Ask Joanie Krehbiel what her favorite pastime is and it probably involves bicycles. Joanie is the owner of Wheel Fun Rentals, a local business that rents a variety of bikes that include some very different and interesting people powered vehicles. Her goal is to get people of all ages and abilities out and about on bicycles in various locations in Central Oregon.
Krehbiel’s love for bikes started as a kid in Southern California and as a teenager she and a group of Girl Scouts rode their fully loaded bicycles from San Francisco to Long Beach, camping along the way. Her career in recreation began with a degree in recreation from Cal Poly San Luis Obispo and soon after she worked for the internationally established bike touring company Backroads leading tours in the western U.S.
After various recreation manager positions including Sunriver Resort and the Hotel Del Coronado in San Diego, she was the vice president of Wheel Fun Rentals in California before landing back in Central Oregon for good.
She purchased the Central Oregon regional franchise for Wheel Fun Rentals and opened her first site at Black Butte Ranch in 2003, then Eagle Crest Resort in 2004. The Old Mill District site opened in 2009 and she is excited about opening a fourth site at Running Y Ranch in Klamath Falls this summer.
As Central Oregon works to establish itself as a premier cycling destination, Wheel Fun Rentals’ goal is to get people of all ages and abilities outside, on a bike, and enjoying the beauty and attractions of the area.
“Everyone from toddlers to grandmas can use our bikes. We even allow well behaved dogs to go for rides!” says Krehbiel. She also wants to see more tourists using bikes as transportation while they stay in Bend and even offers a bike delivery service for people to use bikes from their home, vacation rental or hotel. And as bikes and beer seem to pair up nicely, Krehbiel points out, “You can easily ride to many of the Bend Ale Trail breweries by bike.”
The rental fleet includes cruiser bikes, geared bikes, tandems, kids bikes and kid trailers. But her specialty bikes are the attention grabbers. The Wheel Fun surreys are the “limos” of bicycles and hold between two and eleven people and are completely pedal-powered. They are great for groups of people—family reunions, weddings, corporate teambuilding, or just a group of good friends enjoying being outside. They also rent a variety of recumbent style bicycles—Deuce Coupes, Choppers and Quad Sports—which seat one to four people.
“I love being a business owner in Bend. It’s a very supportive community for small businesses, particularly in the last three to four years when so many people started their own businesses out of necessity during the recession,” Krehbiel adds.
Things that Krehbiel feels are important to running a small business include excellent customer service, positive relationships with staff and ability to multi-task. Her advice to people who are thinking about starting a business is simple “Many people are intimidated to think that they can call themselves a business owner,” Krehbiel points out. “I used to think this, but I’ve learned so much along the way. You have to work pretty hard, but if you love what you do, anyone can do it.”
Visit Wheel Fun Rentals in the Old Mill District May through October
www.wheelfunrentals.com/locations/bend
541-408-4568
