Meet the Staff of R+E Cycles
Call us! (206) 527-0360
Dan Towle - Owner, Fitter, Mechanic... You name it!
The ugliest one of the bunch is myself. Some people ask me if I'm Mr. Rodriguez when they find out that I'm the owner, but I'm not. I've actually owned R+E longer than he did though. I've been lucky enough to wind up with a staff that can help me organize and implement my ideas over the last several years. I'm obviously too busy to schedule a hair cut, but most customers don't seem to mind. I've been fixing, painting, designing, selling and fitting bicycles for people as long as I can remember. I'm blessed to be able to use my skills in an industry that I truly love. You can also find out more about me all around the site: I write all the articles you see here.
Marcie Towle - Owner, accountant
Marcie does the accounting, and that is what her degree is in. She also does payroll. We like Marcie. As Co-owner of the company, she has done the accounting here since 1993, and even worked in the office in the 1980's. In an earlier life, she was a fitness instructor for many years. She was actually working in China in 1993 as a fitness instructor when I purchased the company.
Teresa McNutt - Painter
Teresa has been with R+E Cycles since 1995. She is the entire paint department. As a perfectionist, she is also her own worst critic. In other words, she is exactly the type of person you want painting your bike. Teresa paints between 450 and 600 bikes per year.
Todd Bertram - Master Frame Builder
Not many builders achieve Master Builder status as young as Todd. Todd started with our company in 1998. In 2004, Todd, after displaying natural talent for welding and brazing, he was selected to train in the frame shop under then Rodriguez head builder, Dennis Bushnell. Since 2004, Todd has built thousands of custom bicycle and tandem frames. He has built bicycles built for 3, and even my family's own bicycle built for 4. Few frame builders have built so many custom frames, and even fewer have built some of the amazing creations that we have pulled off here at Rodriguez.
Todd is one of our resident Rohloff Speed Hub experts, and is an extremely skilled bicycle mechanic as well as a frame designer.
Dave 'Smiley' Madison - Bicycle Fitter
I often refer to Smiley as the 'sales department'. Smiley has been in the bike industry since he was 16 years old. He's a lot older than that now (the first number's a 3), although he prefers the term 'more experienced'. He's been with R+E Cycles as a fitting professional for years and counting, and has become an integral part of our business. Now-a-days, Smiley performs most of the fitting work and is most likely to answer the phone when you call for an appointment.
Kara Sweidel - Office Assistant
Kara moved to Seattle in January 2012, coming to R+E Cycles from the warmth of South Texas. She has a Philosopy degree from Texas State University - San Marcos, where she spent time advocating for bicycle infrastructure through various channels, including a brief stint on the city's Transportation Advisory Board. She has been a bicycle commuter since 2007, and is quickly getting used to the geographical and weather differences between Seattle and San Marcos. Kara works in the office assisting Marcie in all of the accounting stuff that needs doin'
Max Hitch - Frame Builder and Parts Production
Max joined the crew in the repair shop in 2015. He showed talent in brazing and welding as well as an ability to machine parts in our machine shop. He quickly moved into parts machining, and also began training in the frame shop under Todd's supervision. Max is now a full time member of the frame building and parts production departments.
He is a native Northwesterner, and loves sea food and clamming (that's how Northwest he is). He is also an accomplished instrument repair technician. Anything from guitars to trumpets Max will fix in his spare time.
Alder Threlkeld - Full time bicycle mechanic
Alder may be the youngest employee at R+E, but he’s been cycling for over a decade. He did his first STP at age 11 and he’s the most enthusiastic cyclist at the shop. His specialty is cyclocross and gravel riding, but he’s always ready to “whippin' maserati” (nickname for his Rodriguez Bandito) on any terrain. He’s also a talented mechanic and a friendly, outgoing presence in the shop. He's a perfect fit for the R+E team.
He is a native Northwesterner, and loves sea food and pretty much lives all that is bicycling.
