Before starting Six-Eleven Bicycle Co., Aaron Dykstra left his hometown of Roanoake, Virginia, and enlisted in the Air Force where he worked as mechanic on F-15 fighter planes.
Later he worked a cycling advocate in New York and Chicago, before returning to Roanoke with a changed perspective.
Josh interviewed Dykstra at the North American Handmade Bicycle Show (NAHBS) in Austin.
When I was living in New York I was a volunteer for Transportation Alternatives, and I was in Chicago I actually worked for the Chicago Bike Federation. I was their event planner for awhile. I really enjoyed that. It gave me a real appreciation for the riders in addition to just the bike itself, and what a town can do for cyclists and what advancing that really does for the community as a whole. It’s really exciting.
So coming back to Roanoke, my home town it was really nice going back there armed with that knowledge and that appreciation for what it’s like to be in a bad bike community and what it’s like to be in a good bike community, and how to make yours better.