Saturday: R+E Cycles celebrates 50 years in the U District

| Posted

February 28, 2023

Black and white photo of 10 people in front of R+E Cycles holding bicycle parts. — 1970s photo from R+E Cycles.

R+E Cycles is turning 50 years old, and the storied bike shop and frame builders behind the Rodriguez and Erickson custom bikes will be celebrating by hosting the return of the free Bike and Pike expo for the first time since 2019.

Bike and Pike runs from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday (March 4) at R+E Cycles on the Ave between NE 56th Street and Ravenna Blvd. “Come join us for coffee, beer, bicycles, and a chance to converse one-on-one with some of The Northwest’s cycling gurus,” R+E wrote in the event description.

There will be a special guest this year. Ángel Rodriguez is heading to back to Seattle from his home on the side of a volcano in Panama. In addition to building bikes, Rodriguez was a major Seattle bicycling booster throughout the city’s biking boom years of the 70s and 80s (I interviewed him for my upcoming book Biking Uphill in the Rain). So welcome back to Seattle, Ángel!

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More details on Bike and Pike from R+E:

We’re Turning 50!
And we want celebrate dang it! We want you to join us, along with R+E Cycles founder, Angel Rodriguez in person for the long awaited return of R+E Cycles Bike and Pike expo. It’s been a long 3 years, so let’s kick the 2023 cycling season off right!

Come join us for coffee, beer, bicycles, and a chance to converse one-on-one with some of The Northwest’s cycling gurus at The Seattle Bike and Pike Expo of 2023.

At R+E Cycles, we love Seattle, and the small companies that actually produce their products here. In October 2008, I asked our friends at Pike Brewing Company in Downtown Seattle if they would like to put on an event here in Seattle with other Seattle based entrepreneurs (and personalities) and they were just as excited about it as we were.

The flavor of Seattle Small Business is unique
But that flavor really gets diluted when an event gets overwhelmed with big firms that have unlimited advertising budgets. We thought it would be great to put on a smaller event that showcased unique Seattle companies and their products, while at the same time raise money for a local charity. This is why we started the event.

Over the last fourteen years, the Bike and Pike has been a great success! We’ve raised over $56,000 for Food Lifeline here in Seattle, and had lots of fun doing it. You’ve helped us raise enough for almost 195,000 meals! Thank You!

Want to go to an event this March that’s bicycle oriented and highly focused on Seattle based small businesses? The 2023 Seattle Bike and Pike Expo is for you!