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Is Cycling the new Golf?

Written by Zach Overholt
21 Comments
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Is cycling the new golf? The founder of Cycling CEO thinks so. Also known as two-time US National cycling champion and US Olympic cycling team member, Mark Waite is hoping to develop a web based platform that monitors employees cycling efforts. As the first and only corporate cycling program, the hope would be to allow companies to use cycling as a tool to create a healthy and productive work force. Cycling CEO is looking to raise $80,000 through Indiegogo to  launch their new program.
Zach Overholt
5,727 articles

Zach Overholt is the Editor in Chief of Bikerumor. He has been writing about what’s new in the bicycle world for 12+ years. Prior to that, Zach spent many years in the back of a bicycle shop building and repairing nearly every type of bike, while figuring out how to (occasionally) ride them.

Based in Ohio, Zach is now slowly introducing a new generation to cycling and still trying to figure out how to fit the most rides into a busy schedule as a new dad.

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21 Comments
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Duder
Duder
11 years ago

Poor Mark is suffering from VVS. Please help him:

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john
john
11 years ago

Perfect for that fake empty marketing group that adds no new dollar to a company. On the other hand, you can also just go and ride. Other than that, I don’t see how you can help me get a PO, business lunches are over rated. I bike to run away from work, to be as far as possible from it. If my boss was riding, I would actually elbow him in a corner then proceed to humiliate him on a Cat 4 climb. If Cycling CEO can arrange that, then I can definitely go for it, it would be especially great if they arranged a ride the day before my CEO decides to create growth through just another stupid round of attrition. Seriously, we don’t want assholes on bikes. This presentation is full of empty terms and MBA mumbo jumbo that execute on NOTHINGNESS of CEOs. Thank god I can get on my bike to run away from it all. Now all you need is a Six Sigma Lean course on a bike for me to start really spinning on hate.

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Sevo
Sevo
11 years ago

Yup it is. I’ve seen some really big players in business adopt cycling over the last 5-6 years. There is a noon hour ride where the roll out has a net worth of $200 million some days.

I also run networking groups in Denver and Colorado Springs. We’re discussing the possibility of group rides for the YP’s in our Colorado Young Professionals groups and we’ve had great interest.

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john
john
11 years ago

Doesn’t matter if you linkup in a strip joint or on a bike, it’s all the same crap talk. You’re no different then dikes on bikes or pink on a ride, just a front for a message. Nothing really gets done when you are wearing spandex. Go ask GE if they care about how lean and fit you are, most CEO’s are bloated short term employees who think they can turn around a company by their mere presence… And one more thing, stop dictating the measure of success, corporate success is a very ugly hiding spot for ”pressure, overwork, underwaged, family cost, turn-over, depression”. Road to success is sometimes also, brown nosing, delirious delegation, endless conference calls, power point agony and measuring the unmeasurable. When I get on my bike, I get away from all that shit and guess what. I do the job, I do my job and I do it well. So please, try not to dilute and stain my little heavenly time on my bike.

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James S
James S
11 years ago

Yuck. Not only do I hate golf, but the last thing i would want is for something I do love (bikes) to be turned into another excuse for networking or “team building”. I would never want my employer “monitoring my cycling efforts”. What’s next, are they going to track my bowel movements and my sex life? This is just wrong, wrong, wrong…

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Ron
Ron
11 years ago

This sounds horrible.

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McClain
McClain
11 years ago

Please, please, please do not turn recreational cycling into another yuppie sport full of pompous (deleted) like golf. Cycling can be great for building friendships and community, and fitness, and environmental awareness, but keep the business ethic and the instrumental mindset of corporatism far away from our sport.

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NotAMachinist
NotAMachinist
11 years ago

My employer has a yearly effort to get people to ride their bikes, both in general and to work. There are prizes and gifts for achieving commute legs and miles. We also have corporate sponsored runs, walks, fitness challenges, yoga, cooking classes, etc. It’s an effort to keep the work force from getting fat and running up the cost of health care.

So much like any good idea, this one is already done.

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David French
David French
11 years ago

If it’s such a good idea, why won’t the bank give them money?

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NotAMachinist
NotAMachinist
11 years ago

Duder,

Thank you for posting that link! Hilarious.

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RubberSideDown
RubberSideDown
11 years ago

@Duder, great video.
@John, obviously has an axe to grind against corporate america, never mind the fact that those business leaders are the ones spending big bucks at the bike shops and fueling the growth of the industry.
@David French, banks don’t lend on ideas, no matter how good they are. Crowd funding is a great idea if you are looking to build something, including concept.

I think what Mark is doing is a great idea. Larger companies are investing in wellness activities. Just look at the number of walking programs that exist. So, rather than be critical of Mark’s efforts, we should applaud his effort at getting more people (and more money being spent) on cycing. David French, wouldn’t you love to have some new customers coming to your shop to spend a few hundred pounds on cycling equipment, customers you might not otherwise even get through your door?
It is through efforts like this, bike to work programs and bike month programs that we are going to really fuel the growth of the industry.
Kudos to Mark. I’m in.

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Steve M
Steve M
11 years ago

Overly expensive, takes a bunch of time, sitting at Starbucks drinking after the ride. Sure seems to similar to me.

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satisFACTORYrider
satisFACTORYrider
11 years ago

i really don’t want some company’s upper management bleeding on the hood of my car.

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satisFACTORYrider
satisFACTORYrider
11 years ago

i thought you couldn’t get dumber than critical mass. i stand corrected.

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Psi Squared
Psi Squared
11 years ago

If it gets more people exercising and makes them more happy at work, then it’s not a bad thing.

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John
John
11 years ago

Right everyone in corp america will take the time to load all their cycling data. Good luck with that.

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alex
alex
11 years ago

Getting more people into cycling is always a good thing. My hope is that someday most towns in the US will have bike lanes. But cycling is actually declining among women and children (http://www.bicycleretailer.com/opinion-analysis/2012/06/05/light-end-tunnel-maybe#.UZRSgrWsh8E). But cycling as an alternative to golf? I doubt this will ever happen.

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JimmyZ
JimmyZ
11 years ago

So your boss, who always lies about making par, is going to try and beat you with a hub moter. The whole point of cycling is that your boss isn’t there. Now some jive turkey is trying to ruin that for profit? How about for their next trick, they bring back droit du seigneur for the workplace? I can recall having worked for some people that would enjoy that.

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John
John
11 years ago

@RubberSideDown

Dude, I put every dollar on my new madone 7 Di2 and the track, TT and dirt bikes my 4 kids use multiple times a day. I have a towner to go buy a bottle of Bourgogne on Friday nights. In fact, I am a VP. Do I hate corporate america ? Yes, do I hate american companies and employees, hell NO ! Because I know that difference of culture. I’ve surrounded myself with real people, and run very far from fake corporate cultures enabled by this infomercial. This infomercial says to me: Dot.com, Blackberry, GE, MySpace, Reality TV, Kpop and Enron. It’s a joke, and in the words of a great wise MBA program analyst (Hi Dr. Mintzberg), anybody who thinks this is a great idea should have a tattoo on their forehead that says ”warning, not ready to manage”.

Also, I take offense at your wetdream of the casual CEO that walks into a bike shop to get a fancy bike. That’s not really the case, in most case, the CEO will actually run you down with his stupid landrover while talking to his pumped up cougar. Also, in MY experience, the usual corporate monger will try to find a way to get free wheels or a good deal on a bike. The common man, who lusts his next plush ride for harsh grandfondo will probably be your best customer.

Finally, I would like to add that this concept is old as f76k. At least in my neck of the woods, where people of all backgrounds get together to bike. The term business cyclist is a loose term and a poor excuse for bakers, producers, artists, lawyers, accountants, brain surgeons to get together and ride hard. There was never the idea of having CEOs only, or talk shop. There was never an idea that you would need to show a CEO that healthy living is good for you. If you are a CEO, if you are fat and if you need to be reminded that smoking is bad for you and walking to work is good for you, then you are not a CEO, you are a stupid f%$k and you do not deserve to lead, hence the ridiculous reasons of this program…

The funny part of this company is when you actually try to find a product, go look for a product…. I want to buy something, please help me, what can I buy ? I bet you you get sent over to this you tube over and over again as in ”Hey CEO, do you get it ? We speak the same language, the language of SUCCESS (wink wink, twinkle eyes)”. that’s just plain stupid. Someone, get me the local yoga lady, she knows her shit, she doesn’t give me attitude, she walks in the shop and starts stretching the shit out of my big shop guys… That’s what I need.

Oddly enough, I am pretty harsh on the usual management lingo and the powerpoint self loathing crap… but I see it resonating across the land by other comments. CEO’s on my bike ride; NO THANKS, they can (deleted) as far as I am concerned. There a few companies out there who realize what is wrong in corporate america today, and they are doing very fine thank you, sure put your head in the sand and go bike with a JP Morgan executive as he tries to brown nose you in a new position for him before he gets the boot for melting down his business unit…

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bin judgin
bin judgin
11 years ago

Why don’t you ask SRAM? Or Spesh? Or Trek? Or Cdale? Or Yeti? Or Shimano USA? Or anyone else? Or Shimano JP? Or any one of the huge cycling corporations with a gigantic load of cyclists in their ranks?

Crowd funding boils my blood.

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John
John
11 years ago

Sevo – 05/15/13 – 1:18pm

Yup it is. I’ve seen some really big players in business adopt cycling over the last 5-6 years. There is a noon hour ride where the roll out has a net worth of $200 million some days.

Seriously, I have absolutely no interest in knowing the income of the guy pulling with a headwind. This is the kind of detail that is so useless to me. Some of the best athletes live in campers, some of the worst CEO’s live in a private jet…

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