Gary Dagastine: Bicycles built for joy

COEUR d'ALENE - As the woman with Down syndrome pedaled along, on her own, Gary Dagastine couldn't help but grin.

The woman didn't need any help. Her legs powered the recumbent bike custom-built over a few months by the Post Falls man. She cruised on the sidewalk, happy in her independence, cheered by family and friends.

It was, for Dagastine, wonderful to see. A good feeling. It's why, when it works out, he creates a special bike gratis.

Since he began Northwest Recumbent Cycles 12 years ago, Dagastine has sold hundreds of recumbent bikes as a dealer for Terra Trike, Greenspeed, Velos, KMX and others. He's also given many away, customizing them to meet the needs of children and adults, with cerebral palsy, with spina bifida, with autism.

"It's nice to give somebody some independence," he said Wednesday, as he stood in his shop filled from wall to wall with bikes, tires, wheels, frames, pedals and handlebars.

The 65-year-old retired in February after a 28-year career with the Kootenai County Sheriff's Department, most as a diver. He is one of those hard-working, soft-spoken types who does his work well and with little fanfare.

"I worked every division in the department," he said.

These days, his focus is on recumbent bikes. Has been, really, since he got introduced to them more than a decade ago and found it was exactly what Beth, his wife of 39 years who had multiple sclerosis, could use to get out on her own. It was what led him to become a self-taught bike dealer, builder and repairman.

(The community may know Gary and Beth from their 'Stomp out MS' floats often entered in local parades. Gary made those, too, and is the driver).

It is in his shop where he assembles bikes of all kinds, that range in price from a few hundred to a few thousand dollars.

There is one for skiing, another for riding in snow. There is one that folds in half for simple storage. Another allows two to ride in tandem. There is even one runners could use during recovery from an injury. One resembles a small rocket ship.

"It's a Flintstones mobile," Dagastine said, chuckling.

Then, there are those he builds from scratch and customizes for a special needs person. These can take months. Kids are the primary recipients of his generosity. Last year, he built one for a Post Falls girl with orthopedic issues that limited the use of her legs.

"This one here is going to a little gal with CP," he said, pointing to a bike. "She wanted one bright red."

You've custom-built and given away a number of bikes. Why?

A lot of people think I'm nuts, but I got into law enforcement because I wanted to help people. It's always been about wanting to help people. If I arrest a person out there and keep him from hurting people, I help somebody.

So do you make bikes for free for everyone who asks?

I can't. I do what I can. If people have the means to pay, that's great, we'll see what we can work out. If they don't, we'll see what we can work out.

How do you custom fit a bike for a child?

I get them sitting down to where they need to be or where they're comfortable, and I do a cardboard cutout of them. They're tough to do. They take a long time.

Are these bikes they can power with hands or feet?

I've done hand cycles, I've done foot cycles and the combination of both.

Have you seen what your bikes have done for those who receive them?

I made one for a girl with autism. She refused to use her legs, and doctors could find absolutely nothing wrong with her legs. She just refused to use them. So, I made an adapter that fit right on her bike, a hand pedal, strap her feet to it, so she has to use her feet.

It was a few months when she actually started to walk. Does that work all the time? No. Is it going to work all the time? No. If it works once, we accomplished what we set out to do.

Can you compare your previous job in law enforcement with this one?

You can't. I'll say this one is a lot less stress.

When did you and Beth start riding recumbents?

Beth used to ride that blue bike up there, that two-wheeler, (he points to a blue bike attached to a wall) when Peanut (their daughter Tara) was in that little car seat.

When her balance started getting bad, I got her a three-wheeler in '91-'92. That was the biggest mistake I ever made. Those things are so unstable, she crashed on that thing quite a bit.

Then we got introduced to the recumbents and she took off. There isn't a hill in Riverfront Park that stops her on those.

You got hooked, too?

In the process of trying to buy her one, I thought, 'She's not going to get one without me getting one. They're just too much fun.' So we got two of them, then I got talked into a dealership.

How is your business doing?

We went from 440 square feet to 880 square feet. Now, we're at 1,200 square feet, plus the 880.

What was it like when you decided to get into this business?

It was like 'What do I do now?' I don't know anything about these things. The first few years were quite a learning curve. Now I'm one of the top dealers in the country. We've doubled about every year. In 2009 and '10, we were number 7, in 2011 we were number 10, and now we're six or seven.

What keeps you going?

It's been so rewarding. I can help so many people with this.