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A ‘new’ set of wheels

By AMANDA RICKER Chronicle Staff Writer

Dave Gaillard, Todd Hoitsma and Marcus Engler waited in line for nearly an hour Saturday morning in order to be among the first people allowed to pick over the merchandise at the Gallatin Valley Bicycle Club’s annual Bike Swap.


 “I’m looking for the perfect little-girl bike for my daughter,” Engler, 50, said.

Several hundred people flocked to the Gallatin County Fairgrounds to browse the roughly 800 bikes being sold on consignment. The line to get in to the event stretched from the fairgrounds exhibit building, where the bikes were parked, to near the livestock building.

The swap offered everything from kids’ bikes and competitive racing bikes to bike tires and sunglasses.

Kai Lenhoff, 3, plopped down on a red tricycle and gripped the handle bars. His mother, Kris Evans, tried to coax him off.

“He wants a trike, but he’s got a bike at home,” she said.

Across the room, two men competed in a spinning race on bicycles hooked up to a computer that clocked their speeds at around 50 mph.

This year marks the 30th anniversary of the bicycle club, which has around 200 to 250 members, said swap organizer Doug Warner.

“Some of them are 10-minute members, they want to get in (to the swap) early,” he said. “But there are probably about 100 active members.”

Club members get first pick at the items sold at the swap. Swap volunteer Mike Harrelson estimated that the club signed up 50 to 100 new members Saturday.

The swap is the club’s largest fundraiser of the year, with 15 percent of each sale going towards bicycle advocacy and club events. Warner said the swap usually raises about $10,000 for the club.

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