Mar 21 '06 - 262 W - Vote Good + 7 :: Bad - 7 Oregon Seeks Bigger Share of Boomer Biking Crowd
Published March 20, 2006 by Seattle Times
EUGENE, Ore. — They're middle-aged but not grown up. They like to play outdoors but take their creature comforts come nightfall.
They're baby-boomer bicyclists. They're people who can drop $1,000, $2,000 or even $8,000 on their two-wheelers.
Recreation and tourism officials see gold in promoting Oregon as the premier place for them to ride. They have organized an Oregon Bicycling Summit on April 1 in Eugene.
"Bicycling is one of the most affluent sporting activities out there right now," said Jerry Norquist, executive director of Cycle Oregon, a nonprofit cycling organization.
He said many boomer cyclists "no longer like to just go out and camp in a tent and cook on a stove. They like to stay in a bed-and-breakfast or a hotel and they like to eat at a good restaurant. ... We call it credit-card touring."
He said officials are pushing to improve Oregon roads for cyclists, get cycling routes marked and mapped, grease the tourism communications, "brand" Oregon cycling and market it nationally and internationally.
The state draws people from around the globe for bicycle-touring events and wins recognition for its cycling environment.
Eugene landed on Bicycling magazine's list of best medium-size cycling cities this year. And Portland won the title as the best cycling city of any size in the nation.
"It can't hurt to have that reputation developed even more," said Jan VanderTuin, executive director of the Center for Appropriate Transport in Eugene.
Would you like to contribute to C.I.C.L.E.? Do you a have bike-related article, news story, event, idea, suggestion, etc...? Check out our submissions page.