Professional Services
We love small towns.
For years, we were big city people who thought that cycling only “worked” in urban centers. When we got on our bicycles and rode across the US, everything changed.
We talked with sheep farmers and cafe owners. We stayed in family-owned motels and ate at neighborhood hangouts. The further we traveled, the more we looked forward to the small communities along the way – and we began to see that cycling is a perfect compliment for small towns.
In a rural area, the roads are quiet and the mountain biking trails are close to town – and cyclists are happy to keep it that way. Attracting cyclists is often a simple way for a small town to dip its toes into tourism, because it doesn’t require massive new infrastructure or attractions – just water, lodging, and a hot meal at the end of the day.
We want you to succeed with bicycle tourism.
Whether you’re building a destination for road cycling, mountain biking, or cross-country touring, it’s the unique characteristics of your town that will entice people to stay longer. It can be daunting to look at your community through the eyes of a potential bicycle traveler – and that’s where we come in. We’ve spent years visiting small towns and we’ve seen great examples of bicycle tourism (and not-so-great examples) – and we’ll use this experience to help you identify your assets, consider the value of new offerings, and decide how to market your area to cyclists.
“You really yanked our cycling community out of the shadows with your visit, it feels like the whole town has been talking about cycling since you left.” – Shonna Howenstine, Tourism Coordinator, City of Paso Robles
Work with us.
1. Speaking. You bring together decision makers and business leaders, and we’ll inspire your community to embrace bicycle tourism.
We’ll look at examples of how bicycle tourism has spurred community growth and economic development. We’ll examine the details that lead to the creation of a successful cycling destination. We’ll discuss ways that bicycle tourism fits in with your community and specific circumstances. And we’ll brainstorm appropriate ways for you to attract and market to cyclists.
“Laura Crawford and Russ Roca’s presentation was illuminating, educating, and facilitating of a new awareness of the importance of cyclo-tourism and the role of bicycling in general to the economic development of rural communities. … their presentation and time with our community went far beyond my already high expectations and is “tinder for our fire” of cycling enthusiasm that I return to time and again!” – Cecil “Zeke” Yount, Chair, BicycleHaywoodNC
2. Inventory of Cycling Assets. You rally support for bicycle tourism and we’ll show you your community through the eyes of a cyclist.
We’ll visit your town, ride your roads, talk to your business leaders and community members, and learn about your existing tourism assets. We’ll identify key offerings that are also attractive to cyclists, as well as ways to improve offerings for cyclists. And we’ll work with you to create a prioritized action plan for becoming a cycling destination and putting your town on the bicycle tourism map.
3. Marketing materials. You decide that you’re ready for cyclists to know about your community and we’ll help you tell your cycling story.
We’ll work with you to identify your best offerings and what makes your community different from others. We’ll create photo assets, writing copy, and/or video that illustrates why cyclists want to visit your destination. We’ll identify ways for you to spread the message of your bicycling-friendly community. And we’ll discuss additional actions you can take to continue marketing.
Contact us to learn more about working together and how we can help your community succeed with bicycle tourism.
