Sep
29
Wired: As America Implodes, The Bike Industry Booms
By Rich Kelly, Filed Under Cycling, Exhibitor News, Industry News, Interbike
“The nation may be wracked by collapsing banks, foreclosed houses and a tanking economy, but there’s no sign anything’s amiss here at Interbike, the bike industry’s annual trade show. In fact, it’s party time as a perfect storm of eco-conscious consumerism, health-conscious lifestyles and wallet-sapping gas prices conspires to get people out of cars and onto bikes — especially electric ones.”
I enjoyed meeting a bunch of the Wired magazine team that attended Interbike this year. As I mentioned in a previous post, I’m a big fan of the publication and was excited to see my quote in the article. I don’t know if that was my exact quote, but I can see some of my comments worked into the rest of the piece. Read the rest of the article with the dramatic headline here. They also posted a ton of other content on their site from the show. See their Interbike coverage here.
When I was back in my hotel room each night after leaving the nice little bubble of the bike industry, I would brush my teeth while watching CNN or some other news of the real world. The title of the Wired article may be a bit dramatic, but given the dichotomy between the positive vibe on the show floor and the news of the collapsing financial institutions and the debate over the government’s proper response in the news, I can understand where it came from.
How do you see the two disparate situations affecting your area or business?
Comments
One Response to “Wired: As America Implodes, The Bike Industry Booms”
Our 2008 has been like using SportLegs: You see the suffering on other competitors’ faces, but you don’t feel it yourself. We feel a little guilty, and certainly grateful to be in the right place at the right time. I guess it goes to show that, especially when times are tough and gas prices high, there are few places as satisfying to be as on a bike. Especially a really sweet, fast bike.