March 1974
The birth of East Coasters Bike Shop. Four former Hokies, Jim Ayres, Brock Green, Mike Matzuk and Jim Vitt had all been bitten by the allure of the American West, and that served as the spark for the name East Coasters. East Coasters opened in the Barrel Mall, the former Kroger building now occupied by the Tech Bookstore in Blacksburg. Jim Ayres and Mike were the managing partners. The store took up less than 1,000 square feet. That first year defined 'meager'. When October came Mike left, as the shop couldn’t cover payroll for two over the winter.

Late 1977
The store moves to its second location on College Avenue where it stayed until 1981. On a Friday in June a contract was signed to move the store to it’s longtime home at 1001 North Main Street, now occupied by Abby's Restaurant. (The next day Mike and Tana bought a house in Coal Hollow, and on Sunday their first daughter was born. They liked to stay busy.)

1988
Chris Betz starts working at the East Coasters in Blacksburg after several years in the bike industry.

1990's
East Coasters plays a pivotal role in bringing the Tour DuPont stage race to southwest Virginia, showcasing to the world the quality of riding the area has to offer. (In 1995 a young Texan named Lance Armstrong wins his first of two Tour DuPonts. He's nice enough to donate a signed yellow leader's jersey to East Coasters.)

1992
The Roanoke East Coasters location opens on Starkey Road in Roanoke County.

1995
Mike and Tana Matzuk take over the ownership of East Coasters. (The original four partners to this day remain the best of friends, a rarity in business partnerships.)

1996
Wesley Best, the other current co-owner, takes on the manager’s position at East Coasters in Roanoke after the guys working in the Blacksburg store tired of having him as a customer hanging around all the time and begged Mike to hire him and ship him off to Roanoke. 

2006
Wes and Chris take over as the co-owners of East Coasters Bike Shop, Inc. with a goal to continue the East Coasters mission of building and serving the cycling community. Let us know how we're doing!   
Mike and Tana move to Boulder, Colorado (and become the East Coasters presence in the middle part of the country)