Good Neighbor Podcast: Fort Collins
Bringing together local businesses and neighbors of Fort Collins. Good Neighbor Podcast hosted by Nick George helps residents discover and connect with your local business owners in and around Fort Collins, Colorado.
Is your business serving the residents of Fort Collins? Then, we need to talk! Visit gnpFortCollins.com to schedule your free interview.
Good Neighbor Podcast: Fort Collins
Community Wheels: How Link Cycling Transforms Biking Culture
What happens when a devastating brain injury and a failed business become the foundation for something extraordinary? Melissa Ross and her husband Aaron transformed personal setbacks into Link Cycling, a revolutionary bike shop in Laramie, Wyoming that's redefining what the cycling experience should feel like.
The journey began during COVID when Aaron, a respected bike fitter, pivoted to virtual consultations for clients nationwide. From this necessity-driven innovation, Link Cycling emerged as a welcoming haven that actively counters the intimidating atmosphere many associate with traditional bike shops. "Sometimes they have a vibe of they ignore you or they expect you to know everything about bikes," Melissa explains, describing the industry problem they're solving. Their approach? Creating a judgment-free zone where cyclists of all experience levels feel understood.
Behind the business philosophy lies Melissa's personal resilience story. A mountain biking accident left her with a traumatic brain injury that took over four years to recover from. She experienced everything from dizziness and memory loss to double vision and emotional regulation challenges. This profound journey, which she documented in her podcast "Get Your Head Back in the Game," infuses her approach to customer service with extraordinary empathy. The shop doesn't just sell bikes—they build relationships, offer skills coaching, and help customers experience the childlike joy that comes from cycling. As Melissa beautifully puts it, "When you get on a bike, you have this 'oh wow, I feel like myself as a kid again.'"
Whether you're an experienced cyclist or just beginning your journey, Link Cycling demonstrates how a specialty retail experience can feel supportive rather than intimidating. Visit their website at thelinkinnovations.com or stop by their shop at 263 North 3rd Street in Laramie to experience their unique approach firsthand, or call Link Cycling at 307-761-9260. Share your own cycling journey with us and let us know how inclusive spaces have changed your relationship with sports or hobbies!
podcast. The place where local businesses and neighbors come together. Here's your host, nick George.
Speaker 2:Welcome to the Good Neighbor podcast. Are you in need of some very serious cycling innovations? One company might be closer than you think. Today I have the great pleasure of introducing your good neighbor, Melissa Ross, who is a former cycling professional and a current cycling coach, but also has her own store, which is almost a laboratory, on top of the store. Melissa, how's it going?
Speaker 3:Good, how are you?
Speaker 2:We're excited to learn all about you and your business. Tell us about your company.
Speaker 3:Well Link Cycling. We're located in Laramie, wyoming, and the business is owned by myself and my husband, aaron. We started about three years ago at our location, which is right off of Third Street, and started small. It was mostly with bike fitting services and then doing some repairs bike fitting services and then doing some repairs and then we started to build on top of that with providing many different cycling brands for bikes and providing all the types of parts and tools you might need when you walk into a bike shop.
Speaker 2:How did you get into the business in the first place?
Speaker 3:Well, our business is actually kind of a comeback story from a previous business that didn't work out and we lost a lot from that. So it came out of COVID. During COVID there was a lot of people who needed bike fits virtually, and my husband, aaron's a really well-known bike fitter and he had people all over the country who he'd worked with previously that needed his help, and so he's figured out how to do it virtually and so we just started getting our own thing going again. And once he got the bike fits going, people who had a bike fit needed a new bike. And he goes Melissa, we need bikes. And it was after COVID when the supply chain was kind of messed up so there weren't any brands taking on new vendors, so we had a hard time actually getting a bike brand and getting things going. But once we did, it just started to like, started to work, work out, and now here we are.
Speaker 2:Nice, what are some myths or misconceptions in your industry?
Speaker 3:we are Nice. What are some myths or misconceptions in your industry? Well, I think a big one that we're trying to really get over is when you walk into a bike shop, you know, sometimes they have a vibe of they ignore you or they expect you to know everything about bikes. And there's a lot of people who are getting into cycling. So we try really hard to, you know, be welcoming and nonjudgmental so that, no matter who you are or what stage you are in cycling, you feel understood and um, and welcomed. And then the other myth I think um people have is, um, they. They sometimes think it's very expensive, which it can be, but there's a lot of different levels of how you can get into the sport. And so you know, we try really hard to you know, work through what that person's budget might be and help them get started where they're at who are your target customers, speaking of budget, and how are you attracting them now?
Speaker 3:Well, we have a lot of different avenues. We have word of mouth, which is locally and also through bike fitting. We still do a lot of virtual bike fits for people in Alaska and all over the country, but we also get people who come up from like Fort Collins and out of town where they can't find a bike shop. That provides them with a lot of one-on-one time and service, so they'll make the drive here and come see us. We also, locally, we support our local like trail builders. We support the local middle school high school team. We have our own program in the summer for little kids to teach them how to get on bikes. So we're constantly trying to be involved in the community in terms of the cycling aspect and getting people you know excited about it, cause once you get that excitement, that's when you know you want to come to the bike shop too.
Speaker 2:I haven't been more excited than I was when I saw your website with BMX bikes with rear suspension.
Speaker 3:Oh, yeah, oh yeah, those are fun.
Speaker 2:It made me want to run right down there, honestly.
Speaker 3:Yeah, yeah. And being on a bike I mean, like I think for a lot of people, and including adults, no matter your age, it takes you back to being a kid again. So, um, so, once that person gets on a bike, they have this like oh wow, I feel like I feel like my myself as a kid again, and then they want more of that.
Speaker 2:Have you ever thought about doing your own podcast?
Speaker 3:Well, I actually have a podcast, but I haven't updated it in a while. It's called Get your Head Back in the Game, and that podcast I started after I suffered a traumatic brain injury, and so the podcast covers my story of recovery through my traumatic brain injury and interviews different types of people, my traumatic brain injury and interviews different types of people. Um, I'm 100% recovered now, um, partially from the podcast and meeting certain people who helped me along the way.
Speaker 2:But uh, yeah, it was. It was from a mountain biking accident, so is it on your? I'm looking right now. Is it under videos?
Speaker 3:and articles on your website? Um no, I think it's in my bio actually I have a link to it, but I can see it later.
Speaker 2:Tell us about that story. I mean, I typically don't ask people for their master, master chef hardship story, but um, yeah, um, and that was partially the same timing of like, when we were before we started getting the this bike shop going.
Speaker 3:Um, you know, during COVID I had a mountain biking accident where I knocked myself out and I was unconscious for a while and woke up and didn't know where I was or how I got there and, um, and I had had a you know, concussions before. But um, at the time you, you know, when you go to the ER, they would just say, well, here's some, here's some ibuprofen and it's going to take a while, good luck. There wasn't much support medical facility. They often have a lot of screening that helps identify many different symptoms of concussions and brain injury. And, and I had, I you know, I had things from dizziness to memory loss, to double vision and, you know, not being able to control my emotions. So there was this layer upon layer of issues that I had to kind of, piece by piece, unravel and work my way through it. But it took over four years to recover.
Speaker 2:It's impressive what you've done, seriously. So, melissa, please tell our listeners one thing that they should absolutely remember what the big takeaway from this, this interview with you about link cycling.
Speaker 3:Well, I think the big takeaway is that, you know, we, we want people to come in and feel like, you know, it's not about us and our shop, it's about them and where they're at in their journey. And we, we don't want people to feel pressured that they have to go buy a fancy bike to come into our store. It's it's more about building relationships, getting to know people and helping them with, rather, you know, a small fix on their bike to. You know, maybe they make a big jump and purchase something that you know is a big deal to them. And we like to take the time to help people. You know, if they're getting into something new, learn how to do it Like we'll go out and do skills coaching or, you know, help help people feel comfortable on their new bike, um, comfortable on their bike, fit. And we want the whole experience to be more than just you get the bike and see you later. It's, you know it's. It's a new, I guess, upgrade to your lifestyle when you get on a bike and you really enjoy it.
Speaker 2:True. How can our listeners learn more about Link Cycling? Melissa?
Speaker 3:They can visit our website it's thelinkinnovationscom, or they can just come see us. We're at 263 North 3rd Street in Laramie.
Speaker 2:Well, Melissa, I really appreciate you being on our show and we wish you and Link Cycling the very best moving forward.
Speaker 1:Thank you have a good one you too, Thank you for listening to the Good Neighbor Podcast. To nominate your favorite local businesses to be featured on the show, go to GNPFortCollinscom. That's GNPFortCollinscom, or call 970-438-0825.