them around the urban landscape. The sticks are 5- to 6-foot-long bamboo sticks wrapped in fiberglass with a rubber grip at the tip.

The Cyrs offer a 60- to 90-minute history tour of the city that covers Bayshore Boulevard, Hyde Park, the Channel District, Franklin Street, Davis Islands and Harbour Island.

In September, they will sell and rent kayaks.

The Cyrs, both 38, see potential in downtown Tampa. They moved to the area because they liked the lifestyle, they said.

Six years ago the Cyrs moved away from Tampa and lived in Birmingham, Ala., and Milwaukee, Wisc. They came back because this was home, they said. This is where they met, married, and have family and friends.

Jason Cyr previously was a project manager in information technology and software development. He was laid off in April. The couple turned to a business plan they had written in 2008 to start a bike shop.

They created a smaller model from their original plan and used their savings to start the business.

Although it's a huge change of lifestyle that includes working longer hours, they gained encouragement when they sold their first bicycle a few days before the store opened for business.

"For the people who have moved downtown, we are it," Kellie Cyr said. "In a way, we are pioneers in this neighborhood."

The Cyrs anticipate their shop will attract residents of new downtown condominiums and nearby neighborhoods. They also hope it will appeal to downtown workers and tourists.

They expect the downtown business market will grow with the completion of the Hotel Floridan, art museum, children's museum and The Heights development along the Hillsborough River in Tampa Heights.

"This area in a couple of years is going to grow in leaps and bounds," Kellie Cyr said.

As of May, 2,237 people lived downtown, according to the Tampa Downtown Partnership.

Paul Ayres, director of marketing and business development for the Tampa Downtown Partnership, said the area has evolved. In the past, he said, a downtown restaurant wouldn't have outdoor seating; now it is becoming the norm.

As more people live and work in downtown Tampa, the area and its businesses will evolve, Ayres said.

Robert McDonaugh, the city's urban development manager for downtown and the Channel District, said the Cyrs are part of the "new urbanism."

"These people want to live near where they work," McDonaugh said. "They don't want to commute like their parents did."

Some 32,000 people live within a two-mile radius of downtown, McConaugh said. "It's another indication that there are people living here, and more people see the potential of downtown."

IF YOU GO

WHAT: City Bike Tampa

WHERE: 212 E. Cass St.

HOURS: 9 a.m.-6 p.m., Tuesday through Saturday; 12 p.m.-5 p.m., Sunday. Closed on Mondays.

CONTACT: (813) 225-1777 or Web site www.citybiketampa .com

Reporter Jose Patino Girona can be reached at (813) 259-7659.

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