Bluedog Cycles

Getting geared up for winter and Christmas

2011-12-06T19:48:00.000-08:00

The snow is falling (lightly) and Christmas is creeping up on us all. At the shop we have been getting all the great winter stuff out and we are seeing the early Christmas shoppers already. This season we are selling and renting Rossignol Skis so you can get you and yours out there on some of the fantastic groomed trails in the area or break your own trail on your favorite chunk of "private". We are also selling and renting Snowshoes to go explore the beautiful corners af Vernon County. And what better to wear while doing those things but Ibex wool clothes. We can outfit you in comfy, warm, wool, from head to toe.
Stop in, beat the rush, and pick up some winter gear for you and your favorite outdoor loving friend.

They're Hunting in them Woods!!

2011-11-20T08:17:00.000-08:00

We just wanted to throw a reminder out there to all of our friends and trail users. Deer hunting is happening right now in a lot of our favorite woods. There are some fun places we can still safely play, like Hubbard Hills where there is NO HUNTING. But if you must go out in the battlefield please be very careful. Wear your brightest, most obnoxious colors, and pay attention.
Best of luck to all you hunters.

Our boy Eric W. slayin' it on the Pug

2011-11-13T05:50:00.001-08:00

P.U.K.E. is Cancelled!!

The trails at the Kickapoo Valley Reserve are closed due to snow cover and wet conditions. We will reschedule in 2012.

P.U.K.E. at the Reserve this Weekend!!

2011-11-08T19:43:00.000-08:00

Hey y'all,

If'n you're reading this, we'll bet it's because you're fun to be with, like to ride bikes through the woods, and perfectly capable of p.u.k.e.ing all over the Kickapoo Valley Reserve this Sunday.

History- For years the core group of trail builders and riders in the area have talked about getting together for a big, big ride at the Reserve. One where we would start at the southern trailhead (maintenance building off Seelyburg Rd. in La Farge) and riding trail all the way up to the northern most edge of it all (Hay Valley Road) and back!

Current- It's a go! With the Reserve closing their trails on the 15th, and the Packers not playing till Monday night, we decided it's on this weekend.

Details- We will be meeting at the maintenance building just off Seelyburg Road at 10am on Sunday the 13th. Important, this is NOT the same as the Visitor Center. I'm attaching a map for y'all who aren't sure where this is going down. You will need a trail pass if you don't have one (per the KVR rules) and day passes can be purchased right at the trail at a "self registration" box. We may stop at the Rockton Bar for some vittles along the way so cash is king, bring some. There are 20-something spring fed wells along the way that pour great water but it is "untested" so if you don't trust mother earth, bring lots of water to keep you alive. Bring some food too. The forecast is lookin' good but it is November so think smart about your clothes.

The Route- The plan is to hit a variety of trails and head from far south to far north and back! This is a BIG ride. Stats for those who dig that kind of shit are- 30ish miles and 3000+ feet of climbing. But the beauty of this ride is all the "bail outs" that present themselves. There are several ways of shortening this ride if you don't have the juice or you need to get home to do your nails. On that note it wouldn't hurt to print and bring the attached map so you don't end up spending the night alone in the Reserve in the cold with nothing but hungry wolverines.

If you think you might be jumping train midway through, we will be rippin' through Rockton between 11:30 and 12:00.

Rain Date Stuff- There's a crew that is going to show up no matter what IF the Reserve has the trails "open" on the web page (link below). But if ya just don't know what to do, check back here on gameday for the scoop.

So start stretching, checking your steed over, and saying your goodbyes to the loved ones, cuz' on Sunday we're gonna p.u.k.e. all day.

Oh yeah- for those who don't know how much we love acronyms, it's a

Pedaling Up the Kickapoo Epic

http://kvr.state.wi.us/

November Update

2011-11-02T20:30:00.000-07:00

Well,It's been six weeks now since a post and it snowed today making me feel like it's a new season.
On a quick side note, I've already started writing the season summary post but it ain't next year yet so you'll all have to wait for the month by month. But I promise it will be lengthy and mildly interesting.
But for now we have to let y'all know what's important.

BIKES ARE ON SALE!!!
Yep, everything in house from 2011 is 20-40% off , and there is still some great riding to be had so hurry up and get in here so you can get out there.

SKIS have shipped and SNOWSHOES have shipped!!!
We'll be seeing them soon and N.O.A.A. is calling for a big, big snow year. Bring It!!

IBEX Wool season is here!!!
We love dressing in comfy, warm wool form head to toe, and can help you be as happy and stylish as us. We are slinging IBEX again this year and as always, we're offering it at 20% off with no shipping charges. That's even better than the inter-web.

The diamond has landed!!!
We are positioning and dialing the skate sharpening machine this weekend and will be tuning blades starting next week. As always we will also be carrying some of the essentials for you Hockey Families so you don't have to drive to LAX or Madison.

Brewdog is smelling better than ever!!!
Yo, Kait ain't going to Central America this winter, she's sticking around to get her snowshoe stomp and Nordic glide on, and while she's here she's pulling the best espresso shots in town.

These are a couple of the things we're jazzed on, and we're looking forward to a new season of fun.
Stop in, grab a cup, and tell us about your next big adventure outside. We can help make it epic.

Kona Luau Launch

2011-09-12T16:26:00.000-07:00

It’s been a couple of weeks now since I returned from Kona-world’s Luau Launch (or Bellingham, Washington as it’s know to most) but I had to throw a few words on the web page about how fantastic it was.

Bluedog was recognized as a top Kona dealer and I was flown out to the “PNW” to spend three days with the gang from Kona. While there I rode some amazing bikes on amazing trails, ate like a king, drank like a very very thirsty person, and checked out the 2012 line-up.
Kona is a bike line that we at the shop have always been excited about, but now we’re ready to take the excitement to the next level. It was great to learn about the Kona philosophies and how tight the crew is. Kona is more like a big bike shop than a company, and if you’ve ever worked at a bike shop before or witnessed some of the antics you’ll appreciate that statement even more.
I learned a lot about product design, manufacturing, and changes we’re about to see. We were encouraged to think of questions for the owners and designers and spent couple of hours getting answers. Some design decisions were made in that very room based on what the dealers wanted. The business part of the trip was great.
The play part of the trip however was better than I had even hoped it would be. Each day after the business part wrapped up, we hit the trails. Day one I rode a Hei Hei 29er, and day two a King Kahuna. Both days we rode for several hours on Galbraith Mountain. The trails on “Galby” are off the hook with super flowy, bermed out corners, doubles everywhere, and wooden features that challenged everyone. From the top of the mountain we had huge views of a snow covered Mt Baker to the east, the San Juans to the west, and Canada to the north, and the downhills took at least an hour each to rip. Fantastic.
At the risk of dispelling the myth that working at a bike shop is always fun and never work, sometimes we can get a little burnt out by the end of a busy season, but this trip got me so fired up again that I can’t wait to finish typing this so I can go for a ride.

Follow the link below to check out the write up and the crazy photos on the Kona page.

http://cog.konaworld.com/archives/8746

2011-07-22T16:52:00.000-07:00

2011 Camp Bluedog another Huge Success!!

This past weekend the shop closed and we held our fifth annual Camp Bluedog Mountain Bike Experience for Kids. And again, more than 50 young mountain bikers came out to Sugar Creek to ride, play, learn, laugh and teach for a weekend full of memories.

The weekend began with the weekend campers (8-15 year olds) rolling in on Friday night. The storm clouds rumbled as the mechanics did the bike check-overs and the kids met their cabin counselors. While the rain fell we watched a great mountain biking movie that got everyone excited. Right after breakfast on Saturday morning, the day campers (4.5-8 year olds) fired up camp with their arrival and then we were in full swing.

The rains had fallen lightly all night on Friday and Saturday brought some greasy trail conditions, but it didn’t stop anybody from having fun. Campers were sent to various stations throughout the day which included Ascending and Descending, The Skills Course, Bike Games, Trail Building, On and Off Road Rules, Stretching, and the highly acclaimed Free Period (which means swimming). After dinner, we all played some volleyball and then headed to the bonfire, and again Dallas made a towering inferno. We pounded s'mores like they were energy food and turned in.

Sunday brought hot, hot, hot temps, drier trails, and another day of fun. The fabled Epic Ride did not disappoint. Some of the kids rode farther than they had ever ridden and accomplished more on a bike than they thought possible. We rode “The Wall”, “The Gnar”, the brand new trail section that we ALL built the day before, “Pedal Faster Fool”, and the creek bed as a team and everybody finished strong.

Year five brought 28 new faces to camp and again with over 25 staff, we boasted better than a 1:3 ratio of staff to camper. Yep, our riding friends sure love to spend their weekends at camp just as much as the kids. Campers came from Wisconsin, Minnesota, and Illinois this year.

Camp Bluedog is the biggest Mountain Bike Camp in the Midwest, and next year we are looking to grow!

A million thanks to all of our continued supporters, our tireless friends, and mostly to the wonderful group of kids that came and spent the weekend with us. We learn so much from you all and you make us all feel like kids again.

Trail work with Brandon

Teeter Totter Time

Camp Bluedog is coming!

2011-04-18T15:22:00.000-07:00

Happy Spring all!!
We're ramping up here at the shop. The mechanics are buried underneath tune-ups and lots of folks are wheeling new bikes out the door. We have already sent out lots of kids bikes and that makes us very happy. And on that note, it's time to really start thinking about Camp Bluedog 2011. This year marks our 5th mountain bike camp for kids and we are excited about it. Very important to note is that the dates have changed. Due to a schedule change, Camp Bluedog has been bumped back one week. The new dates for the camp are July 15, 16, and 17th. We will cap the camp again this year at 60 riders and we will fill it, so don't wait till the last moment to sign up your favorite junior mountain biker. Do it now!!

BLUEDOG NAMED SHOP OF THE WEEK!!

2011-02-24T19:42:00.000-08:00

While it's been a great "Snow Season", and we've had some of the best skiing and snowshoeing in the last decade, spring is showing herself. It's right around the corner and we're already bringing in bike tune-ups. In fact the repair board is filling up. We've been selling some bikes here and there and plenty more folks are stopping by to look at the new stuff (and there are some beautiful new bikes coming in all the time).
The staff just returned from Frostbike (Industry trade show) where we go every year to see the cool new stuff, talk to other shop folks, and get excited about what we do best, BIKES.
Just in case you didn't realize how good we are at what we do down here at Bluedog, follow the link and see what Kona thinks of us.

http://cog.konaworld.com/?s=bluedog+cycles

Come on down, grab a cup of coffee, check out the cool new stuff and let us get you ready for the season, we're looking forward to meeting you.

2010-11-30T20:06:00.000-08:00

Tonight I closed shop, layered up some Ibex wool, and went for the first snow ride of the year. Now, I recognize that we only got a skiff of snow today but as some of you know when it snows, it collects on the trail first making a most spectacular ribbon of white flowing through the woods. It’s getting dark quite early these days so this was a lighted ride. It was beautiful to see the snow falling in the light of the super bright headlight as it fired up the night. I rode over to Hubbard Hills with a bottle of Stout to enjoy, and an extra layer to wear while sitting on one of the many Leopold benches scattered around the woods. If you haven’t been to this great trail network in awhile, you’ve got to get out there. A hearty crew of trail workers has been diligently pluggin’ away for the past couple months to open up a new section of singletrack that is riding great and going to snowshoe wonderfully. In fact, just yesterday we finally connected the brand new stuff to the existing and now there’s about a mile of twisty fun that highlights some of the rock features and some great sinkholes. Sitting on the bench enjoying my reward, as cozy as could be, I had one of those “Life is real good” moments and wished that there was a way of capturing it all in photos or something. Of course there was not. I hope that some of you can read this though and think about your last trip into the snowy woods and how special it was and embrace what is about to happen to our local paradise.
The snow is coming.

Staff Picks- Bar Mitts

2010-11-30T20:04:00.000-08:00

I just got back from one of the best trail rides I've taken this year. It was so special that I also wrote an entry about it, but this is all about the new product that I've been testing and think that you should all know about. I first heard about Bar Mitts when I was checkin' out some of the Iditabike reports. If you're not familiar with this event, here's the scoop. Folks who are way more dedicated than myself will head up to Alaska every winter to race mountain bikes across the frozen landscape some 1000+ miles and endure 40 below temps. Beyond the obvious question of "Why", the next question is "How"? How do they stay warm (and alive)? Introducing Bar Mitts. These groovy handlebar covers of sorts are the warmest answer to cold weather riding I've found yet. I've had mine now for about a month. And while we haven't had sub zero temps, we have had teens and we've had freezing rain. I've been out on the Pugsley in both and my hands have been toasty warm. In fact, just the other morning I headed out for a pre-work ride. The temperature was in the teens and I ended up having to stop and take my lobster mitts off cuz my hands were sweaty hot. Bar Mitts attach to any standard mountain bike or road bike handlebar easily and can be used with or without gloves. Come on in to the shop, check mine out and pick up a set for yourself and the rider on your Christmas list.

2010-11-22T14:45:00.001-08:00

Coffee, Super Sales, and Parades!!

We’re planning a big week here at Bluedog Cycles and here’s the scoop.

It’s official!!! Brewdog is open. The coffee shop has been under construction for some time now and we are finally opening the doors. We have been licensed, trained by the pros at Kickapoo Coffee. We put together a menu, and Kait, Alycann, and Bryn are ready to pour it on.

Stop by this week and enjoy a cup of coffee while you do your Christmas shopping, or just belly up to the coffee bar, grab a fancy espresso drink, and hang out with some friends. We will be open late on Friday for the Twinkle Fest Parade so you can warm up before the fun event.

Bluedog will be open this Friday on the “big shopping day”. We will open our doors at noon (we need to ride off the Thanksgiving turkey first) and stay open through the Twinkle Fest Parade. For the big sale we’re blowing everything out. Everything is on sale on Friday and Saturday. All items are 20-50% off including 2011 bikes, Ibex wool, Atlas snowshoes, Rossignol Nordic skis, and Vernon Trails’ garb. Some of last years bikes, clothes, bags, and accessories will be marked down as low as 50% off. Come by and do your Christmas shopping locally for your favorite outdoor player.

And finally, Bluedog Cycles will be participating again in the Twinkle Fest Parade. This year we will be meeting in the large parking lot behind Nelson’s Agri-Center right next to the Warehouse (look for the Bluedog Cycles white van) at 6:45pm for the short, but super fun parade. Afterwards we will be partying at the shop. Prizes will be given to the best decorated rider and/or bike.

We look forward to seeing you this week and hope to play with you all soon.

Twinkle Fest Parade

2010-11-22T14:43:00.000-08:00

Calling all riders and parade lovers!

The Twinkle Fest Parade is quickly approaching the town of Viroqua, and Bluedog Cycles is looking for parade riders. Every year, on the Friday night after Thanksgiving we decorate our bikes, don our warm wears, and ride our trusted two-wheeled steeds through the streets of Viroqua as the most enthusiastic group in the Twinkle Fest Parade. This year we will be meeting in the large parking lot behind Nelson’s Agri-Center right next to the Warehouse (look for the Bluedog Cycles white van) at 6:45pm to do our pre-ride warm-ups and practice our choreographed riding tricks. As always, the best decorated rider/bike will be rewarded with a gift certificate from your favorite local bike shop. After the parade, we will head to the shop for a little party. Please pass this along to anyone that you think might enjoy being in a parade, and we’ll see you on Friday night.

Happy Thanksgiving from our staff and please eat responsibly.

October Update

2010-10-26T15:06:00.000-07:00

As I sit here bloggin’ this it’s blustery and cold. The wind is whipping, the rain is sheeting sideways, and the branches falling off the trees in my front yard make me wonder what’s happening to our trails right now. We haven’t had a new post here in awhile and I guess that’s because we have had such a busy season that we haven’t had the time. That said, there is a lot going on at the shop that y’all should be aware of and I’m going to fill you in right now.

For starters, with the exception of the weather we’ve had this weekend, the riding has been amazing this fall. The roads are clear and we’ve had very few windy days, the Cyclocross practice series is going great (thanks Newlin), and the trails have never ridden better. We opened up a new section at Sidie and a new mile of trail at Hubbard Hills (with more to be completed yet this year). We have added a half dozen fancy new lighting systems to the crew of regulars and now we are seeing a full-on “train” of lights on our Friday night group rides in the woods.

While those fun activities are going on outside, here’s what is happening inside.

We added Felt Bicycles to our already strong line of bikes at the shop. We are very excited to be working with these fine folks and have seen some beautiful bikes come through the shop. I was feeling that Bluedog Cycles was missing out a bit on the road market and with Felt onboard I feel like we have it all now. I guess others feel that way too, as we’ve sold more road bikes in the past month than we did all season long. But don’t overlook Felt when it comes to mountain and Cyclocross offerings. I’m now personally in possession of a gorgeous new carbon fiber 29er that tips the scales at just 23 pounds and a Cyclocross bike that is way faster than I.

On a day like today when the wind rips through to the bone, it’s great to be wrapped from head to toe in wool. If you’ve paid attention to my rants and strong opinions in the past, you know I love wool. Ibex wool wears are starting to come in and if you haven’t pulled the trigger on this stuff in the past, now is the time. Nothing feels better in the fall and winter than wool. It is warm and cozy and it doesn’t build up that nasty stink that all your poly-plastic does. To sweeten the deal, Bluedog Cycles offers all of the Ibex line at 20% off all the time. Whether we have it in stock or we have to order it for you, you will get it on sale and not pay shipping. Makes mail order seem like a rip off eh?

On November 1st, our Atlas snowshoes and Rossignol Nordic skis are shipping to the shop. We have been a proud supplier of Atlas snowshoes for four years now and last year was our first year with skis and it went great. We are renting both snowshoes and skis and with both you can apply that rental fee towards a purchase of new stuff for you and your family. We are also moving stuff around in the repair shop to make room for the ski tuning equipment and we will be providing the area skiers with great ski tech support.

Lastly, Brewdog is coming!! The coffee corner has been in the works for some time now and hopefully by next month we will be pouring steaming cups of Joe from the gang over at Kickapoo Roasters (Roast Magazine’s 2010 Roaster of the Year). Kait Keeley will be bringin’ it with her barista skills and lovely charm very soon, and the shop will smell better than ever.

To all our loyal followers over the years, Thank You! And to you folks that haven’t made it in yet, we are excited to get to know you and hear about your adventures. Stop in and see what we’ve got going on at the shop and let us help you make the most of your valuable “play” time.

Sidiefest 2010 and Map!

2010-10-14T15:41:00.000-07:00

On Saturday, September 25th, Vernon Trails hosted their 5th annual Sidiefest at Sidie Hollow County Park. Over 50 volunteers arrived ready to do various trail work tasks in the morning and worked until mid-afternoon. Over 250 hours of volunteer work was logged and trail maintenance tasks included raking, brush cutting, invasive species eradication, and bench cutting.

The event, which always falls on National Public Lands Day has logged over 1000 volunteer hours, seen 300+ volunteers, and produced 9 miles of wonderful “shared-use” trails for all park visitors to enjoy. Over the past four years Vernon Trails has been working closely with Vernon County Parks to create a trail network that has become an invaluable resource for the community and a considerable draw to silent sports enthusiasts from a much broader regional scope.

After the work day concluded, volunteers were invited to stay for a barbeque, a door prize raffle, and entertainment from four local bands. Over 150 people attended the event to “play in the park” for the day. Several attendees stayed to camp for the night and have a big pancake breakfast on Sunday. Guided trail tours were given by bike and foot after breakfast and the new sections of trail were “stomped down”.

Vernon Trails would like to thank the many, many volunteers who showed up to work in the woods, the great bands that entertained us, The Cakery, The Viroqua Food Co-op, Organic Valley and Central Waters for the food and drink, Dairyland Printing, Bluedog Cycles, Mt Borah for their continued support, door prize schwag, and the use of their cool shuttle van, Human Powered Trails (of La Crosse) for the use of their trail tools, and the tireless friends who help out all year long with the random volunteer efforts.

Trail work will continue well into the fall at Sidie Hollow as well as on the 150 acres of private land that Vernon Trails is building upon. The long term vision is to connect the Sidie Hollow trail network all the way back to the town of Viroqua. Please contact Vernon Trails for more information on how to become a volunteer or to make your tax deductible donation to the non-profit group so we can continue to create this silent sports paradise.

IMBA Visit and New Trail!!

2010-07-29T12:29:00.000-07:00

Hello Friends

The IMBA visit went great! We learned a lot, heard a lot of really great things, opened some political doors, built some beautiful trail, and made some new friends. We have a lot to talk about and digest, and I'm really excited about it.

Check out the blog entry posted by Chris and Leslie of the IMBA Trail Care Crew below:

On the Trail with IMBA

Click HERE to view more pictures from the visit.

Thank you all for your enthusiasm

Pete Taylor
Volunteer Board President
Vernon Trails Inc.

Blue's News!

2010-05-26T14:35:00.000-07:00

Wow! What an amazing spring.

While Bluedog Cycles settled in it's new dog house, we sure hope you have been out enjoying this fantastic riding weather.

Here's this week's Blue's news:

DAWG ~ 1st of the season Ladies Night Ride a big success. I was certain my 6 o'clock ride was going to be rained out, but 10 wonderful women turned out, and the rain stayed away. It felt great to get out on the bike. Being surrounded by such supportive, and fun women makes it all the better. Thank you all who joined in the kick off party and first ride. Hope to see you, and many more faces! Happy Riding.
Dallas is back! Our first employee ever Dallas Seevers has completed his first year of college and returned to Bluedog for the summer. Dallas was born with a wrench in his hand, and will always greet you with a smile. Come down and welcome Dallas back.
Welcome Kate Bergen. Kate is the newest member of the Bluedog team. Kate has been riding with the DAWG's, since it's beginning 3 years ago. You will see Kate helping out behind the counter. Kate is a great fit to the Bluedog Team.
Brewdog. Coffee corner construction soon to get underway. Excuse our mess as we begin this renovation. More details to follow.

Special Thanks to all the Bluedog Supporters out there!

Hope to see you out peddling.

Tailwinds!

2010-03-01T19:38:00.000-08:00

We have moved and we're open! We are in our new digs at 210 South Main Street (the old Dahl pharmacy building). We have tripled our size, we've splashed "Tully" color everywhere, and our carpenters built the sweetest layout I could have asked for. We're still living out of boxes a bit, but it's looking great. We're already taking in bike work and still rolling with the snow sports.
The rumors of the coffee shop are right on. We're working with the gang over at Kickapoo Roasters to set up a super cozy little hang out and that should be going in the next month or so. The flat screen will be looping all the coolest videos and any helmet cam productions that y'all bring me.
I have a returning staff this season that is ready to start rockin' and the group rides are going to be bigger and better than ever.
We had at least 60 folks that helped us move (too many classes, families, and Bluedog campers to mention). Thanks a million, we couldn't do what we do without you friends.
Stop by to see the shop and tell us your stories about where you've been playing these days.

Staff Picks - Ibex Woolies

2010-01-18T19:19:00.000-08:00

Well, I reckon it’s time to throw my opinion into the ring and write a “hot pick” of my own. The Taylor Clan just returned from a great week’s stay at the cabin up in Bayfield County. The girls and I loaded up the van with Oscar the dog, just about everything in our home refrigerator, some good tunes, and a tremendous amount of gear.
In fact, as a quick side note, it’s difficult to “hot pick” just one thing since every time we went out to play we were technically using some gear from the bike shop. I skied some new Rossignol skate skis, I rode the Surly Pugsley on miles and miles of winding snowmobile trail, we snow shoed on our Atlas shoes while pulling the Burley with the “We Ski Kit” adapter, and I ran in my waterproof Pearl Izumi running shoes with the Yaktrax traction chains strapped on for the ice. But with all that stuff, the thing that I kept forcing Alycann to listen to me rave about was the Ibex woolies that I sported the whole week.
Much wiser folks than I have been wearing wool for about as long as there have been sheep, and pretty much every one in the land that lives above the 42nd Parallel has a favorite pair of long johns. Ibex melds the two and creates the most functional and comfortable long underwear I have worn.

Embrace winter with Bluedog!

2010-01-18T19:11:00.000-08:00

While it’s looking like another snowy winter, we’d like to let you all know what we have at Bluedog to keep you outside having fun this season. Bluedog Cycles is now officially a “ski shop”, with new Rossignol Nordic skis coming in every week. You can buy a ski package from us, rent a package, or have us fix and wax your favorite old sticks.
This is also our third year with Atlas snowshoes. We have several models for men, women, and kids including all the accessories for sale, as well as a large rental fleet. Come on in and our staff can help find the perfect winter toy for you.

Skis- We have Rossignol skate, classic, touring, and
backcountry skis for rent.

Snowshoes- We have Atlas 10 Series snowshoes for
men and women to rent.

Rental Pricing:
Item- ½ Day, Full Day, Weekend

Skate Skis $15.00 $25.00 $35.00

Classic Skis $10.00 $20.00 $30.00

Snowshoes $7.00 $12.00 $20.00

Some Great Press

2009-12-17T10:32:00.000-08:00

Staff Picks - Altas 10 Series Snowshoes!

2009-12-16T07:16:00.000-08:00

Hi Everybody! I'm super excited about the new snow and the opportunities it creates to be outside playing with my family. I recently test drove a pair of Atlas 10-25 snowshoes at the new Maple Street (Hubbard Hills) trail system with my dog - and they worked great! The one hand adjustment on the straps was easy with mittened hands and the lateral crampons kept me nice and stable when I headed off-trail into the trees.
If you're interested in checking them out, as well, come on into the shop. We have the same model in our rental fleet - take them for an afternoon, a day, or spend the weekend outside exploring!!!
Cheers, Bryn

A New Frontier at Bluedog Cycles

2009-12-05T14:47:00.000-08:00

It’s official, and it’s time to address the rumors, Bluedog Cycles is moving! We’re thrilled to be relocating this winter into the Dahl Pharmacy building. This is the spot that Alycann and I have coveted for four years now. The best space in Vernon County, dare I say. This year saw more growth at the shop and we found ourselves stepping on each others toes and stashing way too much cool stuff in the back warehouse because we didn’t have room for it in the front. Then…our friend Karen Dahl called us up with a solution.
Since that initial conversation, I have found myself, many a night, standing in a big ol’ empty space in the heart of downtown wondering how we will fill it, where the half walls will go, where the flat screen will be hung, where the skis hang, which windows the coffee shop will look out, how many speakers we need, and when the first parking lot party/live music gig will go down. Yeah, we’re super excited.

The plans for it all go kinda like this-
• We’re in our new space starting in February.
• We’re bringing in Rossignol skis (Nordic at first), and a ski tuning shop.
• We’re working with our friends at Kickapoo Coffee (Roast Magazine’s Roaster of the Year) to set up a great coffee corner in the shop. Grab a latte while your skis are waxed or your flat is fixed.
• We’re also working with my buddy Chris and his crew up at Mt.Borah. Bluedog Cycles will become the official factory outlet store for all the great Mt.Borah stuff as well as feature all their latest and greatest.
• A much improved service area. Enough room for all the mechanics to get their job done without anybody getting in the way.
• More room to roam. Our little shop got a little tight at times.
• Look for some live music and local art at the shop

All of this is going to be happening right in the epicenter of downtown Viroqua. Same block as the farmer’s market, huge parking, stoplights for easy driving access, and a stones throw from some other great shops.
In the meantime, please stop by to say hi and tell us about your latest outdoor adventure. Maybe you can even help us with our move by taking some of the inventory off our hands so we don’t have so much to move. The weather is showing signs of a new season and it’s beautiful outside. There is nothing quite like leaving “first tracks” in the snow whether it’s on wheels, heels, snowshoes, or skis.