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JUNEAU - When Juneau's only bicycle shop, Glacier Cycles, closed its doors last December, local cyclists were left with no in-town options for purchasing bicycle accessories or cycle repair.

Cycle Alaska owners John and PeggyAnn McConnochie saw the closure as a chance to expand their business, which has primarily served cruise visitors since 1996 by operating a series of bike-centric tours.

The McConnochies purchased Cycle Alaska in 2004. The idea of opening a full-fledged bike shop had been on their minds for some time, and they couldn't pass up this opportunity to provide a service to the cyclist community, John said.

The retail and repair shop officially opened on March 1 in the same Lemon Creek space from which Cycle Alaska operate its tours.

A lattice wall was created to separate the store from the tour operations base, but the partition won't keep the buzz of the tour preparation activity out of the retail area, said operations manager Mark Tinneny.

"I think that this shop is going to have a lot more energy than other shops people are used to," Tinneny said.

Tinneny said that the tours' mission-to "create great memories" for their guests-will also apply on the shop side.

"We're a lot different than a lot of tour companies, and I think that's going to translate into the shop as well," he said.

Cycle Alaska is a business that thrives on making personal connections with its customers, John said.

"They'll see a lot of great things in Alaska but the thing they're going to take home is the memory of their bike guide who took the moment to explain the difference between a Sitka spruce and a hemlock," John said.

The business' positive cruise ship ratings are evidence of its past success.

"Now those ratings are going to come from Juneauites," John said. "We want to create that same culture of excellence in the shop."

Cycle Alaska aims to extend its reach beyond its doors to the streets and trails through donations to two local cycling-related organizations. From now through Sept. 30, one percent of all new bicycle sales will be donated to Trail Mix, Inc. to help maintain local multi-use and mountain bike trails. An additional one percent of sales will go to the Juneau Freewheelers Bicycle Club to fund a youth cycling education program.

"It's great for the sport to have young people get involved," John said. "It's a way to give back to the community."

In addition to bicycles, the shop will offer a product line catered toward rainforest riders. Their wide assortment of tools, accessories and apparel reflects their years of experience riding in Southeast Alaska.

"The thing that distinguishes us from a lot of other bike shops is the fact that the core of this is the tour industry," Tinneny said. "What we outfit our tours with is based on knowledge and experience."

Cycle Alaska hopes to expand its business in the future to include more product lines and services, including offering classes on basic bicycle maintenance.

A grand opening celebration will take place March 19-21. Learn more about the business at www.cycleak.com.