The 5-year-old who handled a bike with skills beyond his years.

A 78-year-old woman who rented a bicycle for a month to train for 150 mile ride on the Great Allegheny Passage.

European visitors who are used to getting around cities on bicycles.

Tom Demagall and his fiance, Britt Keefer of Monroeville, saw them all -- and more -- during their first year of operating the Golden Triangle Bike-n-Blade rental shop at 600 First Ave., Downtown.

Their full-service bicycle and inline skate shop, between the First Avenue Garage and the PNC Building, opens for the season at 10 a.m. tomorrow. It's a short walk from the garage or from the large public lot next to the Greyhound Bus station.

They have about 40 bikes, including two recumbents, one tandem and one three-wheeler. The fees are $8 an hour or $30 a day for the single bikes and the recumbents and $12 an hour or $40 a day for the tandem. They have child trailers at $7 an hour with a rental bike or $10 an hour if you bring your own bike. Rentals include a helmet.

Inline skates, sizes 6 to 14, are $5 an hour or $20 a day.

"Things went great last year," said Demagall, 34. "Now that I'm organized and have some knowledge about who rents bicycles and how to reach them, I am hoping for an even better season this year."

He said he and his 31-year old fiance have enjoyed meeting the "wide range" of customers, most of whom were couples and families who ride on weekends.

They've also welcomed men and women who came to town to work for a few days, a week or longer and rented bikes for the duration of their stay. They're grateful to concierges who have recommended the shop to hotel guests interested in seeing the city from a bike. Demagall said they've also had members of the Downtown work force who go out for a ride during their lunch hour on the paved Eliza Furnace Trail that runs right past the shop.

"We have regular loyal weekend groups that come down and go for an hour or two every Saturday or Sunday morning," he said.

The shop provides locks for customers who want to ride somewhere for lunch. The South Side Works and Station Square are a short ride away via the Hot Metal Bridge or the Smithfield Street Bridge. And Big Jim's restaurant at 201 Saline St. in The Run is only a few blocks from the parking lot at the end of the Eliza Furnace Trail near Greenfield Avenue.

Demagall said he's planning to add more seating outside the shop, which sits below the bridge that carries the T across the Mon. He said it's a favorite gathering place for students from the Art Institute. John Eastman, a local artist, had a sculpture exhibition there last year. Demagall said his favorite view of the city is from the center of the bike deck of the Hot Metal Bridge that links the Eliza Furnace Trail and the South Side.

"It's sort of magical at night. The lighting and the beams above and the river below. It's just so great to have a biking/pedestrian/recreational bridge that spans the river.

"It also completes a great loop that starts at our shop, goes up to the Hot Metal Bridge, across to the South Side, down to the Smithfield Street Bridge and back. It's my favorite ride."

He said his father, also named Tom, helps to promote the shop by working with VisitPittsburgh officials, the David Lawrence Convention Center and local and regional hotels. He said Jerry Kraynick of Kraynick's Bike Shop in Garfield "has been a great help to us, especially with advice on repairs, parts and maintenance."

Operating hours for Golden Triangle Bike-n-Blade are 11 a.m.-1 p.m. and 4-8 p.m. Tuesday through Thursday, 11 a.m.-3 p.m. on Friday and 10 a.m.-8 p.m. Saturday and Sunday.

"Britt and I will be getting married on June 7, so the shop will be closed that weekend and the following week," he said.

For more information, go to www.goldentrianglebikenblade.com or call 412-600-0675.