Even at an elevation of 10,000 and six months of snow, Rafael Millan-Garcia’s bike shop is at the center of a thriving cycling community.

Cast in the shadow of towering “fourteeners,” Leadville, Colorado is a small town with pretty big superlatives. For one, it’s the highest-elevation incorporated city, but it’s also been called the center of the Wild West—a legacy that’s still very much a part of the town’s DNA.

One of the more unlikely locations hidden on the north end of Leadville’s main drag is the bike shop Leadville Bicicasa (a portmanteau of the Spanish words ‘bicicleta’ and ‘casa’). The name speaks to its owner’s Mexican roots, as Rafael Millan-Garcia recalls walking with his father to family-owned bicicasas in Mexico City. But the name also serves as a stand-in for the shop’s mission—making cycling feel like home for everyone.

“Connecting with people and making new friends is…why the doors are open here,” Millan-Garcia tells Bicycling. “I think the more you share, the more you build community.”

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