I'd like to thank our world class customers for helping to make 2014 a great season. It has been a very rewarding year at the shop. A great mix of social rides, a high volume of repair projects and a world of people riding their bikes (new and old) into the shop in need... Racks, bags, baskets, tires, tubes, power-assists, apparel and on and on. Perennial Cycle is truly blessed to have so many customers that ride their bikes every day!

To top off the 2014 season, Perennial Cycle has been nominated with just 4 other shops across the country as the BEST URBAN/LIFESTYLE Bike Shop by THE cycle industry magazine—Bicycle Retailer & Industry News, also known as BRAIN—as a part of Interbike's first annual industry awards gala. Known as the IB Awards, the event will celebrate the bike industry's success and innovation. This is a great honor for us and it's all thanks to YOU, our fabulous customers that are willing to look at the bicycle as a transportation tool as well as a fine way to get some exercise.

A complete list of nominees in all categories is available here (PDF). Categories for the retailer awards include Best Urban/Lifestyle Shop, Best Pro Road Shop, Best Mountain Bike Shop, among others, with five nominees within each category. Winners will be announced at the IB Awards in Las Vegas, Thursday, September 11, 2014.

Thanks to all of you great customers as well as the fabulous staff of Perennial Cycle for making this possible.

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Stop in any time during the month of April and we'll take $5 off your in-store purchase of $30 or more when you show your 30 Days of Biking spoke card.* 

*No coupon required. Good for both service and any in-stock merchandise, including sale items. Spoke card must be shown at time of purchase. Offer applies 4/1/14 through 4/30/14. 

Get a Spoke Card

Don't have a spoke card? You can download and print your own 30DOB spoke card here. To be sure it lasts the month, you'll want to laminate it. Or, stop in and pick up a pre-printed, already-laminated spoke card here at Perennial Cycle. Starting next week, we'll have spoke cards available at the front counter. We'll be taking donations on behalf of #30DOB and Free Bikes 4 Kidz in exchange. The suggested donation per spoke card is $1.00.  You can also make a donation directly to Free Bikes 4 Kidz on their website.

Haven't made the pledge? No problem. We won't tell! Spoke cards will be available to anyone and everyone who asks while supplies last.

About #30DaysofBiking

Now in its fifth year, 30 Days of Biking began as a community of individuals right here in Minneapolis who'd made the pledge to ride a bike every day in April. The beauty of #30DOB is in its simplicity. Pledge to ride and share what comes of it. Share in person, share on Twitter (#30daysofbiking), share on Facebook... however works for you. Due to the hard work of local organizers here and elsewhere and to the core of inspiration that started it all, 30 Days of Biking has grown each year since this little movement began.

This year, for the first time, 30 Days of Biking has pledged to give back for each pledge made. In the name of bringing even more people to the joy that is biking, for every 30 people who pledged to bike every day in April, 30DOB will give 1 bike to a kid in need via Free Bikes 4 Kidz.

Like 30DOB, Free Bikes 4 Kidz is Minneapolis-based. They've donated 20,000 bicycles to kids in need since 2008. Those kids who receive a bike are kids who would not otherwise be able to afford one. Remember when you received your first bike and how happy you were? That’s what Free Bikes 4 Kidz does, and that’s what we —along with 30DOB, this year's sponsors, and YOU— can help them do more of.

The partnership with Free Bikes 4 Kidz makes for a very special 5th anniversary for 30DOB and we're thrilled to be sponsoring their efforts along with so many great local businesses. Pledging closed on April 7 at 6,974 (!), but you can still contribute by making a donation in exchange for a 30DOB spoke card. Hence, we wanted to offer all of you who've made the pledge (and those of you who didn't have a chance) a little incentive to share the 30DOB love.

Happy riding!

Photos by Martha Garcés

You don't have to read too far in the Perennial Cycle Shopcast to know how much we love Brompton folding bikes. As a staff, about half of us have a Brompton (or two...) at home. We each have our quirks when it comes to the fold, favorite colors, and preferred handlebars. But the enthusiasm for introducing YOU to Brompton? That's something we all share, even when we're not in the shop. Whether on a lunch break ride, on a weekend road trip, or during the daily commute — we're happy to chat with those of you who smile, introduce yourselves, and ask... just what is this small-wheeled bike all about? Does it fold? How small does it get? And my favorite... Does it fit inside the front basket?

This year, we've decided to bring Brompton to you in an entirely new way. Each month, we'll be sending a Brompton home with a new owner to find out what it's like to be a newly minted Brompton rider and see how it fits into each of their lives. To begin, we've loaned a Turkish Green S3L-X to Patrick Stephenson, also known as @patiomensch, a Minneapolis-based cyclist and co-founder of #30daysofbiking. When asked if he'd be interested in participating in our #meetbrompton project, Patrick leapt at the chance and suggested he borrow the bike during his favorite month of the year — April — just in time for 30DOB. So here we are: 30 Days of Biking, meet 30 Days of Brompton.

For those who are curious about the details... B-Spoked especially for #meetbrompton, this S3L-X has titanium extremities, a Shimano Dynamo front wheel and lights, a front carrier block, mudguards (critical for April riding!), a telescopic seat post, and a Brooks B17 Special that Patrick will be the first to break-in. When he's not toting his official 30DOB Banjo Brothers Canvas Backpack, Patrick will also be using a black Carradice Stockport City Folder (pictured below) and an Abus Bordo lock for those times when it's not possible to bring the Brompton in with him at a given destination.

Be sure to follow @PerennialCycle on Twitter and Instagram to see what Patrick is up to with his shiny new Brompton. And if you see him out and about, stop and say hello!

Meet Patrick

Originally from Rochester, Patrick moved to Minneapolis in 2002 to attend the University of Minnesota. In 2010, Patrick started 30 Days of Biking along with his good friend Zach Schaap. The two created a website and launched a campaign that encouraged over 1,000 people to pledge to ride every day in April that year. Patrick still loves to ride and makes friends wherever his bike takes him. He continues to be amazed at a how 30 Days of Biking has grown in just 5 years.

A copywriter by day, Patrick is a true perfectionist and hopes to abandon his folding cheat sheets within the week and is working to speed up his fold before the month is up.

Stay tuned for more from Patrick about his adventure with #meetbrompton and get on over to #30daysofbiking to make the pledge yourself. It's easy, it's free, and for every 30 pledges made, 30DOB will give one bike to a girl or boy in need via Minneapolis-based Free Bikes 4 Kidz.

The secret's out! All Banjo Brothers- and Minnehaha-brand items, including panniers, backpacks, small bags, and clothing items, are part of our SPOOKY 25%-off Sale now through Thursday, October 31 at Perennial Cycle. To celebrate the final day of these (so good they're spooky) deals, Banjo Brothers co-founders Mike and Eric will be stopping by the shop from 4–6 p.m. for treats and tricks in their best Banjo Brothers attire this Halloween. But first, here's a little introduction...

It all started one crisp morning in 2003, at a Minneapolis coffee shop where Mike and Eric famously decided to take the leap and start a new business all their own. They knew they wanted to go into business together and they had a name — The Banjo Brothers. The spark for just what that business would be was a trip to a local bike shop. Looking over the available bags, Mike and Eric knew they could put something together that would be both more affordable and of better quality that what they saw available: bags they'd be proud to stand behind. Today, we all know Banjo Bags to be just that. As they say: Tough. Practical. Affordable. When it comes to Banjo Brothers (and their sister-company Minnehaha Bag Co.) products, it's all about the value.

Beyond the bags, there's plenty more to love about the team behind them. Mike and Eric and the entire Banjo Brothers staff are great patrons of the Minneapolis cycling community, contributing to these (and many more) organizations & events this year:

Powderhorn 24

Almanzo 100

All City Chamionships

Track or Treat

Babes in Bikeland

Cirque du So Gay

Wellstone Bike Club

ScardeyCat

MPLS Bike Love

MPLS Bike Polo (Championships)

Open Streets MPLS

Brompton US Championship

Tiny Bikeshop Concerts

#30 Days of Biking

Dirty Benjamin

So, this coming Thursday, October 31, make Perennial Cycle a stop on your trick-or-treating to meet Mike & Eric, the faces behind locally-designed Banjo and Minnehaha bags. In addition to a chance to meet Banjo Mike and Banjo Eric, we'll be passing out treats & have activities for you and the family, PLUS a raffle with great prizes. Get your picture taken with Mike and Eric, enjoy some sweets, and grab a sweet deal on a bag or two. While you're here, enter to win one of these great prizes:

• A Perennial Cycle Winter Maintenance Membership
• One of two complete Standard Tune-Ups from Perennial Cycle
• One of 3 Banjo Brothers Musette Bags
• A Banjo Brothers Canvas Backpack
• One of 5 Banjo Brothers Phone Wallets

See you there!