PRESQUE ISLE, Maine — A new business is bringing several health and fitness options to the downtown, with the recent opening of Bike, Board and Ski at 157 State St., just east of Wintergreen Arts Center.
It’s a family affair, owned by Tom Chasse and his son-in-law Andrew Bouchard, with the consulting expertise of son Mike Chasse thrown in for good measure. Whether you enjoying biking, skiing, snowboarding or skateboarding, you’ll find whatever you need at the store. The business also offers a wide selection of nutritional supplies in the County Nutrition Center.
“We’re planning our grand opening a bit later, when all our ski stuff is in. We held a soft opening last Saturday, June 15,” said Mike.
Located near the bike path and in the heart of town, Mike said it’s an ideal spot for the business.
“We’re happy to be downtown and part of the downtown revitalization effort. We have parking in front, we’re easily accessible from the city’s Riverside Drive parking area, as well as having parking in the rear — so parking’s not an issue. We have entrances at both the front and rear of the building,” said Mike.
Mike, who was paralyzed in a skiing accident a few years ago, hasn’t let his injury slow him down. He said he and his father have dedicated their lives to outdoor recreation and want to share that love of the outdoors with others.
“I’ve been involved in the ski industry for 30 years, served 27 years on the ski patrol and 22 as a ski coach. I worked with the Pierce family who owned BigRock for 40 years. I was in business with Travis (Kearney) before buying him out,” said Tom.
Tom said he’s been “invested in mountain biking since their inception.”
“I helped build the trails at the Nordic Heritage Center. I’m actively involved with the Nordic Center and its activities,” he said.
Tom has many years of bicycle maintenance experience and will be doing repairs at the shop.
“I’m excited about our endeavor,” said Tom.
Andrew, who has a degree in business and accounting, also brings a unique knowledge in fitness to the business.
“My expertise is on the fitness and weightlifting side. There are several places around that offer areas to workout, such as the university, local hotels have fitness centers, as well as other businesses. What we offer is fitness supplements,” said Andrew.
“People who do endurance-type activities need to supplement their diets,” added Mike.
“Until now, they had nowhere to get what they needed — no place to talk with an experienced consultant and buy the products,” said Andrew.
Andrew knows a bit about fitness, having won the 2012 Pine Tree State Bodybuilding and Figure competition, held in Westbrook.
“I got interested in bodybuilding and won the title a year and a half ago. I learned a lot about weightlifting, proper diet and nutrition while preparing to compete,” he said.
“Whether you’re competing or just into fitness, protein is important. We offer pre-workout supplements, multivitamins, fish oils, nutritional bars and more. We also have energy drinks. We carry brands like Stinger Energy Chews and Bonk Breaker. We have a variety of pre-workout supplements, including Assault and Gaspari,” Andrew said.
The store carries a number of bicycle and ski brands, said Mike.
“We carry Kona, Haro and Masi — really the best bikes for the types of trails in our area. On the winter side, we are selling top brands like Burton, which is synonymous with snowboarding. On the ski side, we have Rossignol and Atomic; we’re selling alpine as well as Nordic goods. And on the Nordic side we have Nordica, Marker and Armada,” he said.
Mike said they “want to be known as a full-service shop.”
“We maintain, repair and tune skis, bicycles — everything,” Mike said. “We also carry skateboards and BMX bikes.”
The store also carries Louis Garneau clothing and a line of Gyro helmets and accessories.
The trio agreed they’ve found the right location for their business.
“We wanted to be involved in the revitalization of downtown. We were formerly at the mall but found access was difficult for customers bringing in bikes for repair and so on. Here we can set our own hours,” said Tom.
“We cover community lifestyle sports and wanted to be at the center of the community,” said Mike.
Tom said it took a bit of elbow grease to update the interior but the effort’s been well worth it.
“We take pride in restoring the facility; feedback’s been very good,” said Tom, noting the new paint on the walls and the refinished hardwood floor that have brightened the interior.
“We’re excited to be down here,” said Mike. “We’ve had repeat customers from Rocky Mountain Sports (his father’s previous business venture). We expect more come winter, when we’ll have all the best lines available.”
Business hours are Monday-Thursday,10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.; Friday, 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.; and Saturday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Additional hours and days may be added, as needed.
“When events are going on on Sundays, we’ll be open to support those activities, as well as at Christmastime. People can visit us on Facebook where we’ll post updates,” said Tom.
For more information, call Bike, Board and Ski at 769-2453 (769-BIKE) and County Nutrition Center at 769-2454.
“When we applied for a phone number, we asked for anything with ‘bike’ in it. They were able to find a number that translates from numerical to the word ‘bike,’” said Mike.
Andrew said he’s looking forward to getting involved with others downtown to promote healthy lifestyle choices.
“We’re part of the Healthy Main Street Program and will be working with the Downtown Revitalization Committee to promote healthier lifestyles,” said Andrew.
