The Sentinel-Record - HER - Hot Springs
HER Business
Hubbards build personal relationship with customers
Jan Hubbard knows bikes inside and out, even though she doesn’t recreationally ride. Hubbard has been in the business over 20 years alongside her husband, Bruce, the owner of Parkside Cycle. The Hubbards consider themselves a small family business, which is true — they have been a part of the Hot Springs community since 1995, and the cycling community for much longer.
The relationship Hubbards have created with their customers is more than just business, however.
“I have a lot of riders that go out, that if their significant other is out of town they know to call me when they get off the trail to check in,” Jan said. She even has a few sale reps that also check in the same with her when they are in town riding.
“We’ve been here 23 years. We’re definitely invested in Hot Springs, our community and our neighborhood. People ask us sometimes, why are you here?” she said. Parkside is located at the west end of Whittington Avenue, which is a relatively flat one-way loop through Hot Springs National Park.
“There used to be crits down here, criterium racing,” which is a fast-paced and often short race of a specific number of laps on a closed course, Jan says.
“When my husband raced he would race down here some. He was actually riding his bike down here one day and saw the building. It was in disrepair; it didn’t have a piece of glass on the front, it was all boarded up and there was no door. We found a small business card that said ‘for sale.’ It was literally one of those things that everything was falling into place, that you don’t question it — you just go with it.”
Bruce grew up racing road bikes and knew he eventually wanted to open up a bike shop. Alongside a friend he used to race with, Bruce opened Parkside in May 1995. Jan didn’t initially start off working in the shop, yet quickly became a part of the team when the business grew so fast they needed extra hands, and Jan offered her skills as a business-savvy woman.
Fast forward to current day, as IMBA Trail Solutions is putting the finishing touches on the nearby Northwoods Urban Forest Park trail system, a multiuse network of trails. Jan is excitedly anticipating the growth the Northwoods will bring to the city, community, along with their business.
“Having over 40 miles in town will make more of a destination for Hot Springs … I think a new trail system will demand a different kind of bike than we’ve done. We have done a lot of hard tails; I think the new trail system will be more demanding as far as full suspension or longer travel miles.”
Their business caters not only to cyclists, but runners, as well. Parkside carries various forms of hydration, electrolytes and nutrients for runners and cyclists alike.
Jan also participates in clinics with the local Spa City Pacers. Individuals going those (literal) extra miles on foot or wheels can choose from an array of “boosts” from energy tabs, bars, or gels. In addition to nutrition, they carry helmets, apparel and even specialty products that come in handy when preventing a sore saddle.
“Parkside has been the biker hangout for, I’d say about 40 years … everyone parks and they do loops until everyone get here and then they all take off riding,” she says.
The philosophy in the shop is to put as many people on bikes as they can, a philosophy that has served Parkside, and the Spa City, well for over 20 years.