Apprentice rides to ownership of Great Northern Cycle

When Willie Hobbs took a job sweeping floors at Great Northern Cycle & Ski, he would have laughed at the idea of owning the business just five years later.

But the shop has played a large role in his life since. Previous owner Craig Prather took Hobbs under his wing after noticing his love for biking early on, and later offering jobs to Hobbs and his now girlfriend Stella Holt, with whom he currently manages the store. After Hobbs graduated from Montana State University and wrapped up his professional downhill racing career, it was Prather who handed him the reins.

“It was a pretty mutual passing of the torch,” Hobbs said. “It was our really good relationship with Craig that allowed for a smooth transition,” he said.

Great Northern Cycle & Ski has been in Whitefish for nearly 10 years, first located on O’Brien Avenue before moving to its current building on Central Avenue and East Third Street. Prather started the brand nearly 20 years ago when he took over a shop in Jackson Hole, Wyo., a situation similar to what Hobbs has now, before bringing the business to Whitefish a decade later.

The store stocks performance level mountain and road bikes, all-mountain skis and boots and provides repair services and also has a coffee bar, where Holt got her start. Duie Millette will remain as the shop’s boot fitter and road bike specialist. Hobbs said Prather is looking forward to a relaxing summer with his family, and he and Holt were the former owner’s plans for a smooth transition away from the shop.

For Hobbs, taking charge of the store is a dream come true. After injuries caught up to him in his racing career, the opportunity seemed like the best chance to be his own boss and return home with Holt.

“I didn’t really want to sit behind a desk and sell something over the phone. I wanted to play with bikes and skis all the time,” he said.

The two operate as a team, answering each other’s questions along the way as they settle into a routine in their new roles. They credit Prather for building the shop’s brand and reputation over the years, and they don’t see themselves making many big changes. Instead, they’re focused on fine tuning everything Prather built.

The fine-tuning process will still take time. The answering machine message with Prather’s voice still needs to be updated

“That’s on the list for today,” Holt said last week.

Both Hobbs and Holt admitted to being a bit nervous about jumping headfirst into business management.

“It’d be one thing to start a small bike shop and just gradually work your way, but to jump right into a high end shop with a reputation and an established customer base and everything, it’s a lot,” Hobbs said.

Great Northern will continue to stock performance brand bikes and skis, and everything in the store was selected specifically for use in the Flathead Valley, Holt said.

Holt, who skied competitively at Middlebury College in Vermont, said more community involvement is the next step for the shop, even envisioning hosting an annual mountain bike race. She thinks their youth — Hobbs is 24 and Holt is 22 — makes being a part of more community events much easier.

“We definitely want to do more in the cycling and skiing communities here, and I think that comes from us being young” she said. “We don’t have kids, we have time. We want to be a part of everything here.”