For everyone at Dero, 2016 was all about hustling. We set lofty goals for what we wanted to achieve- more bike parking EVERYWHERE, expand our growing line-up of long-term bike parking, create rad new custom designs, and continue to support local and national bicycle advocacy projects. Oh, and we wanted to ride our bikes a bit, too. First and foremost, we significantly expanded both our bike locker and bike shelter lineups with the introduction of our Veloport, Dero Locker 33, Bike Depot, and Stratus Shelter. Our engineering department spent months testing prototypes, sourcing doo-dads, and ultimately designing products that both complement and innovate relative to our current offerings. Why focus on shelters and lockers? Because long-term bike parking (which we explain here), is becoming more in-demand across the country. More long-term solutions means more folks are likely to bike all or at least part way to their destination. We released countless new custom rack designs this year–from ice cream cones to chemical compounds. You can see many of them on our Facebook and Instagram accounts, but by far, one of our favorite designs was our Swedish Dalahäst from last spring. Our 2016 advocacy work took all shapes and forms. When a local pro cyclocross racer, Nicole Mertz, was dropped by her team for speaking out against sexism, we stepped up and sponsored her. In February, we led panels at the Winter Cycling Congress and shared the joy of riding in freshly plowed bike lanes in the snow with cyclists from around the world. We attended Bike Summits near and far, including the National Bike Summit in Washington, DC, as well as regional summits around the country. And to top everything off, at Pro Walk / Pro Bike / Pro Place we threw our second ever Dero Party (it was a smashing success), that celebrated the work of advocates around the world. In 2016, we logged over 20,000 miles according to our Dero ZAP tally. Earth’s equator is 24,000 miles in length, and so our goal for 2017 is to reach those miles! We rode fat bikes through drifts of snow, raced on our local velodrome, and explored new bike lanes and infrastructure in cities across the US and in Europe. Our shared passion for riding bikes went hand-in-hand with our work at Dero. The more we were inspired by using quality and secure bike infrastructure, the greater our impetus for providing products for others to be able to do the same. Lastly, we need to take a minute to recognize how hard our fab shop workers, office folks, and outside reps worked this year. The hustle is real, and our Dero staff did nothing less than exemplify this mantra all year long. While 2016 had its ups and downs, we’re ready to take on 2017 with two wheels under our feet. Thanks for a great year.