A timely biz idea: Storage and showers for cyclists
Catering to the growing population of bike commuters is paying off for Minneapolis' Freewheel Midtown Bike Center.
(Fortune Small Business) -- Sweaty, hot, and gross after biking to work? Cyclists in Minneapolis now have a better option than sponge baths in the restroom: The Freewheel Midtown Bike Center, where riders can take a shower, access lockers, lock up their bikes, and enjoy discounts on tune-ups and rentals.
A shower costs $3 per day, or cyclists can shell out $110 to join the Commuter Club, which covers all costs and gives them priority access to lockers and showers, as well as 24-hour bike-storage benefits.
Freewheel, located right on the Midtown Greenway, was inspired by a city-run enterprise in Chicago. The Minneapolis effort was spearheaded by small-business owner Kevin Ishaug, who opened the center as the second outpost of his five-year-old Freewheel Bike Shop. His timing couldn't have been better: Traffic on the bike path spiked 30% in the first half of 2008.
"We are the first private company to provide these kinds of services for bikers," says Ishaug, who anticipates revenues of $400,000 for the center's first six months. "During the first week we opened, we had 67 people sign up in one day."
Even Minneapolis Mayor R.T. Rybak regularly frequents the depot for his morning coffee and energy bar.
"We all love bikers, but we don't always love the way they smell," he says. "The new center has been extraordinarily successful, especially because it opened right as we came into the summer of soaring gas prices, causing the biking population to go off the charts." 
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