Ashley Rueff/TribLocal reporter
Brian Poncin is taking a stand against BP the best way he knows how – with a kickstand.
The Tinley Park bike shop owner is offering customers a 10 percent discount on any new bike purchase through the end of the summer; double that if they cut up their BP gas card.
“I’m just sick of it,” Poncin says “The whole big business, big oil, big money, and then the little guy struggles and he can’t get help.”
One month in, Poncin has sold about 20 bicycles and aided in destroying three BP gas cards.
He originally conceived the promotion to run until BP capped its well – even buying a 46-inch flat screen TV to stream the live feed of the leak in his shop, My Bike. But the end came sooner than anticipated when a temporary cap went on in mid-July and has since kept new oil from spewing into the Gulf of Mexico. He decided to keep the promotion going anyway.
And the flat screen? It’s broadcasting a slideshow of photographs depicting how the leak has affected the gulf.
“I know we can’t totally get away from oil, but a lot of our short trips, you could ride a bike,” Poncin says. “I thought maybe this would push people a little bit more to getting into alternative transportation.”
It certainly pushed Donna Pryce into buying a bike.
The 35-year-old Tinley Park resident said she wanted to support a business owner who was spreading awareness about the oil spill.
“He makes people aware,” she said. “This is going to affect our weather and our wildlife for years and years to come.”
