Bikes, Beer, Music
A Conversation with Todd Mader of The Bike Lane
By Martín Fernández
Immersion. Focus.
Having those qualities has helped Todd Mader achieve, and continue to achieve, his goals and dreams.
If you have been involved in the cycling community for any amount of time in Northern Virginia, you will have undoubtedly heard of The Bike Lane (TBL). A locally owned bike shop that has managed to thrive in an era when other regional businesses have faltered.
TBL first opened for business in Burke, in 2001. Anne and Todd Mader took a leap and pursued their dream to open a bike shop to serve our community. Anne was the driving force in getting things started, and with support from husband Todd, things rolled out quickly.
“Anne was doing all the prep while I was working full time; her entrepreneurial spirit is what got us going,” Todd told me during a recent call. “Our goal was to open the shop in March 2001 while I worked my regular job. The plan was for me to work TBL nights and weekends.”
Todd and Anne married in late 2001, and by the time they opened the doors for business, Anne was pregnant with their first child, Cameron. I remember outings at Fountainhead and seeing a “very pregnant” Anne tackling the trails. With clearance from her Dr. she was able to enjoy what she did most.
But, by the time she hit 7 months, she needed a little bit of help running things at TBL. Todd took the risk, quit his job, and dove in to help out with the day to day operations of the shop on a full time basis. It’s been non-stop for both of them since.
Todd transferred his passion for riding into owning a regional bike shop.
“There were a lot of risks,” he told me. “We weighed waiting until we were older, but decided the risk was worth the effort. We were young, and had the energy and enthusiasm to make things happen.”
The first TBL was opened in Burke, VA in 2001 at the corner of Old Keen Mill and Lee Chapel Roads. (note from author: it’s where I bought my daughter’s first bike.) Seven years later, Anne and Todd opened their second location at Reston Town Center. They sustained two locations for nearly 2 decades.
Issues with parking at Reston Town center forced the couple to start looking for alternative locations. Around this time, Todd had received a family gift for Christmas, a home brewing kit, and, like much of his endeavors, he immersed himself in home brewing. He moved his new craft from the kitchen to the garage, started growing his own hops. Then it hit, “how cool would it be if we could open a bike shop with a brewery and coffee bar in it?” So, he worked on the issue.
Somehow their realtor found a spot along the W&OD trail that should not have been listed as a retail location. The spot had been originally a bank and had been sitting empty for a while, so the landlord was eager to lease it out. Their issue, however, was that the location could house a brewery, but not a bike shop. After (18) months of work, their petition to change the zoning designation of the location came through, and before they knew it, their current Reston location opened for business. The location was great, “the dream finally happened.”
After nearly 18 month of working to get the zoning for the new location straightened out, The Bike Lane Reston location opened for business!
“By now we really wanted to focus on the one location and got an offer from Trek for our Springfield store that we could simply not pass on. Now that we are focused on the one store, the brewery is growing. We’re also focusing on rentals, and our service offerings are growing. We’re working to figure out how to balance things out.”
The leap from homebrewing to professional home brewing is massive, but with the help from the local brewing community Todd was able to find equipment that allowed him to brew three times more capacity than what he was doing at home. “It allowed me to ‘pilot’ beers and then scale up if I wanted. The leap and cost wasn’t as significant as it would have been in the past.”
“The beer brewing community, much like the cycling community, is one of the most welcoming. When we were starting all the other breweries I reached out to were generous with their time and advice. Aslin Brewing Company and Adrian Widman from Ocelot Brewing were particularly helpful.”
When Todd and Anne started producing, it was brewed 100% at TBL. But that all changed with demand, and “once the beer became popular I had to figure out a way to sustain it. That’s when Blake Ross came into the picture. He was a customer with brewing experience and he started helping me. Ultimately he took over the operation. Blake has entered TBL brews into several competitions and it has earned Hellwig – named after Bill Hellwig, a TBL bike fitter – a first place prize in the Hazy IPA category in Virginia’s Craft Beer competition.
Blake Ross, middle, is The Bike Lane’s current head brewer. Local legend Bill Hellwig, right, is The Bike Lane’s professional fitter. He is als the inspiration for The Bike Lane’s Brewing New England IPA. The beer has won a gold medal in the Virginia Brewers competition.
As the operation and demand has grown, TBL has had to source out the majority of the beer they sell to a Manassas brewery. “We give them the recipe, show them our process, and they brew it for us.” The Manassas brewery currently produces three of TBL’s flagship beers, Klunker, Wardio’s and Hellwig. Todd told me that he is currently working toward their own 10 barrel system so that they can manage their own large scale operation and ultimately, expand their offerings.
The shop’s location, coupled with the beer and coffee bar, has become a destination you should not miss.
With business humming, Todd has also found time to devote time to his other passion, drumming. “With the kids at school, I have been able to focus more time on playing the drums and being able to ‘make noise’ at home.”
Todd has always been a musician, and now, beyond the shop and brewery immersions, he’s working to improve his drumming. He plays in Collective and is averaging 55 shows a year! “Somehow I manage to find the time to rehearse, get to gigs, get a ride in, brew beer and work at the bike shop.”
Todd also plays in Collective a local and that is averaging 55 shows a year! Photo: Steve Castano Photography
“We’re working to expand the patio at TBL so that we can also offer acoustic offerings,” Todd told me. “Ultimately we’re living our dream, running a family owned local bike shop that offers more than just ‘bike’. We’ve immersed our personalities into the effort and our reston location has become a destination for many to not only shop for bike related merchandise, but to also enjoy a good cup of coffee, a beer and, on occasion, some good music.”