Anna Maria and her husband, Shawn, run the shop. He’s the mechanic and service manager; she serves as administrator and bookkeeper. Kelly also plays a part in it.
Anna Maria Diaz-Balart never imagined bicycles would become the core of her personal and business life. Originally from a Cuban family in Miami, she spent parts of her youth in Guanajuato, Mexico, and then lived in New York for 20 years, where she fell in love, and found love, through bikes.
Anna Maria had not ridden a bike since she was a child, but found herself trying to quit smoking in her 30s.
“I tried running but that didn’t work out,” she says. “I was looking for a way to be more fit, and got a bike.”
It was life changing.
“I fell head over heels with bikes.”
In 10 months, she went from a cruiser bike with a basket in the front to joining a team and riding road bikes.
“It was so empowering as a woman,” she says of crossing the finish line in her first bike race. “I was sobbing tears of joy. It was an incredible feeling.”
Bikes would also lead to her husband, Shawn Wolf, when she went to a flea market for bicycles in Brooklyn and found a “handsome guy” holding an antique bike.
“We say that we were each other’s best swap meet finds ever,” she jokes.
Shawn already owned a small shop called King Kog, where Anna Maria became the second employee. Together, they expanded into a second location called Sun + Air.
In New York, their bike business grew rapidly—especially during the COVID-19 pandemic, when bicycles became essential transportation. “We were an essential business,” she recalls. “There were months when we were the only business open for blocks.” Demand was overwhelming. “We were open 24/7, patching tubes and selling bikes until we didn’t have any left.” The experience solidified their belief in the resilience of small businesses and the power of community.
“We try to make an inclusive and welcoming space for everybody,” Anna notes.
HEADING WEST
But life in NYC posed challenges for a young family. After their children were born, the desire for space, family support, and a better lifestyle led them west. In Los Angeles, they partnered with bike industry veteran Kyle Kelly and brought their vision of an inclusive, community-centered shop to life.
Now, three years into her Los Angeles chapter, she couldn’t be more grateful. “Every day I thank God we live in LA,” she says. “It’s an incredible city.”
She and her family settled in Lincoln Heights, where they quickly fell in love with their neighborhood, her church, and the surrounding community. Moving to LA wasn’t just a lifestyle change—it was a strategic decision to be closer to her mother in Mexico and to give her children the opportunity to grow up with access to nature and year-round outdoor life.
Anna Maria and her husband Shawn are the heart behind Allez LA (a play on the French “allez”, a well-known cheer in the Tour de France, meaning “let’s go”), a thriving bicycle shop in Highland Park that opened in June 2023.
Allez LA is more than just a business—it’s a hub. They host group rides, including Friday morningspins and rides to Dodger Stadium, and serve a wide range of cyclists: kids, commuters, families replacing car trips, and serious athletes. From cargo e-bikes with room for
BUSINESS SUCCESS
Anna Maria and her husband run the shop. He’s the mechanic and service manager; she serves as administrator and bookkeeper. Kelly is a co-owner and the sales manager.
“The three of us form all the pieces necessary to get this new shop off the ground,” Anna Maria says, adding that “It’s been a joy.”
They’ve also discovered the intricacies of bike culture in each Coast.
“Your bike in New York City is one bike that you use to ride to work or to the grocery store,” Anna Maria explains. “In Los Angeles, you may have a road bike and a mountain bike.”
And LA being a car-culture haven, cars are part of getting to the place where you want to ride a bike—nearby hills, mountains, or the ocean.
The climate and topography is one of the advantages of the Golden State, where Anna Maria and her family have struck “bicycle gold” with their business.
“The response has been incredible. It’s so far exceeded our expectations,” she notes, adding that they love to provide their services in the Highland Park area, where their business is located next to a bike lane—a rare thing in itself.
In 10 months, Anna went from a cruiser bike with a basket in the front to joining a team and riding road bikes.
The business offers all different kinds of bike, from an ebike cargo bike with room for two kids for young families, to mountain bikes, performance bikes, as well as affordable and high-end road bikes.
That inclusivity is part of their success.
“We try to make an inclusive and welcoming space for everybody,” she notes, adding that “bicycle shops sometimes have a little bit of attitude and gate keeping.
“A lot of shops, maybe because they only sell high end stuff, they’re not trying to meet every customer where they are.
As a Latina in the bike business, when my husband and I started working together, our goal was to make a space for everybody and connect with that joy. Every single person, no matter what kind of bike they’re on, pastime or sport they’re into, we’re all feeling the same joy,” she says.
“My husband’s attitude is he loves your bike because he knows you love your bike.”
“Everybody, from the most beginner cyclist to the most pro mountain biker, feels included. Their passion is recognized for what it is to them.”
CYCLING IN LA
And bicycle is a passion shared by her entire family.
“My son is 5 and he goes on the trail with my husband,” Anna Maria says of the mountain bikes they sell for kids.
Her son also rides to school on a bike along with his dad. Her 3-year-old daughter will also follow in those footsteps.
“My kids will bike to school before they ever walk to school by themselves,” she adds.
She’s found that most bike aficionados here are folks trying to replace some of their car trips with bikes, but not necessarily replacing the use of cars altogether.
Cars are something that every cyclist should be aware of here in Los Angeles, Anna Maria says.
“Any cyclist on the road needs to have a heightened awareness, but what makes LA so especial is that throughout the whole city there are incredible parks and places to be off road and beautiful that it’s hard to imagine you’re in the middle of a city,” she says pointing to Debbs Park, Ascott Hills Park, Griffith Park, and Elysian Park, as well as the foothills of the Angeles National Forest as “some of the most incredible places to ride a bike in the world.”
“If you’re feeling unsure about navigating your city streets, put your bike on the back of your car and take yourself to a park,” Anna Maria recommends. “It doesn’t have to be the barrier to enjoy this incredible bike riding.”
Neither is age or income level.
“Bikes are not just for wealthy white folks,” she says, adding that there are good inexpensive bikes.
And bikes give you that feeling of freedom you enjoyed as a child.
“You can reconnect with that at any point in your life. They are an incredible machine that connects you to powerful freedom. It’s a sport that fills you with joy,” she says.
“No treadmill in a gym is ever going to feel like going downhill on a bike with the air.
“And it’s an activity that you can participate in your whole life.”
INFORMATION
Allez LA
5227 York Blvd. In Highland Park
(323) 274-4557
www.allez-la.com
