Biking for business

On a perfect September day, several people taking a break from their normal weekday schedules gathered by a shed at Highland Mountain Bike Park, waiting for an instructor to arrive to teach them how to safely navigate the terrain at the Northfield venue.

The group of riders, and another one that would soon be gearing up, included small business owners, clothing manufacturers, college professors, sustainability advocates, nonprofit leaders and corporate representatives.

They were equipped with full-face helmets and body armor for their knees and elbows. And if they came prepared, they had water bottles tucked into the holders of their rented bikes, a good thing to have on a hotter than expected day. Soon they would be learning how to brake, how to approach turns and how to mount their bikes on the chairlift.

It would involve a lot of prep work, but every moment counted to ensure the group’s ride down the Freedom Trail, the park’s easiest “green” run, was both safe and fun.

Participants, including editor Mike Cote, gear up for a Find Your Ride beginner orientation at Highland Mountain Bike Park in Northfield on Sept. 11. (Photo by Mike Cote)

As business networking events go, the Granite Outdoor Alliance has no equals. Thursday’s Wheels Down: Rocktails & Streams event, was its third annual trek to the mountain bike park. The alliance likes to front-load their meet and greets with recreational activities. Nothing shows off New Hampshire’s outdoor vibe like barreling down a trail on a mountain bike or paddling down a river in kayak, especially when experienced with like-minded people.

The alliance, which has more than 130 business members, advocates for the state’s $3.9 billion outdoor economy, focusing on sustainable economic development, workforce and education, land conservation and stewardship, and creating healthy communities.

Wheels Down was supported by the state Office of Outdoor Recreation Industry Development, whose director Janelle Lawton addressed the group at an “apres-bike” dinner of pizza and salad. Her talk included an overview about the Workforce Toolkit the state designed for the outdoor industry.

Lawton said Highland Mountain Bike Park was a great example of New Hampshire’s outdoor business innovators.

“Mark Hayes, the owner, bought a shut-down ski mountain, and he saw the future. Way back 20 years ago when he made it into a downhill mountain bike park, he was ahead of the curve of what everyone else was doing,” Lawton said during an interview.

Venues like the bike park contribute to the economy both as a business and as a workforce attractor for the state.

Granite Outdoor Alliance participants gear up for a Find Your Ride beginner orientation at Highland Mountain Bike Park in Northfield on Sept. 11.
(Photo by Mike Cote)

“What we wanted to do today was bring businesses, both outdoor rec businesses and non-outdoor rec businesses, so they can come and experience this and understand what we do here in New Hampshire so well, and why it’s really important that when you are recruiting employees to come here and work, that you’re also talking about the amazing assets we have because people come to New Hampshire for that work-life balance,” she said.

“They want to be able to be outdoors. They want to be in the mountains, on the lakes or on the ocean. And you can do all that in New Hampshire, right?”

Tyler Ray, founder and director of Granite Outdoor Alliance, arrived too late Thursday to ride a mountain bike due to his participation in Leadership New Hampshire.

“There are 45 people from across the state, meeting lots of folks from all walks of life across sectors and so forth. The value that I get out of it is just incredible,” Ray told a group of about 30 people.

“And then I come here, and this is the same thing, except we’re way cooler because we’re mountain biking. But the value of networking is how business works. And these events that we do are a little unique. We like to add in the recreational activity. Next year we’re looking to re-up the program and provide a lot of different and new different opportunities, and changes things up a bit.”

That’s a vibe Hayes can relate to at Highland Mountain Bike Park, which focuses solely on mountain biking. During a talk to the group, the owner noted he has a side business helping ski resorts add mountain biking to their mix.

While he gets ready to celebrate the park’s 20th anniversary next year, Hayes is still working to convert more skiers into mountain bike riders.

“To some of my skier friends, snowboarder friends, that are rippers, they’re intimidated by mountain biking,” he said. “The key to this whole business is to make it accessible, to have really, truly beginner trails and beginner programs and then have that progression that goes from that point all the way up.”

And, as mountain biking goes, all the way down.