October 2018 Top Talk -Portland Bicycling Club

October 2018 Top Talk

Ashley Reynolds, Vice President

First of all, I’d like to thank those who volunteered for the recent Harvest Century, representing our club. The Harvest attracts many first time sponsored-event riders. Your enthusiasm and encouragement give these individuals a positive experience, promoting cycling, which is what our club is about. Kudos!

Secondly, I’d like to share my thoughts on a topic that comes up on a regular basis, and that is Growth. Obviously, to grow we need to capture the attention of outside riders within the community. There are different ways to go about this, but I believe we need to focus on the questions, “Who are we, and what do we love to do most? What do we do best?” Well, we are members of a bicycle club who love to ride! We have fun spinning 365 days out of the year, and what we do best is provide rides.

By focusing on what we love, we will be most enthusiastic in our outreach. This past year, I’ve had the privilege of working with Reach the Beach (RTB) riders and the Bike MS organization, including attending both launch parties. What I noticed was that, although participants love to ride, most were participating because of the organization’s mission itself. Most believed in the cause they were riding for, and both organizations were passionate about sharing what they are about.

PWTC has been involved in many ‘Grow the Club’ efforts, last year attending a soccer game and more recently, providing training rides to outside organizations. While these are great, we should not lose sight of what we already have fun doing. We do a fantastic job providing a variety of rides throughout the year. Outsiders will be attracted to our club because they just want to ride.

By knowing what we do best, we then need to think about how to best portray this to the public, whether in our name or through various communication methods. We already are a great club; now it’s time to show us off! It’s an exciting time with various avenues existing to help promote ourselves, whether in the monthly QR, on our website, or on social media platforms. We should always be evolving regarding our communication tactics. Expect near-future discussions on this and into 2019. Of course, as always, please use your voice and share any ideas.

Lastly, while it’s great to think about club growth, remember to go ride and have fun!