 How's it going my friends? You know what's happening right now? Something very exciting. A bike boom! That's right, bike stores are seeing a surge in sales during the pandemic. Quarantine has caused a spike in popularity. We've gone through about a year's worth of bikes in the last 30 days. The pandemic has been horrible. Over 100,000 dead in the US alone. Unheard of unemployment levels and an economic downturn that will take years to recover from. But there are a handful of silver linings. And one of them is that bicycle sales are skyrocketing in the US and beyond. Why is this? Well people are looking for ways to get outside and exercise. And some people in big cities are using bikes to avoid public transportation. They're a great way to keep distance from other people and have fun. We all know that bikes are fun. And I'm glad that so many people are giving it a shot. On a personal level, biking has been huge for my mental well-being these past few months. It always has been. But I've been very grateful for my bike these days. So with this surge in sales, I've been curious about how this is affecting my friends in the bike industry. If you watch my videos, you've heard me talk about people for bikes. They're a nonprofit with a mission to make cycling better and safer in the US. And I like putting their stickers everywhere. Well, with the magic of Zoom, let's jump into a conversation with the president of People for Bikes, Tim Blumenthal. Tim, how you doing, bud? All right. Great to see you. Thanks for giving me a call. Absolutely, my friend. So first of all, tell people, what does People for Bikes do? I think the one thing that we want people to know, and it's the core to our mission, it's we try to make bike riding better for everyone. And that's every type of bike riding. And when we say everyone, we even mean people who will never ride a bike. There's a surge in bike sales. How is that affecting people for bikes and what you do? Well, you're nice to ask. People for bikes during this very difficult, challenging time is doing fine, is doing well. And to be honest, when the pandemic hit, we thought it was going to be really terrible for bike riding and also for people for bikes. And so we immediately made some cuts. Of course, one of the ways that we're able to save is we spend a lot of money on travel, getting out there, meeting with government leaders, meeting with partner organizations, the industry. We're not traveling at all. So we save some money that way. But it's not so much in my mind about what's happening with people for bikes. And again, we're doing fine. It's the opportunity. It's what's what is the opportunity that's coming out of this huge societal global challenge to advance bicycling and make it more popular. And what are some of the things that you are doing? What are some of the opportunities? You know, I see a lot of cities are closing down streets and making them safer for pedestrians and bikes. But that's temporary. Do you think stuff like that will become permanent now that the cities realize, wow, this is actually a great thing. Well, you could do this for a living because that's exactly we hope that these become permanent. And we would never say closing down the streets or you're really sort of opening the streets to bike riding and also people on foot. And there's so many exciting case studies happening in U.S. cities and towns, you know, absolutely everywhere, not just in the the cities that traditionally have been most supportive of bicycling. But a lot of it is just allocating more public space to bike riding. And then the other is, which is most important is the recognition that when you do that and you support bike riding, so many different good things happen. And we've always known that. And for the last, you know, 40 years, I've been promoting, you know, that when people ride bikes, great things happen. And now it's really encouraging because people who never believe that or never even thought about it are starting to get it. You know, and we do get it. I'm a cyclist. All my followers are cyclists. We get the joy of cycling and the environmental benefits and the health benefits. What are some of the benefits that non-cyclists might see having more pedestrians on the road? Well, you know, heading into this year, we thought it was going to be a huge year for cycling because there's growing awareness of the pitfalls of climate change, you know, the huge fires in Australia and the melting of the polar ice cap, visible, tangible things. And then three out of the last four years have been the hottest in recorded history. So we thought that maybe this year more people would take the personal initiative to ride bikes when they can, not necessarily to work because it was something that they could do. But now the benefits go so far beyond that. And it's an easy way to get from point A to point B. It's something that provides both mental and physical relief. And people have been quarantined at home. And you know, I know when you get out there on your bike, it's just it makes you feel better and it makes you feel optimistic. And for me and for you, there's the additional factor, which is you see so many people out there smiling, so many families. And one specific thing that I'd like to mention is that right now, there are no youth sports leagues or and kids are returning to bikes with their parents in great numbers. And we're really hopeful that that experience for those kids. And we're talking about a lot of kids continues for the rest of their lives. Let's talk quickly about e-bikes. You know, e-bike sales have been on the rise in the United States. You guys are all for it, obviously. I bought my mom an e-bike and it's changed her life in a lot of ways. What are some of the initiatives you guys are looking into with e-bikes? Well, first we have to make sure that e-bikes are legal according to state laws. And we've been working state by state and we've got about half the states to clarify e-bike, the legality of e-bikes, because I think that when they first came out, they kind of got grouped with moped's and low power motorcycles. And in our minds, most e-bikes are fundamentally bicycles. And it's a great opportunity to promote a brand of cycling that allows people who are 137 years old like me and people who have longer distances to travel to work or the store or to school or to anywhere. It increases the practical range for people. And e-bike sales have essentially doubled in the United States in each of the last three years. And this year may be an even bigger period of growth. The pandemic has been very scary. It's been a tough couple months for most people on this planet. Leave us with some hope and inspiration. Where do you see us in five or 10 years as far as the cycling world? This has been a really difficult time. But it's also been a time where many of us are fundamentally reassessing what's important in our lives, in our communities, and for our planet. You know, I liked what the mayor of Oakland, California said, which is, you know, this is a moment to stop. We have to deal with the unbelievable, daunting, practical challenges that are related to the pandemic and the recovery. But we can also think about the way that we live. And my expectation is that not just the next six months, but the next six years, or hopefully the next 60 years, are going to be great for bicycling. It's going to become more central, more practical, more appreciated. And I'm not just talking about bike riding from point A to point B. I'm talking about the recreational side too. So I believe always in all the discussions that I've been a part of, and all the speeches that I've given, and way too many, I always finish by saying when people ride bikes, great things happen. And I think that's more true now than ever before. And it's likely to carry into the future. What can we do to help people for bikes in the future? Well, we would say the most important thing is to be aware of what's happening locally and be supportive of local efforts. Because it all starts with what you see and where you ride. And community comes first. I do think that standing up and reaffirming what we say every day, that bicycling is a good thing and should be supported and bicycling should be made safe. That might mean writing a letter to a local newspaper. It might mean picking up the phone and calling your member of Congress and saying, hey, keep up the good work, support bicycling. It really makes our community better. We want people to take simple steps. And I guess the last thing that I'd say is if you have a neighbor who doesn't ride a bike, you don't have to push them out onto the bike, but you can encourage them. And I know you've done that thousands of times. And all of your videos have done a great job of that. So thank you for that. And we're not asking people to become preachers or evangelists in a big way. But a little bit is great. I love it, man. Thank you so much for your time today. And I hope you have a wonderful weekend. Now, if you're one of the people who just bought your first bike or you need a refresher on basic bike maintenance, I will link below to a series of videos I made with people for bikes that covers everything you need to know to keep your bike in tip top shape. All right, now let's head over to New York City and talk to my man Dave from Priority Bikes. Priority is all about making high quality, low maintenance bicycles. And they've been selling like hotcakes during the pandemic. Yo, buddy. Yo, y'all, what's up? Hey, I got Connor here making sure my angles are right. So tell me, what's it been like the past couple of months? I'm hearing stories that it's kind of nuts. What's going on at Priority Bikes? Yeah, kind of nuts is probably a good way to say it. It's been wild. Business has been crazy. We have seen a huge boom in the demand for bicycles, which is incredible. It's great for, I think, for our business. It's also just great for the world getting more people on bicycles is why we got into this. And so seeing it really happen now is wonderful. We've seen it change over the last couple of weeks dramatically. It really started first with kids bikes. So the minute all of the kids, the minute that schools started shutting down, it was like summer came early. So there's usually a little bike boom when children get out of school because parents are rushing to, what do we do with our children? So first we saw a real rush with kids bikes. But as adults started to stay home from work, we also have seen a real increase in the demand for the leisure segment. So that's kind of that $500 price point bike has really boomed big time. And how have you dealt with this? Were you ready for these types of sales? How was your inventory? Were you, were you just like, yes, finally, this is what we've been waiting for? Yeah, no, I wish, right? So if we could print bicycles, if they didn't take four months to get bikes, we'd be having a really successful time right now. Unfortunately, a lot of the parts do come from Asia. So we already had a slow supply chain and then the increased demand has created stock outages all over the bike industry. I think we're able to react pretty quickly, but we certainly weren't ready for it from an inventory perspective. I'd say that the processes we put in place over the last couple of years, putting the service level agreements in place a couple of years ago, really has helped us to react. The other thing that's helped us to react is just that our team was already very digital. So we'd architected the company that, with the exception of our warehouse, people could work from anywhere. So as New York started to stay at home orders and we weren't able to come together as a team, we were able to all still fulfill our jobs remotely and fulfill customer demand. We were able to scale up our customer service because our customer service load has been tremendous. At priority, we do customer service 365 days a year from that morning till 10 at night. Yeah, every time I call you at two in the morning, you answer. You get us at a lot of weird hours. And you know, we say we're off at 10 at night, but if you call it 11, often you'll get somebody. You know, and our email response time is usually around 10 minutes. So keeping to that when you have four to five X demand has been a little difficult. But we've enjoyed it. And you know, I don't think anybody goes to work in the bike industry to get rich. I think people go to work. I mean, you did, I think. Yeah, well, I've been working in the bike industry for the money. In my house. I think you do it because you love it and you want to talk about bikes and you want to get more people riding bikes. So for us, it's been really fulfilling. Having more people ask about bikes and about our bikes and about what makes our bikes unique and how our bikes can help make their day better has been really compelling for us. Yeah. And also you live in New York City with your family. What do the streets look like? Or do you see more people riding bikes? Is there avoiding public transport? Yeah. So where I live downtown is a little deserted. And I think it's a combination of a lot of people are not going outside and a lot of people have left because New York got a little scary and it's still a little scary. So there's less people yet there's a lot more bicycles because people are not taking the subway and the buses like they normally do. You know, people that live where I do don't have cars. So typically people ride the subway and bus. Now they're biking. So there's a lot more cyclists. There's a lot less motorists. One of the challenges is that the bike lanes are just super packed. And while the city's starting to open up some automotive lanes for bikes, it's not enough. And so it's, you know, my favorite place is to go riding. I can't go anymore unless I'm going at seven in the morning. Because if you go at nine in the morning, it's just too packed. Yeah. Let's go back to something you said earlier about supply chain. I'm guessing it's because the factories in China were closed because they were hit with the virus first. That affected your inventory, essentially. That's right. So everything on a bike, 98% of what's found on a bike comes from China and Taiwan. Yeah. And so while the pandemic or the virus hit them earlier, their factories were closed. They were backed up. So then there was a backlog that we had to work through. Now we're at a place where lead times are pretty much back to normal. But it still takes a good four months to get a bike made. Yeah. And, you know, as a company, you got into this business to get more people on bikes. What's your hope for the future? Where do you think this trend right now is going to take us? Are we going to stick with it and ride these bikes? Or is it just going to be like a New Year's resolution that people are going to dump them out for a few months? Are we going to get some more bike advocacy going and safer streets and all that? You know, I hate using the term gateway drug, but we've always felt those of us that have been in the bike industry and have sold bikes and bike shops and certainly work with a bike manufacturer, we've always felt that if you could get started on a basic bike that y'all start to really enjoy cycling. And I think that's going to happen now. What we're seeing is a lot more families riding together. We hope that's going to stick because I think that's good for the world. And then as people do start to go back to work, what we're thinking is that the commuting segment's going to really jump up. So our business was really heavy on the commuting segment before the pandemic. Right now we're very heavy on the recreational segment and our prediction is that the commuting segment's going to jump back up. As these recreational riders start to go back to work and say, gee, I don't want to take the bus. I don't want to take the subway. Or even better yet, I don't want to drive my car. And then they'll get a commuter bike and start to realize the benefits of cycling. And I do think that a lot of these streets that are starting to open up to cyclists, hopefully are going to stay open. I don't see how we get out of this without there being more bike trails and more bike advocacy for there being more bike trails and open streets. I think it's a good thing for the bike industry. But more importantly, like I said, I think it's a good thing for the world. More people on bikes is good for the world. Totally. Is that my bike over your shoulder right there? Yeah. So behind me, I have a Priority 600 and I have a Priority Proof. Oh, those are nice-looking bikes, man. You do what's called contactless pickup. So there are customers in New York. You're not like a bike store where people really go in and shop. But if somebody wants to buy something, what's the process there? Yeah. So our business model is that we're an online company. We ship our bikes all across the world. Anybody who wants them, they come 95% assembled. Tools are in the box for the last 5%. When we opened our showroom here in New York City, we started offering in-store pickup. So if you want to buy a bike online, ship it to our location, we'll assemble it. Come to the showroom. We'd love to meet you. We'd love to size you on your bike. Learn more about you. And that's what we've been doing for a number of years. The minute the pandemic started and businesses started to close, and we realized that social distancing was important, we got all sorts of requests for people to pick up bikes. And we didn't want to have them in the showroom. We didn't think it was safe to. So we came up with this really simple contactless pickup option. Customers can buy bikes. They ship from our warehouse into our office. We assemble them. We then come up with a secret five-digit code. We schedule a time. We lock that bike up outside using that secret five-digit code. We sanitize the bike. We walk away. They come and pick it up. They get to keep the lock. It's a very safe, simple transaction. And it's been going great. I mean, I think yesterday alone, we did 15 of them. 15 bikes. Really popular. Yeah. Very good. Yeah, locally. New York is not typically our biggest market. California is. So, but New York has been very big for us recently. That's awesome. Well, Dave, you're one of my favorites. Thank you so much for spending some time with me today. I wish you all the best of luck. And let's ride bikes someday soon. Now, listen up. With this bike boom happening, there's an opportunity for you to be a serious do-gooder. In Boulder, our community bike shop needs more used bikes than ever because they're selling like crazy. And I bet you have something similar in your town. So go into your garage and pull out all those old bikes and donate them. You could be helping a kid get their very first bike. And it doesn't get any better than that. So thank you so much for watching my videos. Please like and subscribe and pump up those tires. It is summertime and it's time to ride.