Smith’s Bike Shop Celebrates 130th Anniversary

Erik and Randi Pueschner are the proud owners of Smith’s Bike Shop. Their passion is connecting people through biking by helping to build the local bike community. Their bike shop is truly a family of enthusiastic folks who share their love for biking with everyone they meet.  From local and state cycling advocacy, coordinating women’s and beginner’s rides, providing bike support for local events, and overseeing the valet parking at Moon Tunes, they really are embedded into the community. Erik and Randi are huge supporters of the local trails organization, ORA Trails. They established and continue to lead the local Adventure Team, teaching kids resilience and life skills through mountain biking. Together, they truly are making La Crosse a better place to live, work, and play!

In 2024 I realized that you could trace the lineage of the shop back to 1895, meaning that in 2025 we could celebrate the 130th anniversary of Smith’s! The shop has changed owners (many times) as well as locations, before ending up on 7th and State Street in its current form.

Erik moved to La Crosse in 1995 and started working at the shop, eventually taking over as manager. He met Randi and they were married in 2011, eventually deciding to buy the shop from its former owner.

I moved to La Crosse right around the time they took over, and I’ve seen the transformation Smith’s has had. Randi brought a bit of balance to what was otherwise mostly a male dominated space. Erik has the technical knowhow and many, many years of experience with riding, fixing, and selling bikes. Together they’ve created a welcoming space, with knowledgeable sales staff, exceptionally skilled mechanics, and a local family feel that has led to Smith’s Bike Shop being consistently voted as best shop in La Crosse.

At Smith’s, we have plenty of reasons to celebrate! We have some amazing riding in the Driftless, as evidenced by the huge popularity of the Ride Across Wisconsin starting in the area for several years. For our anniversary, we created a 130 mile loop, a 130 km (82 mile) loop, and a 40 mile loop, so everyone can join in on the fun, whether you want to stretch your limits or sit back and enjoy the beautiful scenery as you pedal through the Coulee Region. The rides will leave early in the morning, but the fun doesn’t stop there. We are  closing down State Street outside of the shop for a day of  fun family activities, which includes a 5 mile bike ride through town for ice cream and frozen treats. 

As the riders start to roll in from their rides, that’s when the real celebration begins with a street festival style party, including multiple food trucks and the band Fly Casual. Everyone is invited to grab some food, whether they are finishing a ride or just coming down to hang out, and then enjoy the live music. 

It’s not every year a bike shop gets to celebrate its Centesimo Trigesimo (Spanish for 130th) and we plan to make it special. Proceeds from the bike rides will support research for Pancreatic Cancer and Childhood Cancer through the Gundersen Medical Foundation. Smith’s Bike Shop honors and celebrates our former friend and mechanic, Mike Blokhuis, who passed away from cancer last year, and our amazing junior mechanic, Cole Falkenberry, who is bravely undergoing treatment. Donations to these causes are accepted as well.