COVID Bike Diaries - Breadwinner Cycles & Orucase
COVID-19 Forces Cycling Brands to Shift - Others Close Their Doors
It seemed like just a few days ago it was business as usual. Group rides were rolling, trails were open and cycling brands were seeing steady growth across the industry. Then everything changed. The novel coronavirus known as COVID-19 quickly spread around the globe and has virtually upended every aspect of life here in the US. The entire west coast is now under state-mandated stay at home and shelter in place orders, forcing any non-essential businesses to close their doors. Unfortunately for many in the cycling industry, this has meant the loss of work as some brands are forced to lay off or furlough employees for an uncertain amount of time. But a few brands are looking for new ways of working in the midst of uncertainty, approaching business as an opportunity to support their local community or aid in the fight against the pandemic. With the infrastructure in place and some creative thinking, both Breadwinner Cycles in Portland, OR and Orucase in San Diego, CA have quickly transitioned their spaces to remain open. We heard from both of them and share their stories below.
Ira Ryan - Breadwinner Cycles
“We are getting through day by day. Oregon has issued a stay at home order but fortunately bike shops are considered an essential business in this town so that's good. While the world has gone sideways, I am happy to see more people out riding bikes. I’ve run into a few people who work at shops and they all say they’ve been busy with small repairs, etc. It seems that people are dusting off those old bikes and enjoying the spring weather (which is also very odd but nice for riding bikes).
Breadwinner Cycles Portland Workshop. PC: John Watson
“We are open for business and adapting as best we can. We’ve had to lay off Jackie, Mollie (who help with production at Breadwinner) and Dillen from Sugar but we are responding to a lot of calls from riders, both Breadwinner and non BW, to do repairs and the like. Starting this week, we are taking in service work to help keep Portland and Breadwinner Cycles rolling along. We might not know what’s going to happen in the coming weeks or months but we will get through this. Deep down I am proud to see Portland deal with this global crisis with a real sense of community and I hope when we put this behind us, we will be a more connected city via bicycle.”
Ira Ryan, co-founder at Breadwinner Cycles. PC: John Watson
Colin Jaskiewicz - Orucase
“We saw almost a 100% reduction in normal business as a result. Potentially going out of business and the radical change to our day to day hasn't had a chance to set in, as we've retooled our production line and warehouse to produce much needed personal protective equipment. The call to a greater good, and pooling our resources realized itself last week. We're making masks for consumers with the goal of donating 20 masks to medical professionals for every mask sold. Once fully operational we think we can manufacture 500,000 masks a week.”
Colin Jaskiewicz, co-founder at Orucase in their San Diego facility. PC: Dave Malwitz
Breadwinner Cycles makes handmade, custom bicycles for people who love to ride every day. Each bike is one-of-a-kind, a unique expression of craftsmanship, quality and beauty. Please visit them at Breadwinner Cycles.
Orucase makes high quality, durable bags for cyclists, including the award winning Airport Ninja bicycle travel case. They also make a wide selection of functional bike bags for the adventure cyclist. Please visit them at Orucase.