The way Jesus Mendiola sees it, “you’ve got to move or you’ll go down.”

It’s a befitting viewpoint for the owner of two Trek Bicycle stores in the Rio Grande Valley. Mendiola recently opened a store in Harlingen to go with his existing shop in Mission. He opened the latter business in 2007. A visit to the Trek Harlingen showroom features dozens of bicycles of differing styles, colors and prices.

These bicycles are for fitness enthusiasts who have more than a passing interest in exercise. The price points for these cycles start at about $700 and go from there to the thousands of dollars. Big box store bicycles serve their purpose for the around-the-block cyclist, Mendiola said. More will be required of a bicycle if its user goes up in levels of speed and endurance.

“Somewhat regular cycling will demand more of a bicycle,” Mendiola said. “We listen to what a customer needs and expects from a bicycle. Where is it they want to ride, and what do they want and expect from their bicycle?”

With those questions answered, Mendiola and his staff guides customers to the variety of choices, from an entry level bicycle to the rugged varieties of mountain bikes, or maybe a lighter weight model for the triathlete who needs speed for competitions. 

Reaching A Retirement Plan

Mendiola recalls with a grin when he “had a real job.”

He spent over two decades selling chemicals in the automotive industry. Mendiola held that full-time job when he opened his first Trek store in 2007. At the time, Mission had only one bicycle shop and he recalled hearing complaints about it. Encouragement from around the community spurred him to open a 1,200-square-foot shop in Mission. It has since expanded to a 5,000-square-foot store at another location.

Mendiola described the side business as his eventual retirement plan. Running and owning a bicycle sales and repair shop is what he envisioned doing once his “real job” ran its course. Fifteen years after opening in Mission, that’s exactly what has happened, with a new store in Harlingen adding to his retirement plan activities. 

“I tell people, ‘I’m not working now,’ ” he said. “I sell bikes and pack tubes.”

Making Friends On The Road

Trek Bicycle started in a Wisconsin barn in 1975. It would grow to become a prominent American manufacturer of mid-to-high end cycles and became a favorite of professional riders.

Trek’s product models would expand to include everyday riders, the beginner, hobby and recreational cyclists to go with the elite athletes. It’s all reflected in Mendiola’s show rooms in Harlingen and Mission. He is the Valley’s only Trek dealer. The growth in his business and stores is meeting what he called the Valley’s expanding “outdoor community,” as seen in the network of hike-and-bike trails in many RGV cities.

Mendiola says he has three core customers. There’s the experienced rider who knows what he or she is looking for and is precise in what they are seeking. The second is the weekend warrior who is usually part of a group that rides weekly for rides going 30 miles plus. The third is the entry level rider, which Mendiola said is his biggest customer segment.

There is the solitary cyclist fighting the perennial Valley southeast winds blowing in from the Gulf of Mexico, but increasingly there are more bike clubs and group riders in the region. Mendiola’s shops are tapping into the group aspects of riding. His Trek Bicycle stores host social rides where cyclists meet up on Saturdays at the Mission and Harlingen shops, and use them as staging grounds to head out. 

One recent social ride in Harlingen started out from the store there, going by a nearby high school before heading down Harrison and Tyler avenues and out toward the airport before getting back to home base on north Sunshine Strip for cookies and refreshments at the Trek shop. These rides form friendships that add to the need “to get moving,” he said.

Cycling should be fun, Mendiola said, leading him to say, “I tell people my drinking friends have a cycling problem.”

It’s a good problem to have if you own bicycle shops and are busy living one man’s version of a happy retirement plan.