Cycling is a big part of Washington, DC’s culture. Many people living in the district find it easier and quicker to bike to work than any other form of transportation. Biking in DC is easy because of organizations like Washington Area Bicyclist Association (WABA) who advocate for bikers’ needs such as bike lanes and bike parking. My first experience with biking was when WABA held their annual Bike to Work Day on my birthday three years ago. After that I was hooked because I found biking to be a relaxing way to start and end my work day. Biking to work also encouraged me to find out about local bike events and offerings. DC has many bike shops catering to both commuter and advanced cyclists.

The Bike Rack, located on 14th and Q Streets near Logan’s Circle, is one of the community-based shops found in DC. The owner Chuck Harney combined this love for business, bikes, and social awareness when he founded The Bike Rack. The small, hand-picked staff excels in the customer’s needs from fixing a flat tire to building customized bikes. As part of their mission, The Bike Rack creates community by organizing bike clinics, group rides, and teams for competitive riding.

Another unique way The Bike Rack creates community is by offering a weekly yoga class for cyclists. The idea started two years ago when bike enthusiast and yoga teacher, Tatiana, approached Harney with the idea to combine yoga and biking. As a result, the class meets every Sunday at 6pm to practice yoga for one hour. The class is often a mixture of local community members and bikers looking for a non-intimidating atmosphere to practice yoga. Tatiana and Harney decided that the class would rotate teachers as a way to support and encourage a variety of teaching styles and backgrounds.

“Teaching at The Bike Rack has been a terrific experience,” comments John Thurman, a regular yoga teacher at The Bike Rack. “As a community class, you are getting both cycling group members as well as neighbors of the store (including a 9-year old girl!). The setting is appropriate to the group as we are surrounded by bikes and pictures of riding, and it melts away as they work hard to find flexibility and strength in their practice. Lively and talkative during practice, The Bike Rack’s students are a fun challenge to a newer yoga teacher in terms of delivering technically correct instruction that is tailored to a specific athletic practice! This is such a great example of how yoga is a compliment to athletes, and helps them improve their main sport.”

From providing the best gear to a space to stretch and reflect, the Bike Rack does a great job serving their clients’ needs in Washington, DC. The Bike Rack is also excited about their second location to open soon in the neighborhood of Brookland in the northeastern quadrant of DC.