John Sotherland, owner of BicycleWise & Sports Fitness in Whitewater, launched a custom bicycle building shop last month.

Sotherland Custom Bicycles was launched on Feb. 28 at the National Handbuilt Bicycle Show in Austin, Texas. The show hosted more than 150 exhibitors and brought more than 7,200 attendees. 

Sotherland said he got into riding bicycles at a young age.

“It was always something I enjoyed doing,” Sotherland said. “There wasn’t technology to distract me. I always looked forward to riding after I got all my homework done. It was like a carrot at the end of the stick for me.”

He got his start working for Schwinn, before opening BicycleWise & Sports Fitness, located at 1130 W. Main St., in 2001. Sotherland and his wife sold their house to finance the store.

“It was all part of the business plan to sell the house and build a new one outside of the city with a spot for me to build custom bicycles,” Sotherland said. “The house we live at is about 12 miles away from the store. It was important to my wife and I to have the house close enough to ride to work, but far enough to get a workout doing it.”

Sotherland said building a custom bicycle for someone is a science.

“It’s more than a formula,” Sotherland said. “The goal is to get someone to feel like they [are] not riding a bike, but riding an extension of their body.”

He said he has built more than 5,000 custom bicycles during the past 20 years. Bicycles he has built are showcased in museums, and have been ridden by champions who have won world-class events. Prices for custom bikes can range anywhere between $4,000 and $10,000.

Sotherland said riding is a great way to relieve stress.

“With today’s economy and everything else troubling people, riding is a way to get your mind off of everyday stresses and also get some exercise into your day,” Sotherland said.

“The more activity you do when you are young, the better you will feel when you are old.”