WEST ALLIS, Wis. — When it comes to professional cycling there aren’t many duos like the Schneider sisters - Samantha and Skylar.
Between the two of them, they've won dozens of national and international competitions. Samantha placed first in just about every major multi-day race in the United States. Her younger sister, Skylar, won the Pan American Championships in 2023 and got third in nationals this year. Plus, she won the Tour of America's Dairyland race in Wisconsin among many others.
"We have a joke we've never been on vacation, but we've been to dozens of countries and states because of cycling, so I get my travel bug in, yea, with racing," Skylar Schneider said.
They can ride faster than just about anyone on a bike. But for the past year, they've been trying to keep up with a different kind of opponent. Their newest challenge is the rush of customers coming into their cafe and bakery, The Bread Pedalers in West Allis.
“I mean it’s only 10 a.m. and we only have three loaves left so it usually flies out the door," Skylar said on a Wednesday morning. The store opens at 7 a.m.
The two sisters opened The Bread Pedalers at 1436 S. 92nd Street near Greenfield Avenue in West Allis in the fall of 2022. In that time, business has boomed. Their global success as cyclists has carried over to their local success as small business owners.
“We’ve been growing every month really. Not only in business, but our staff has been growing which has helped with keeping up with the demand," Skylar said.
They have to rely on their staff since the sisters still have big aspirations as racers.
“My aim is the Olympics so we take it really seriously," Skylar said.
“There’s a few races next year that I’d like to win," Samantha said.
That means they are incredibly busy. Often, business meetings and race training happen at the same time.
“Our training rides will just be business meetings essentially where we're going over plans, different ideas," Samantha said.
Because when their goals are to open a second location and win a gold medal, they can’t take any time off.
“But we really enjoy it, so we get to do it together," Samantha said.
The idea to open The Bread Pedalers came to be during the pandemic. People were finding new 'pandemic hobbies' to keep busy while staying at home. A popular hobby was bread baking. Skylar joined the sourdough craze, and it took her hobby to the next level.
What started as baking for herself turned into baking for her friends and family. She got so good and people loved her bread, that she was inspired to take her newfound passion a step further.
“Yeah, a lot of people were baking bread during the lockdown but not a lot of people opened a bakery," Skylar said.
But the building The Bread Pedalers occupies wasn't always supposed to be a cafe. It was intended to be an investment property that Samantha found for her husband. However, one thing led to the next, and the sisters decided to go into business together.
"If you would have asked me if we'd ever open a bakery, I'd say no. And here we are and couldn't be happier," Samantha said.
Since the bakery opened, cycling has become even more important for the sisters. Riding gives them freedom and an escape from the stresses of owning a business.
It was never going to be easy to open a cafe. The sisters knew that. It's also not easy to win a professional cycling race, but the Schneider sisters seemed to have figured out a way to come out on top. So that means it shouldn't be a surprise if The Bread Pedalers keeps growing and the dynamic duo opens another location.
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