BEATRICE, NEB. - You don’t have to go too far in Beatrice to see someone taking advantage of one of the towns several bike and hike trails.

For reasons like that, Eric Kielian opened Big Blue Bike Company last October. Now, the shop is working through their first summer in business.

“It’s definitely picked up,” Kielian said. “It’s nice to have more people coming in looking at new bikes, we’re also staying busy with tune ups or repairs.”

Big Blue Bike Company allows rentals of bikes in shop, while also supplying accessories, a customizable bike setup and even offer out their social room for parties and events.

For Kielian, one of the reasons the shop located where it is, is the nearby 10 miles of bike trails throughout Beatrice. It

“We’re really blessed with the trails we have here… Not even just the trails going outside of town, but even the paved trails in town,” Kielian said. “You can connect to any part of town on the trail system. It’s just nice to hop on the trail no matter what neighborhood you’re at and hop on the trail for a recreational ride.”

Now a half a year into the endeavor, Kielian says he takes pride in brining new life, in the form of a new business, to Beatrice.

“It feels good,” Kielian said. “We started with this lot, it was an empty lot, we built the new building wanting everything to feel clean and modern. We feel like we’re making progress here in the community.”