Coming Soon -- July 2009 !!

Sultana Cycles, a retail and service bicycle shop, will open July 2009 -- as the first business located in the alley behind historic Whiskey Row in Prescott, Arizona.

Although a small business in a small-town alley may seem mundane to some, this shop is a ten-year dream in the making for my husband, Aaron Ruda. Aaron grew up on bicycles in the Prescott area and has worked as a bicycle mechanic at various shops in Northern Arizona for the past 10 years. I dug a school photo out of a box in his parents' garage recently -- a gap-toothed ten-year-old with a BMX t-shirt on.

I'll happily note that Aaron has 10 bicycles in the garage, some of which I am not allowed to touch. Road bikes, mountain bikes, BMX bikes ... even a little vintage turquoise deal he's been saving for a someday-daughter. He has years worth of adventures and scars.

In contrast, I learned how to ride a bicycle at the age of 23 while on vacation with my mother. She laughed at my many crashes, but I was happy so long as I had a basket with a toy dog in the front. After crashing Aaron's numerous times, I finally have a single bicycle to call my own -- a shiny blue 29-er -- and am comfortable enough on it to start jumping (small) curbs.

Despite our varied backgrounds, Aaron and I both believe that riding a bicycle should be fun. Yes, it's a piece of machinery that gets you to point B a little bit faster than walking and with a little less GHGs than driving. Yes, it's a tool to get you over the mountain or through the bowls and props to impress the skatepark girls. Yes, it has a function, just like your toothbrush, your salad-shooter, and that piece of rubber you keep in the kitchen drawer for opening jars. But at the end of the ride, get off your bicycle smiling. This is what we hope to share with you.