Dr. Antonio Gurule  00:09

Awesome. Well, welcome back to the Live Loud Life podcast. Today I’m sitting down with Jenny Johnson, and we’re going to be talking about her newish-

 

Jenny Johnson  00:19

2020

 

Dr. Antonio Gurule  00:21

Okay, 2020. Newish, but been around for a few years. But what they’re doing in the local community East Boulder County, Weld County, with biking and family. So welcome.

 

Jenny Johnson  00:32

Thank you for having me.

 

Dr. Antonio Gurule  00:33

Yeah. So talk to us a little bit. It’s called CYCLERIE. What is CYCLERIE?

 

Jenny Johnson  00:38

Yeah, CYCLERIE. CYCLERIE, the name, was sort of tossed out there. It’s French for the word cycling. So it’s kind of a play around words, Cyclerie. I didn’t know that at the time because I’m a Spanish person more than a French person. But that was kind of a fun twist. But it’s Cyclerie meaning, you know, based in Erie, tried to circle around the Erie Community. But also, we get a lot of people from Lafayette and Broomfield. I created it, probably in 2019. It had been brewing for a while, but 2020 was when we launched it.

 

01:17

I always had neighborhood kiddos coming over to our house, and we were constantly just kind of exploring together on the bike. I was kind of the fun mom, but it was something I love to do. So I thought, you know, a lot of these kiddos aren’t getting the chance to go outside. Or maybe their parents are busy, or they’re usually just turning to an iPad or the TV screen. I started researching it, and there’s a huge, huge decline in kids outdoors in that organic play, which is so important in life. And as children, especially if you try to speak to a kiddo about climate change, when they’re seven, or you know, environmental facts, you’re just not going to get anywhere with a seven-year old or an eight-year old. So, or as young- our campers are as young as three and four. So but getting them outside in nature and having that experience just, I don’t know, it invests the value in them, I think, for future appreciation of the outdoors and just being a kiddo and playing.

 

02:18

And so that’s how CYLERIE started. And then the bike aspect of it is so cool because we’re able to get from point A to point B, much faster than we would walking or hiking. So it’s just more kids on bikes, and you get more adults on bikes by getting more kids on bikes. So that’s my philosophy is just getting more people outside in nature and building confidence.

 

Dr. Antonio Gurule 2:40

So walk me through a little bit like- so they’re on bikes- I think you just had a camp that just ended?

 

Jenny Johnson  02:50

Yeah. So we have multiple camps. Right now this summer, we had two. So we have a Learn to Pedal camp for the really young kids. They’re just maybe on training wheels. Or it could be older kiddos that just haven’t learned yet. And we’ll usually break those age groups up. There is a Learn to Pedal camp that’s Monday through Thursday, three hours in the morning. And then we have another camp, which is alternating weeks called Adventure Bike Camp. And that’s where what I was talking to you about, where we go somewhere. We have a destination. We usually meet at Star Meadows Park in Erie, and we ride to various nature areas. And then the last day of camp is Ice Cream day. So Dairy Queen, usually, but we try to hit up some other local spots if they’re open at 10 a.m.

 

Dr. Antonio Gurule  03:41

That’s really cool. I think that- obviously, that kind of self-developed or starting to develop in 2019, but then 2020 launch, if you will. I think that came around in a good time because so many kids were then yet put in doors for longer periods of time having to catch up with school based on COVID and everything, just being stuck. And or, you know, they’re kind of like hesitant about playdates because it was inside. So it’s like, this is all outdoors. It’s all exploration. And I think that’s so important, too, because so much of what we try to, at least, encourage for other parents, or at least for our own kids, is just that exploration model of just seeing where things go and develop.

 

Jenny Johnson  04:19

Yeah. I was devastated, honestly, in 2020 because I had been brainstorming this idea for several years, really, since my oldest, who’s now almost 10 started riding a bike. And then whenever March 1^st, I was going to launch it 2020, and then that was right when the pandemic really was starting to become full swing. And I was just crushed, but like you were saying, turns out there was a bike boom, a whole bike, what are they calling it, evolution or revolution, that’s happening.

 

Dr. Antonio Gurule 04:50

You couldn’t buy bikes anywhere.

 

Dr. Jenny Johnson 04:49

Couldn’t buy bikes anywhere because so many families were getting out on bikes. And kids’ bikes were booming. I also sell children’s bikes. It’s not my primary business at all. It’s just more of a complementary aspect for kiddos that are at camp.

 

Dr. Antonio Gurule  05:06

Is it like specific types? Or is it like Striders for just like introductory type of stuff?

 

Jenny Johnson  05:12

It’s kid-specific bikes anywhere from the Strider size, which would be the 12-inch size tire all the way up to 26 inch tires for the older kids. So pretty much any kiddo that’s not yet able to fit an adult bike.

 

Dr. Antonio Gurule  05:25

Yeah. So that being said, obviously your passion for biking and kids. How would you- I mean, obviously, I think most people know Striders like the thing to do, but why is that such a beneficial tool for kids learning how and or, as a sidebar to that, should they be using training wheels at some point in time?

 

Jenny Johnson  05:48

Yeah, so, you know, I hate to say it’s one way or another because if you’re willing to get your kiddo outside, like whatever works for your family. However, from an expert’s point of view, training wheels are a lot harder to teach to balance. If they’ve been on training wheels before, I can always tell at camp, which ones are the Strider kids and which ones are the training wheels because training wheels are essentially converting your bike to a tricycle? You’re not really learning to balance. So if you can’t get a Strider, that’s even your size for your kiddo, if say they’re seven and they haven’t rode yet, you can always take the pedals off of any bike and turn it into a Strider bike. And that’s much more beneficial teaching them to use certain core muscles and balance rather than leaning from side to side.

 

Dr. Antonio Gurule  06:35

Yeah. That’s a good point. Now, I do have another question. Well, my oldest what he struggled with was he could kill it on the Strider. Like he could go down hills and do everything. But the point when then trying to get them on the pedals, he never could understand like propulsion was all like this. How do you then encourage kids, from a propulsive mechanism, to being here grabbing your feet and pushing versus understanding how the pedals actually work?

 

Jenny Johnson  07:03

Yeah. It’s tricky. It’s incremental, just like with anything. So a lot of repetition. There is some an option to bring a trainer bike, a stationary style bike that can set up where the bike is still stationary, but the kiddos are on the saddle getting that motion without going anywhere or with risk of falling, just like an adult does at spin class around a peloton. It’s a stationary bike. It teaches them the different cadences.

 

But when they’re really young, that’s hard for some of that to click. So we just incrementally go from picking our feet up, gliding, frog jumping, and then eventually they’re putting one foot on the pedal. So it may just start with that quick, they have a dominant side. And then it just natural progression and over. Usually our camps are four days, the private lessons I’ll do are usually three to five lessons, 30 minutes each, and it’s just that small incremental repetition.

 

Dr. Antonio Gurule  08:02

And well, the good thing about kids, too, is like they catch on to things mostly fairly quickly when you have the repetition. They just get it so fast. Yeah, well, it’s funny. Speaking of ice cream, my oldest, he was being a stinker about- we got on this because we bought them new bikes. We got him a new bike, it was bigger, all this great stuff. And he was kind of intimidated by it. And, you know, we kept asking him, it was like weeks until he even wanted to try it. So he’s into bribery. Like, “Hey, we’ll go get you ice cream if you go ride your bike.” And this was Saturday 8 a.m. He’s like, “Are you serious?” I’m like, “Yeah.” He’s like, “All right. Let’s go do it.” We went outside and he rode it like he’s been doing it for like a year. Just like that, he just took off.

 

Jenny Johnson  08:41

I hate to call it- yeah, it is bribery, and it almost always works. But I think part of it, too, is just autonomy, like giving them- they have the power and the vehicle to get to where they want to go. And once they figure that out, it’s pretty inspiring, I think, for them, even as an adult. I rode here, and it’s pretty nice.

 

Dr. Antonio Gurule  09:00

That’s, I think, the hard part as you had mentioned with kids like in commuting and stuff, sometimes you can have that opportunity. I would love to be able to commute every day to work just on the bike. I think it’s such an amazing. I did it in college. I lived at CU Boulder okay. I had a car. I think I put like 1,000 miles on my car in like the four years I was in college. I never drove anywhere. I rode my bike everywhere

 

Jenny Johnson  09:25

Then you run into people that organically you wouldn’t in a car because when we’re in a car, we’re-

 

Dr. Antonio Gurule  09:30

You’re shut off from everything.

 

Jenny Johnson  09:31

Not to say that I commute everywhere. I still use my car yeah a ton with three kiddos and multiple pickups, and we do activities in Boulder, but just having that ability when you have the time to go on your bike is pretty cool.

 

Dr. Antonio Gurule  09:44

So being now, so you’ve moved from Texas. How many years have you guys been here?

 

Jenny Johnson 09:49

Since 2018. So four years.

 

Dr. Antonio Gurule 09:51

So figuring out the area, I think a lot of people like to know, too, what are some of the more family-friendly. Most trails around here are family-friendly, but it could also be like elevation gain and things like that. What are some of your favorite trails around here to take let’s say like a family that either has someone on a Strider and/or learning to pedal but not too intense?

 

Jenny Johnson  10:13

Yeah, and you can- before I get to the location specific, you can bring a bike trailer and maybe get your kiddo to pedal halfway with the agreement, like hey, if you get tired, the bike trailer’s here. We can throw you a small bike safely in there with you and get from point A to point B. The Coal Creek Trail is very flat and docile. If you’re looking for more of a mountain bike trail, Heil Valley Ranch, H-E-I-L, Heil. People get it confused with Haul. Heil Valley and Boulder, they have a fun schoolhouse loop.

 

Dr. Antonio Gurule 10:46

Okay. I didn’t know that.

 

Jenny Johnson 10:46

Oh, yeah. It’s a mountain bike trail. So I probably I would think starting at like age four, maybe even boulder. You never know. [crosstalk]. Yeah, if your kiddo has never been on mountain bike trail, it’s a good starting point. There is some elevation gain, but Valmont Bike Park is great, too.

 

Dr. Antonio Gurule  11:05

Yeah, we love that one.

 

Jenny Johnson 11:05

Just to test out your skills, and you’re not far from home. The cars usually, you know, they’re in the parking lot if you need to go grab a snack. I guess the main thing is always bring snacks. That’s what we always say at camp, ride, snack, you know, game, ride, snack, game. And yeah, Coal Creek Trail. And also just if you have bike paths in your neighborhood, we have several where we are, but it’s kind of easy if you can go from the house or find a quick path to school. Before you take your kiddo out, maybe do some of your own research. I just say keep it simple and try to find somewhere fun that has a destination. It doesn’t have to be ice cream. We have a ton of fun. The kids love just finding any kind of water.

 

Dr. Antonio Gurule  11:47

Yeah, water is key. Anything they can [crosstalk]. That’s awesome. What have you heard of the TowWhee strap? That just reminded me.

 

Jenny Johnson 11:56

Yeah. I haven’t used one.

 

Dr. Antonio Gurule  12:00

Yeah, that was a huge game changer for us. My oldest, for some of our rides, because he could go far. And he actually- it was crazy. At four-and-a-half, we love going to Frisco for the marinas and we would ride from Frisco to BRAC. And his little legs, he rode from Frisco to BRAC and back. It was like 10 miles round trip. But some of those hills were tough and elevation’s different, too. So the TowWhee strap is a retractable toe strap, which is huge, because what we had used previously did not retract and it almost got caught up in the tire. So that’s super helpful. But even just small little things, we’re just like, hey, do you need a boost, hook up, and then pull them over the hedge and you can go. That’s a fantastic tool to have.

 

Jenny Johnson  12:43

You probably don’t want to hear this being a chiropractor, but I tend to push them up by grabbing their shoulders, which is so bad probably for your back.

 

Dr. Antonio Gurule  12:52

No. I do the same thing, too, because oftentimes you don’t want to hook it up.

 

Jenny Johnson  12:55

I’m like, oh, what did I do? That’s right. I pumped.

 

Dr. Antonio Gurule  12:57

You’re pushing them.

 

Jenny Johnson  12:59

Yeah, I’m riding up the hill pushing their back. We call it giving it a boost. Like do you need a boost? And I’ll do it for kids at camp, too. Even though it is Erie, there are still some significant hills. They’re not for kids. That’s the other aspect is getting a quality, lightweight bike is pretty key because imagine if you were or I were trying to ride an 80 pound bike somewhere, but that’s the weight to power ratio that we’re dealing with in some of the big box store bikes. And you would never expect yourself to be able to do that. And we’re expecting our children to do that and up hills.

 

Dr. Antonio Gurule  13:30

That’s a good point. We’ll talk about some of the- you had mentioned spikes you saw because that was some of the things we ran into is first and foremost, A, it was kind of tough when you have a kid, you’re like, well seems crazy to spend X amount on a bike when they’re, A, growing out of it fast or, B, just learning. But it has made a significant difference because some of the ones we had, A, they were heavy, B, being that they were used, not really tuned up well. So bearings are very dry and gritty and it’s cracked, to say the least. When you’re thinking it, you’re just like man, not even also having gears, their torque output or [crosstalk] based on torque is significantly change. What makes it so much harder for them, even when they’re just trying to learn. So what do you guys recommend?

 

Jenny Johnson  14:13

You know, if you can find a good use bike, if you don’t have the budget, because some of these entry-level kids bikes, say for a four- or five-year old can be $300 or $400 that are the high quality bikes. If you don’t have that upfront money, if you could look for a good quality used bike and, you know, obviously take it to the bike shop and make sure everything is functioning and safe. But if you do have the ability to get into the $400 or $500, depending on the size, market, you can buy that, hand it down to siblings. The resale value is excellent on the higher quality bike. So you almost always get back at least 50% of what you paid for.

 

I don’t want to drop any name brands, but I would just say that there are kid-specific design, not something from the bigger box stores. They’re designed specifically for children, meaning like their brake levers are the right size. Because so many times, you just go into these big stores and the brake levers, it’s a flashy looking beautiful bike, but they can’t even break and stop. I’ve seen that so many times. At camp, the kids or their parents will come to me, like, Oh, they’re just really timid. And I look and they can’t even stop on their own because the brakes are adult levers that they just throw in a kid’s bike and then throw it on the shelf and sell it with the cute basket.

 

Dr. Antonio Gurule  15:34

Yeah. That being said, do most kids bike from an early standpoint? Do they start with a coaster brake or are they trying to get more to lever brakes? Because I found maybe it’s because levers are too big, but I feel like just the grip strength of kids, it’s kind of challenging to pull levers. So is that partially why they have coaster brakes or are coaster brakes advantageous?

 

Jenny Johnson  16:00

I personally don’t like coaster brakes. But even some of the higher quality brands will put a coaster brake on their teeny tiny bike. But when you’re going downhill or if you’re in any kind of loose gravel, the coaster brake can cause you to skid. And when kids are naturally trying to find that cadence and that pedal forward, a lot of times they’ll pedal backwards and then they stop and they don’t know what’s going on. But you and I probably grew up with coaster brakes. We’re obviously totally fine. I didn’t learn ‘til I was, you know, a little bit older, five. But you see these two- and three-year olds riding and they’re able to grab the handbrake. You can adjust the brake, too, on the kid brakes so they can grab them a little easier.

 

Dr. Antonio Gurule  16:42

There is. If you have a bike that has coaster brakes, there’s a way to take the coaster brakes out. It’s actually not that hard. You just YouTube it. You just take apart the hub and you just take the pads out.

 

Jenny Johnson  16:51

Yeah, a lot of the companies that they sell they have a free wheel kit. If it comes with a coaster brake, you can buy the free wheel and swap it out whenever your kiddo is ready for that handbrake set. All the bikes that I used to teach with at camp and in my experience teaching tons of kiddos, they’re absolutely fine with the handbrake, even some Strider bikes now that have no pedals come with a great practice to teach them that because it’s the stopping power is also so much quicker. They can stop a lot faster with handbrakes than they do that the coaster brake action.

 

Dr. Antonio Gurule  17:23

And I think just, like you said, the coaster brake as they’re trying to learn that cadence is just so confusing when they’re thinking pedals move, I go forward, but then they go backwards, and then they stop and it just throws them all off. That was at least one of the tougher things for our kids. My son, though, now that he knows how to do it, he loves coaster brakes.

 

Jenny Johnson  17:43

You can do those with the handbrakes, too.

 

Dr. Antonio Gurule  17:48

True. So one camp just ended. How often do these camps run?

 

Jenny Johnson  17:53

So normally, it’s just the summer okay. And 2020, when school was out of session, we did fall programming and a lot longer summer session. But with the weather in Colorado in October, it can be dicey. We ended up having to cancel a few later fall sessions. But yeah, I might do a fall program. 90% sure of that just waiting for staff. I’m always unsure of- the staff that we have is usually college kiddos transitioning off to college or they just graduated high school and they move out of Erie after school. So once we get our staffing figured out, then we go ahead and open the program. So it’ll probably start in like September, October, and it would just be four or six weeks, once a week. So in the summer, we do pretty much daily, Monday through Thursday, 9 to 12. And then the fall would be once a week, just like you would go to dance class or you could go to soccer practice weekly.

 

Dr. Antonio Gurule  18:53

So that’d be like an evening class, not weekend?

 

Jenny Johnson  18:55

It’d be like an afternoon, probably like 4 to 5:30 is what we’ve done in the past.

 

Dr. Antonio Gurule  19:01

You guys ever go up to the Erie Bike Park with the age group?

 

Jenny Johnson  19:06

Yeah, we do. Our summer camp this year, we always have- naturally there’s sometimes more of an advanced group. And then there’s a group that’s a little more cautious. And so those breakout into two different age groups, advanced and beginner. So the advanced group this year, they went to the pump track because they’re able to ride longer, too. So from Star Meadows Park, it’s probably, I would say, five to six miles round trip to get to the pump track and back. So the group that wanted to hang out closer to home, we did that and still explored and saw, you know- we think of ice cream store that day we went nature discovery. And then the older kids were like, we really want to go to the pump tracks, so we made it happen. Sort of let them decide what they’re going to do and when there’s a safe route to get there. The pump track’s really fun. It is one of those places is where you just have to know the rules, which way to go, because there can be other kids there and it can be dangerous.

 

Dr. Antonio Gurule  20:06

I’ve seen a couple collisions there. But it’s fun. And the kids love that. It’s such a fun thing for them to do.

 

Jenny Johnson  20:13

Yeah. And it’s a great starting point, too, if you are thinking about doing some mountain biking. The pump track is a great way to just get used to the hills and gravity.

 

Dr. Antonio Gurule  20:21

That’s awesome. Well, I know it’s kind of in the infancy- well, not infancy. It’s been around for a couple years, but what are some of the- do you have any other plans or things with it moving forward that you want to be able to do with it?

 

Jenny Johnson  20:34

Yeah. I would like to get more grownups involved. So we’ve thought about doing-

 

Dr. Antonio Gurule  20:41

I think that’d be huge. Because I know like my- I mean, my wife knows how to ride a bike. But, you know, we’ve tried doing some mountain biking and stuff. And she’s like, I just don’t really know how to approach or deal with even obstacles and things like that.

 

Jenny Johnson  20:54

100%. I learned to mountain bike in Texas. So mountain biking in Colorado, I had to step up my game, big time. So I can see why the barrier to entry is there. because mountain biking trails in Colorado aren’t green trails always. And there’s this machine that you have to learn how to operate and make sure the tires are aired up and the chains lubed and everything has to be dialed. Then that’s half the battle just to get out on the trail. So I can see why there are a lot of people that are hesitant to get involved in the sport. So we’ve thought about having some clinics, obviously teaching families and parents. All right, here’s what to do if you get a flat tire. Here’s a flat tire clinic. If something were to come up, we’re going to give you the tools so you feel empowered to go out there. If something were to happen, you can change your flat.

 

21:42

Also, just basics in mountain biking classes, maybe just starting out with trail etiquette. Like if someone’s coming up behind you and you feel panicked or nervous, you don’t have to get over right away. You get over when it’s safe and announce when you’re coming. Just basic trail etiquette, just to feel comfortable. And then we’ll get to maybe more of the small drops or going over big hills or big rocks and roots. But yeah, that’s how I see it moving forward is doing some group rides, family group rides, then maybe some clinics, especially more for the moms that are involved, because there’s so many moms that come to me saying I don’t even know what bike to buy. What about the bike trailer? And what do I need to connect a bike trailer to my bike? Like there’s a lot of details? And I’m always trying to remember, okay, not everyone’s been doing this for 10 years. And this is new to everyone. So what may seem easy for some people, I just tried to break it down and make it open to everyone because there are so many people in the last two years that have gotten into cycling with the pandemic. And it’s sad to think that their equipment is just sitting in their garage because they’re feeling stumped.

 

Dr. Antonio Gurule  23:00

I think that I was thinking too. We saw a lot of people just like, What do I do? And then just bought it? And like you said, just kind of sits there and not actually being used?

 

Jenny Johnson  23:07

Yeah. So we’re thinking about- not just thinking. We are planning some programming and have that-

 

Dr. Antonio Gurule  23:15

And we’re going to have some races and all of that.

 

Jenny Johnson  23:20

Yeah. It does need a location to have a hub to get this all started. And then oh, man, I have so many ideas for the racing. I would like to call it events more than racing.

 

Dr. Antonio Gurule  23:27

Yeah, no, yeah. It’s great.

 

Jenny Johnson 23:29

You know, some kids just love the competition. And, you know, just having- giving to kids what we would have as adults, like a little podium and some pedals and just fun prizes, quality giveaways. That’s also on the radar, too.

 

Dr. Antonio Gurule 23:45

That would be awesome.

 

Jenny Johnson 23:47

Yeah. The single track is a little dicey to have a race there. For some kids, it can be intimidating, but it could be somewhere in like a flat field. It doesn’t have to have huge hills or jumps. If anyone has any recommendations or any opportunities that they’re aware of, please connect with me because I’m looking for some opportunity.

 

Dr. Antonio Gurule  24:05

Yeah, I’ll keep my eyes open. Speaking of races, there was an obstacle course race I recently saw on some random farm in East Erie near I25. Yeah, it was off a county road. It was off Erie Parkway. And south of that, and I was just like, what are these people doing? And they were running an obstacle course race out there.

 

Jenny Johnson  24:29

Okay. It may have been The Recess Factory.

 

Dr. Antonio Gurule  24:33

I didn’t look up what it was. I just saw an obstacle course.

 

Jenny Johnson  24:37

[crosstalk] open anymore, but it used to be like a mud run type setup.

 

Dr. Antonio Gurule  24:41

It was only like a month ago.

 

Jenny Johnson  24:42

Okay. Yeah, I’ll have to have to connect you with that person, but I’m pretty sure that would have been what it is. But yeah, but it was on foot, right? Like a foot obstacle

 

Dr. Antonio Gurule  24:51

Yeah. It was exactly like what you’d see like a Tough Mudder or Spartan Race, but it was just in this field out there.

 

Jenny Johnson  24:59

Because I know the RadRover event that the town does is really popular.

 

Dr. Antonio Gurule 25:02

RadRover, I have not heard of that. What is that?

 

Jenny Johnson 25:06

So RadRover, the town of Erie, they do that every- I think it’s July. It might be coming up- I’m not sure. Don’t quote me on the dates, but last year it was in July about this time. I think they used to try to have like a kids triathlon, and it wasn’t as successful. And so they just focused more on keeping it simple to RadRover, like one sport, and that seemed to do really well.

 

Dr. Antonio Gurule 25:27

So that’s a biking event?

 

Jenny Johnson 25:28

No, sorry. It’s an obstacle course event. It’s put on by the town of Erie, but I would like to do something like RadRover, but only do the bike instead of incorporating any kind of like swim bike run. Keeping it simple for kids that’s key.

 

Dr. Anthono Gurule 25:45

Yeah. Limit the variables.

 

Jenny Johnson 25:45

Yes. Yes. Yes. But kids’ triathlons do happen, but there’s a lot involved to get there.

 

Dr. Anthono Gurule 25:50

For sure.

 

Dr. Antonio Gurule  25:50

For sure. Yeah. Yeah. Well, also from just set up, but liability issues with water and stuff. That’s a whole another game.

 

Jenny Johnson  25:56

And I think just exposing kids to that, not even competition, but just hey, like, my neighbor is doing this. Like this is a normal thing. Like we go out and we run together and we have fun and we high five at the end. And, like, I don’t know, for me, I’m not super-fast, but I love doing little races, cyclocross events and things like that.

 

Dr. Antonio Gurule  26:19

I don’t even think of- I just think of two. Like we did the turkey trot last year and our kids had a blast. And it’s the thing that everybody does every there’s five knots and races all the time, but there’s really not- and granted, I think it’s harder to structure bike events like that because there’s road closures and things like that from my kids’ perspective. They love anything like that.

 

Jenny Johnson  26:39

And it can be small. Doesn’t have to be anything grandiose. And I don’t know, I just love the community aspect of events like that, whether I’m going fast that day or not. Yeah, like at the end, you know, everyone’s hanging out, it’s family oriented. So I pursue that for Erie.

 

Dr. Antonio Gurule  26:56

Have you done the Venus de Miles since being out here?

 

Jenny Johnson  26:59

No. I do cyclocross. And actually, funny enough, my kiddo got me into that last fall because it’s basically like riding a road bike on gravel. So it’s a unique kind of- richer in a way.

 

Dr. Antonio Gurule  27:16

Jump over obstacles, do crazy stuff.

 

Jenny Johnson 27:19

Yeah, you carry your bike. So I primarily mountain bike. I do some road biking, but the cyclocross was really fun. And most of them are in Boulder. I would love to see one in Erie because the cyclocross races have men’s, women’s, and little kids. And so it’s a family event that everyone can do on a Saturday.

 

Dr. Antonio Gurule  27:41

I think they could do. They just need to find or there’s enough open-

 

Jenny Johnson  27:45

Permitting and getting people out to Erie. I think a lot of people, in Lafayette too, I think a lot of people think this area is still like cows and pasture. But you know, there’s such a market for young families. And no, it would be great to not have to drive into Boulder for every event.

 

Dr. Antonio Gurule  28:04

That’s awesome. Well, I’m looking forward to seeing all those things come up. I think that’s going to be awesome. And we’ll keep an eye open for what happens for fall. And so I should say, before I forget because I’m always bad about this. How do people learn more? Where do they find more information? How do they connect with you if they wanted to get into the camps or just stay in the loop about when camps are, when events are, so on and so forth?

 

Jenny Johnson  28:28

Yeah, so it’s cyclerie.net, C-Y-C-L-E-R-I-E. cyclerie.net. I’m most active on Instagram. It’s @cyclerie. So you can find me there. I’m Jenny Johnson. I have a Facebook page as well and a website that has all of the program information. So we always have summer programs. The registration usually opens March 1. And if you’re ever interested in private lessons or getting a group of kids together, too, we do that year round as long as it’s not too cold. If there’s not snow on the ground, we’ll usually have our bikes out as a family

 

Dr. Antonio Gurule  29:04

And then do you guys have like a newsletter or anything? Or is that where most things are announced? Like if there are group rides or anything coming up or anything like that?

 

Jenny Johnson  29:15

Yeah. We’re actually kicking off a newsletter this fall. Previously had just relied on social media. But I know a lot of times that can just be inundated with so many events. So the newsletter and direct email is going to be our next method of communication for bigger events.

 

Dr. Antonio Gurule  29:32

Great. Well, thanks for spending time and sharing about this. I think this is awesome. I can’t wait to see how it builds and grows because we’re huge on just family bike rides together, too. We have the trailer, we have the TowWhee, we love packing up and just be like, Hey, we’re going to go somewhere new, ride, see what happens. So this is amazing what you’re doing.

 

Jenny Johnson 29:54

Thanks for having me.