Gears are turning at new bike shop

MILLERTON — Village Cycle & Fitness, a new business on South Center Street, looks a lot like what you’d expect of a bike rental and repair shop. There are plenty of bicycles lining the sides of the store, along with the assorted helmets, sprockets, grips and parts hanging from walls and resting inside cases. There are even a few “shop cats” lounging on chairs catching naps while extreme bike videos play on the room’s flat screen television.Marc Aloia, the shop’s owner, is no stranger to the world of bicycles, having raced BMX bikes since the age of 15; he has also owned other shops, including a store in Torrington, Conn.He’s a pretty laid back guy, even when it comes to his business.“I opened on March 18, I think,” he said. “It was a nice Thursday and a nicer Friday and I just decided to put an open sign on the door. And within an hour I had my first bike rental.”Village Cycle & Fitness offers bike repair, rentals, parts and services and, of course, new bicycles. They do fitness equipment as well and will install, remove and relocate equipment at homes.A bit of a newcomer to the area, Aloia said that Millerton was recommended to him as a good area for bicyclists, especially given its close proximity to the Harlem Valley Rail Trail, as well as the fact that the village hosts the annual Bike New York Harlem Valley Rail Ride, which brings in more than 1,000 cyclists every year. The event starts and finishes at Eddie Collins Field.“And there’s really no other bike shop around,” he said. “I had a couple people come in and say, ‘Wow, thank God you’re here.’”Village Cycle & Fitness is located at 56C South Center St., next to Little Gates Wine Merchants and Nick Bees (in the former location of Fudgy’s). Currently the store is open seven days a week, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. “But when the weather warms up I’m probably gonna have to start getting up earlier,” Aloia added with a laugh. To take a ride, give him a call at 518-592-1255.