Cycle Therapy Moves to Former Burdick’s Feed Location in Downtown Kent
by Michelle Gehlman-Teeter
People kept trickling in as I waited to talk with Cycle Therapy’s owner, Ric Hutchins. One woman came in to pick up a bike that the shop was tuning up for her. She uses her bike to commute and they discussed with her why upgrading to a steel frame bike would give her a smoother ride.
Another gentleman came in with a flat tire. He was a first-time customer and told me how very helpful and friendly he found the employees. Everyone who came through that front door was greeted like an old friend and indeed, many of them have been going to that bike shop for many years.
Cycle Therapy recently moved into the old Burdick’s Feed store by Kent Station, but they are by no means a new store. They have been in business on Central for 25 years, by the current owner Ric Hutchens for the last 9 years. With the revitalization of downtown, he wanted to move them to the core of Kent. When a friend of his bought the building, he was first to jump at renting out a portion for his bike shop.
“Everybody (downtown) has been so nice and easy to work with” said Ric as he picked up after the last rush of closing customers. “We wanted to be more centralized and the commuter traffic has increased walk in business.”
Cycle Therapy’s specialty is bicycles- selling them and servicing them. One of the specials they pride themselves on is anyone who buys a new bike from them gets free tune-ups for life. They are also getting ready to start selling and servicing skis and snowboards soon, with rentals likely sometime next year.
Some of their special events include the Tuesday Night Road Ride which is for any level of rider; the Tour de Paws for the Auburn Humane Society; they participate in the Kent Station Road Runner Fun Run and sponsor some race series’. Now that they are downtown, Cycle Therapy plans to add more events and bike demos.
It was important to Ric, when they moved, that the shop kept its small shop feel with a friendly atmosphere, great service and family ambience. You are not just a number at Cycle Therapy, which was clear as I watched a customer visit the shop earlier to see if his new bike was in yet. Finding it wasn’t, he chatted up the mechanic for over half an hour while he worked.
When asked what the mission of their business was, Ric smiled his warm, genuine smile and said, “At the end of the day, I like to have people having fun riding bikes.”
Cycle Therapy is located at 105 West Smith, Kent, WA 98032. Their hours are: M-F 10 AM – 7 PM, Saturday 10 AM -6 PM, closed on Sunday. For more information, check out their website at: www.cycletherapybikeshop.com.
