LE MARS, Iowa | Mark Strub used to start his work day by tugging his necktie tight before starting the car.
Strub now hops on his bike after heading out the door.
The former financial services pro used to monitor the stock market and 401K plans while fielding questions from clients about health insurance coverage and more.
Now? He's comfy in jeans and Under Armour, anxious and able to roll up his sleeves to literally change the gears for a customer's cycle at Bike Central, the 2014 business of the year, as deemed by the Le Mars Area Chamber of Commerce.
Strub works with Bike Central Owner Kevin Richards, his longtime cycling pal, and mechanic Monte Brent, whom they hired four years ago.
"If all three of us can ride our bikes to work, that's what we do," Strub says.
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Bike Central's advertised opening time is 9 a.m. That's a bit of a misnomer, however, as Strub, Brent and Richards can often be found at the shop on Central Avenue around 8.
And where Strub for decades started his day checking stock prices and building portfolios, he's now helping plan races and tending to the business side of things for a 4-year-old enterprise.
"I had an accounting background and Kevin was in plumbing and heating (Richards owned De Jager Plumbing & Heating at this site on the northern edge of downtown). Both of us were avid cyclists and he wondered if maybe we could start a business," Strub says.
The reaction was common: "You're starting a cycling business in a town of 9,500 residents?"
That was four years, three employees, several races and at least one big Chamber of Commerce award ago.
Gone are Strub's stock quotes and insurance queries. The suit coat? It hangs in his closet nearly full time.
"I pulled out a sport coat for the Chamber of Commerce dinner (in January) and Monte said he'd never seen me in a sport coat," Strub says.
Dozens of cycles stand at the ready, as do various shoes, pedals, inter-tubes and bike parts as Strub and Brent work to fit triathlete Ryan Bertrand with this gear. Brent lends his racing expertise to the conversation as Strube checks a catalog for price quotes.
With the Register's Annual Great Bike Ride Across Iowa (RAGBRAI) again starting in Northwest Iowa this July, interest seems to be climbing for all things related to bikes. Bike Central helps get the riding public in gear by hosting Tuesday evening rides from March through October, weather permitting. The rides end with food and refreshments at Bike Central.
The company's second annual DNR (Do Not Freeze) Ride, a 25-mile round trip excursion from here to the Corner Cafe in nearby Brunsville, took place on Feb. 21. Many of the 80 to 100 riders (or so) were likely Bike Central customers.
"The entry-level road bike and service are still important areas for us," says Strub. "And still, our bread-and-butter is the family unit."
Unlike a few career choices, owning and operating a small bike shop comes with a caveat. Though the key figures involved in the business don't have to be at the shop 24/7, they're really never "off the job."
"I was in church on Sunday and someone was asking me in the lobby about an upcoming bike event," Strub says. "And that's OK. We're glad people are interested and talking about it."
Opening the business hasn't simply allowed him to do what he loves for a career, it's also opened his eyes -- and his enterprise's doors -- to a variety of customers he didn't realize enjoyed cycling as much as he does.
"There are so many people who do cycle, I didn't realize it," Strub says.
His hands that used to punch digits on a phone repeatedly throughout the work day now might be covered with grease by mid-morning at Bike Central. And that's OK. This is what Strub has chosen to do.
"Some of my best friends get a kick out of the fact that I can talk about gears and hydraulics and the things it takes to make a bike run," he says.
The guy in the Under Armour, the one with his sleeves up around his elbows? He gets a kick out of it, too.
