The Honey Hub of Gackle - A Cyclists Respite

Posted by Jason

I've always had dreams of one day opening a small bike shop somewhere in California, sometimes opportunity comes knocking in strange ways.

Over the last month we have noticed dozens of touring cyclists passing through Gackle, and they all came into town asking the same questions, where can I shower, eat dinner, do laundry, use wifi, and put up a tent? The problem was that there wasn't a place in Gackle to do all this. So I started talking to a few of the cyclists and discovered that there are three main routes for crossing the US on a bike, the Southern Tier, the Transamerica route, and the Northern Tier. For the last 20 years the Northern Tier went through Northern North Dakota, however with the recent oil boom in ND those roads are no longer safe for cyclists. So about 3 months ago Adventure Cycling (the company who publishes the maps for these routes) changed the Northern Tier route so it passes straight through Gackle ND, this got me thinking...

And it wasn't long before I realized we already had a lot of things in place for opening up a small cyclists oasis here at our house. For example my dad is a partial owner of Honey Stinger nutrition, so I have access to all the nutrition products I could need, and our house has a finished basement with a bathroom, laundry, wifi, and a bedroom, all accessible via a separate entrance from the house.

Fast forward to this week when we officially opened "The Honey Hub of Gackle - A Cyclists Respite". Our first week we have hosted 3 cyclists passing through, it has been really cool hearing their stories and the motivation behind their cross country (or in some cases cross-world) treks.

Is my new business venture going to have us retired at 40? Probably not, especially since I only charge $10 per bed, $2 for laundry, and most cyclists aren't interested in buying many extras due to weight. But at least it will make for some cool experiences for both parties. So next time you are biking across the country make sure you schedule a stop at The Honey Hub of Gackle, it is definitely the coolest bike shop in Gackle.

Arba, our first overnight guest. 

Jessie and her dad making the trip together, it is her second time crossing the US on a bike.

I used my amazing graphic artist skills to create this awesome poster which I hung around town.  I also have large outdoor signs coming this week to put along the highway, but so far most are finding us via internet and word of mouth.

I have a few bike essentials (tube, patch kit, lube, etc) and Honey Stinger nutrition products (waffles, bars, chews, gels) available.