Local businesses are reaping the benefits of the cycling boom, and cyclists are reaping the benefits of an array of services and amenities

by Janet Lees

It’s no secret that cycling offers major benefits for health, fitness and the environment. But did you know that cycling is also good for business, promotes tourism and stimulates the economy? That’s the consensus of local businesspeople, economic development officers and the latest research on cycling’s economic impact – in fact, the potential is so enormous, there’s a new buzzword being bandied about: cyclonomics.

“There’s been a huge growth in cycle tourism overall, and some places like Prince Edward County, Niagara, Ottawa and Quebec have really captured the whole opportunity around cycle tourism, which involves a blending of beautiful landscapes, nice roads and great foods and beverages,” says Martin Rydlo, Collingwood’s director of marketing and business development. “We’ve got all of those elements right here before us in Southern Georgian Bay, and thanks to events like Centurion, cyclists more and more are recognizing the beauty of what this region has to offer. We’ve got all the ingredients to become, if not the top cycling location in Canada, certainly one of the top three.”

Many local businesses, seeing the benefits of catering to this lucrative market niche, are taking steps to become “cycling friendly.” Ontario By Bike, a non-profit project to promote cycle tourism, certifies and promotes bicycle-friendly businesses including hotels, bed and breakfasts, restaurants, cafés, wineries, breweries, attractions, bike stores and rental locations. So far, 46 businesses in Grey County and 53 in Simcoe County have registered as cycling friendly.

“We wanted to make our business friendly for everyone, and we recognize that cyclists are a very large part of our demographic,” says Monica Wolf, co-owner of Ravenna Country Market, one of the first local businesses to cater to cyclists. “We’ve owned the business for six years and in that time we can say that the population of cyclists has gone up 500 per cent.”

The market is on one of the popular local cycling routes and is a regular stop on the Collingwood Cycling Club’s weekend rides. “For cyclists it’s important to have a safe place to put your bike – a lot of these bikes are $10-12,000 bikes,” notes Wolf, adding 40 to 50 cyclists come through the store on any given weekend from spring to fall. The majority of riders she sees are “your typical Type A” active professionals who stop at the market for water, baked goods, espresso, or to use the washroom. “They want to feel welcome to come in in their bike gear, have a short break and get back out there.”

Many area bed and breakfasts provide bike storage, as well as “cycle and stay” packages enabling cyclists to tour on their bikes while their luggage is transported from one b&b to another. Cyclists can also plan to end their ride with a refreshing beverage and tour at Georgian Hills Winery or craft breweries such as Side Launch and Northwinds, which provide bike parking and repair stations.

The fact that so many local businesses are getting on the bandwagon speaks to the myriad benefits cycling brings to the region, says Noelle Wansbrough, owner of Pedal Pushers Cycling, which offers road bike training clinics and tours. “It’s good for business to promote cycling in this area – it means more people in the restaurants, more people buying clothes at the stores, more people staying at the hotels and b&bs,” says Wansbrough. “All these cyclists that are coming up here are contributing to our local economy. This means we may have more restaurants, more shops, more things to do around here because it’s driving the economy.”

Wansbrough launched her business in 2009, primarily offering road biking clinics to women. Since then, her business has more than doubled, and she is providing rides and tours to more and more corporate groups made up largely of men. “These corporate groups are coming to this area and instead of a golf day they’re now doing a cycling day,” says Wansbrough. “That’s something I never anticipated; the original plan was just to get women into cycling and it’s just grown and expanded from that with the demand for other things. This area is more of a destination cycling area now, and it wasn’t when I started the business; in 2009 road biking was just starting to become a trend. The Collingwood Cycling Club didn’t even exist then, and now we have 400-plus members.”

Wansbrough has partnered with another local business, Scandinave Spa, for many of her larger corporate rides, with Scandinave serving as a base where riders can use the showers, change rooms and towel service. “We start from Scandinave, we come back, we have lunch, they use the baths … it’s a great option to offer and I don’t think any other area has that kind of a full experience,” she enthuses. “It really is a perfect way to end a great day on the bike.”

The exponential growth in cycling is also spawning new cycling-related businesses, such as Velofix, a mobile bike pro shop franchise that offers bike repairs or tune-ups at the cyclist’s home and also acts as a support vehicle for cycling tours, rides and events.

Owner Vito Barrasso, a longtime soccer player, took up cycling two years ago after an injury and was instantly hooked. “Where it has led me in the last eight months has changed my whole life,” he says. “I went to the bike show in March and happened to be walking past the Velofix van they were showcasing, and when I saw that it was a complete, 20th century bike shop in a Mercedes Sprinter, I was blown away.”

Launched by four Vancouver cyclists in 2013, Velofix appeared on Dragon’s Den in 2014 and received an immediate influx of cash and consulting services from “dragon” Jim Treliving and his partner George Martin, who built the Boston Pizza franchises. Barrasso’s Velofix franchise services cyclists in Muskoka, Simcoe and Georgian Bay. “Where else could you be two hours door to door and have access to more than six million people, many of them cyclists,” says Barrasso. “I’ve been in sales for 35 years, but my love of cycling has led me to this business, and I see a major upswing and major opportunities in this area.”

It’s those opportunities that promise to fuel further business growth as more cycling-friendly and cycling-related businesses target the cycling niche.

To find out more about cycling-friendly businesses or to learn how to make your business cycling friendly, visit www.ontariobybike.ca.

Cycle Tourists Spend More & Stay Longer

The latest research from Ontario By Bike, Grey County Tourism and Tourism Simcoe County shows some impressive statistics:

Demographics

• Cycle tourists are largely made up of middle-ranking to senior white collar workers, with higher-than-average incomes.
• Cycle tourists are of all ages, with the majority falling between the ages of 30 and 50.
• Cycle tourists are almost evenly split between male and female.
• Majority of cycle tourists have a household annual income over $75,000.

Trends

• 10% of Canadian adults went cycling while on a trip in 2014.
• Among cyclists, 68% had taken a “tourism” bike trip in 2014.
• 31% of cyclists polled at the 2015 Toronto Bike Show said they had come to the Southern Georgian Bay region in the past five years to ride, and 81% said they were interested in cycling here in the next two years.

Spending

• Cycling tourism contributes over $104 million to the Canadian economy annually.
• Cycle tourists spend 1.3 to 1.6 times more on trip than typical tourist.
• Up to 71% of cycle tourists choose to stay overnight, and tend to stay longer than a typical tourist.

Centurion Blue Mountains

• Nearly 50% of the 2,800 riders that participated in the Centurion Cycling event in 2014 had visited the area at least once prior to the event to train.
• ¼ of pre-event training trips were overnight.
• The average spend per rider on Centurion event weekend was $331.22, excluding accommodation.
• 89% of Centurion participants are cycle tourists, travelling 40 km or more from home to attend event.
• 75% stayed overnight during event weekend, 58% of which stayed in paid accommodation.
• Riders come to event with an average party size of more than seven people.
• The economic impact of Centurion at Blue in 2014 was calculated at $1.42 million.

 

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