King of Bhutan, Naked Cyclists and Baby Boomers
The New Boom in Cycling
At g4 we have been associated with cycling since the early
‘80s and our unscientific observations and research suggests that recreational
cycling is actually enjoying a comeback. Annual bike sales may remain flat but
the level of activity appears to be way up if we use the number of complaining
drivers on the road as a measure.
We saw a recent quote from the League of American Bicyclists
that from 2000 to 2011, the numbers of people that are
bicycle commuting in large Bicycle Friendly Cities (BFC) increased 80 percent.
An increasing number of cities are making
accommodations for bikes. Bicycling
Magazine actually rates the top 50 cities in the U.S. and at least 26 cities
have active bike sharing programs according to Wikipedia. Philadelphia, where
we work on the Parx Casino Philly Classic Bicycle Race, was rated one of the
top five BFCs and this emphasis has become a priority for the current city administration.
In recent years we have seen a significant increase in the
numbers and types of bike related activities that are available also tells a
different story.
We did a quick Google search for grand fondos, cycling
sportives, biking tours and biking adventures reveals events throughout the
year across the US as well as Europe and other locations as remote and exotic
as Bhutan where they hold an event billed as the world’s hardest mountain race.
A recent article in the NY Times mentions that the King of
Bhutan is a mountain bike enthusiast. And because he is king he always wins the
event.
Events for cyclists range in length, difficulty and number
of days to appeal to every type of rider from the casual to the serious amateur
or retired professional who may be looking for a challenge or measure their
performance against others.
These events can serve multiple purposes from just
recreational to raising funds for charities. Many times an event will have commercial
aspects like showcasing cycling industry products or promoting tourism for a
locale. Some even have a political message like the International Naked Bike
rides to "deliver a vision of a cleaner, safer, body-positive
world” although looking at some of the photos from the rides may call this
message into question.
The ageing baby boomer population is now entering retirement
and they have money and time to spend, are more active and want to maintain
their physical fitness and perhaps recapture their youth. And many of them are turning to cycling.
Among consumers in general there has also been a shift from
buying things to doing things and having meaningful experiences.
All of this makes us excited about the prospects for cycling
in the coming years.
Until next time,
The g’s Alice and Robin
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