5 Questions with Wesley Best, Co-Owner of East Coasters Bike Shop

East Coasters Bike Shop in Roanoke and Blacksburg has always been a regional favorite and recently made a national list as one of America’s Best Bike Shops as well.

The National Bicycle Dealers Association certified East Coasters among best in the nation. Less than 200 shops earned the honor out of more than 4,000 applicants. Certification includes a survey, mystery shoppers that visit the store, and more. Certification requires not only great shopping experience and expert staff, but also support for cycling locally and national cycling advocacy, according to eh NBDA.

East Coasters qualifies. Here’s more about the shop in the words of one of the co-owners, Wesley Best.

5 Questions with Wesley Best, Co-Owner of East Coasters Bike Shop

Why did you decide to open in the Roanoke Region? (And how long has East Coasters been around?)

We opened in Blacksburg in 1974 and in Roanoke in 1993. Roanoke was a natural fit: the riding in the area is world-class, and we thought we could bring something to the table for the community.

What’s something people may not know about your business?

I’d say the big one is how much of a cornerstone community is in our business. Our vision says “East Coasters will grow and prosper in order to help ensure a thriving cycling lifestyle, enriching our communities.” We work to live up to that.

East Coasters is quite involved in the outdoor community, can you highlight some of the events or groups that you are involved with?

I’m really proud of how intimately we’ve been involved in so many things. We were instrumental in getting Carvins Cove opened to mountain biking (2 of the seven members of the study committee were employees here, myself included). We were involved from the ground floor in getting trails built at Explore Park and led a lot of work days out there. We advocated for open trails on Mill Mountain and paid staff to do weekly trail work to help alleviate some concerns about how it would go. We’ve been working with the Forest Service in Blacksburg for years to maintain and build trails at Brush Mountain. We were instrumental in helping to get the Huckleberry Trail built in Blacksburg. We helped bring the Tour Du Pont to the area. We started the area’s first youth cycling program and worked hard to bring NICA to the area, and we still sponsor Star City Youth Cycling which grew out of that program.

It’s really weird to try to talk about all of it, to be honest.

Currently, we’re the home of the Roanoke branch of the Deschutes Brewery Cycling Team. That grew out of a team we created from the group that produces the Go Cross cyclocross race, a race we helped found and which we help run. That team is also involved with helping the City put on the Septembercross cyclocross races.

What’s your favorite thing about the outdoor community in the region?

The fact that we have such a vibrant one!! When I moved here in 1996, I wasn’t sure I wanted to stay. I looked at moving to areas with a more developed “scene” but decided to stay here and work to build that in Roanoke. It’s really great to see where we are now as opposed to where we were those 20+ years ago…heck, even 10 years ago.

What’s your favorite spot to play outside?

That’s a tough one. It’s probably a tossup between Mill Mountain and the cyclocross course at Fallon Park. As much as I love backcountry adventures, the reality is that I’m usually pressed for time, and it’s such a luxury to have great singletrack right in the middle of town. Fallon is a favorite for sure. I’m a certified ‘cross geek and I really appreciate having a course right here in town. The city has been so great to work with on that whole project and it’s really helped grow cyclocross in our area.