Shop closing Oct. 1, owners retiring, still biking
Cresco Bicycles has been a fixture in downtown Cresco for 15 years. Dave Puffer started the bike shop in 2007. Keith Wherry bought in as a partner in 2008; and Paul Lovell, in 2011. The shop has been in its current location since 2013.
But come Oct. 1, 2022, Cresco Bicycles will close its doors for good. Partners Wherry and Lovell (Puffer relocated and sold his interest in the business in 2011) said several things factored into the decision.
“Since 2017, there’s been a steady decline in bike sales,” Lovell explained. “Young adults are not riding bikes like they used to. You’re more likely to find a 20- or 30-year-old on a UTV rather than a bicycle.”
“And then supply chain issues have been a problem, too,” Lovell went on. “We just can’t get parts. There’s some parts that you wait a year for.”
“Or more,” Wherry added, and they both chuckled ruefully.
Both men are dedicated bikers themselves and have no intention of curtailing their own riding any time soon. Both participated in this year’s RAGBRAI (Register’s Annual Great Bicycle Ride Across Iowa) and fondly remember the 2017 RAGBRAI route with an overnight stop in Cresco. “Best business day we ever had,” Wherry said. “The shop was full, 12-14 hours.”