With fall in the air, there’s no better time to hit the trails. Maryville Bike & Trail wants to help you do that on the wheels of your choice.
Located near the Maryville-Alcoa Greenway, Maryville Bike & Trail both sells and rents bicycles. Customers can rent for a day or an hour, depending on the adventure they choose, explained owner Randy Schonagen.
“The majority of our renters are riding on the Greenway,” he said. Electric bicycles can go about 20 miles on a single charge, plenty of time to explore the in-town trails.
Generally, renters can walk in to get a bike. During periods of peak demand, however, they should call ahead to ensure that bikes are available: 865-334-7071.
The shop sells and rents a dizzying variety, from high-end electric bicycles to colorful kids’ bikes with baskets and training wheels. There are a lot of options in between. Schonagen showed off a sleek Urtopia model with a 3-D printed carbon-fiber body. “This is one of our best bikes,” he said, “very versatile.” Some of the other brands you can find here include Bivia, Fuji, eDash, Lemond and SR Suntour.
He keeps three of his own favorite bicycles in the shop. “Every store owner has to have their toys,” he said with a chuckle. “These are three of my toys.”
Schonagen loves the outdoors and has been in the bike business for 45 years. He used to run Earth Traverse Outfitters, but had to start over when a partner died. He started the new enterprise with a customer, but eventually took over the whole enterprise when COVID made things tougher. He’s been running the Maryville store solo for about four years.
While his other location, in Bearden, is nearer to his home, the Broadway shop is nonetheless near to his heart. “This is my town, too,” he said. His father has a farm in Greenback, and Schonagen treasures his Blount connections.
He builds on those connections by giving back to the community. Maryville Bike & Trail partners with Habitat for Humanity by donating bicycles to every child in a Habitat family. “Little kids sometimes don’t get why it’s such a big deal to be given a house,” he said. “The grown-ups know, but to the kids, it’s ‘just’ a place to live. We want them to have something fun, something of their very own.”
Maryville Bike & Trail also repairs bikes, buys old bikes, takes donated bikes, and sells various bicycle accessories, from hardware to decorative elements. The shop has won The Daily Times’ Readers Choice Award for Best Bike Shop three years in a row. It has also racked up bicycle-retail industry awards.
It’s obvious that Schonagen is proud of his store. “We love being here (in Maryville),” he said.
Maryville Bike & Trail is located at 601 E. Broadway Ave., easily spotted because of the colorful Women’s History mural on its eastern side. The store is open Tuesdays through Fridays 10 a.m.-6 p.m. and Saturdays 10 a.m.-5 p.m.
hello@letsbeblount.com
(865)240-0297
