While many small businesses in the Northeast U.S. are in the process of hunkering down for a major blizzard, a few small businesses are gearing up for a crunch time of opportunity. States and cities from New Jersey to Massachusetts are already deploying National Guard troops and local first responders in preparation for the anticipated storm.

However, look also for delivery people on bicycles to work through the storm delivering everything from pizzas to diapers. (Update: via NYTimes.com, 4:08 p.m. EST, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio took the unusual step of ordering all drivers off the streets by 11 p.m. Monday evening, a ban that he said covers “anything that has to do with leisure or convenience,” including, to the chagrin of many housebound New Yorkers, food-delivery.) Indeed, in frigid climes from Alaska through the upper Midwest in northern New England, cold weather bicycling is becoming a popular sport, and therefore, a popular new niche of opportunity for small businesses.

Year-round cycling is on the rise in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, according to NextCity.org. Dave Schlabowske, deputy director at the Wisconsin Bike Federation, says he’s seen a drastic change in the last 15 years that he’s been biking to work through the winter.

One innovation making winter biking easier is the popularity of fat tire bicycles — souped-up mountain bikes equipped to ride on snow-covered trails. There are five different bike companies in Wisconsin that now produce fat tire bikes. “Winter’s just a fact of life in Milwaukee — it is what it is,” says Kristin Bennett, the city’s bicycle/pedestrian transportation coordinator. “People have the same travel needs no matter the time of the year.”

While he says overall winter business is slow at Crank Daddy’s Bicycle Works, co-owner Eric Kuhagen says more people have been buying winter gear and fat tire bikes than in past winters. Thick gloves and warm booties that go over shoes are among the top-selling items.“Riding your bike in any weather, it’s not about the weather, it’s about the proper gear,” Kuhagen says. “That’s true for any sport, not just cycling.”

One small business taking advantage of the winter months is Flavor Cycle, a food delivery company that brings Milwaukeeans restaurant meals by bike. More orders come in as the temperature drops, and the company’s fleet of 18 contracted delivery people typically clock 30 to 40 miles every six-hour shift.

“When one day you’re out in subzero windchill, and the next day it’s 10 degrees, 10 degrees feels fantastic,” says owner Peter DiAntoni. He also jumps in the saddle to make deliveries. “Once you’ve hit the hardest part, everything’s easier.” But like most winter bikers — and the rest of the city — Flavor Cycle will close shop during especially nasty snowstorms. “Everyone who’s doing this job loves it, they love the challenge,” DiAntoni says, but “we’re not martyring ourselves.”

(via: NextCity.Org)