Contender Pop Up Report Card: Emigration Canyon
On Wednesday, June 29th, Kate and I (Carter) loaded up the Contender van, grabbed some ice and drinks, and headed for the hills. Earlier we had spread the word that we would do a little popup for the cycling community. We'd pull up with chairs and cold drinks would be awaiting them at the top of Emigration Canyon. Anyone willing to do this climb certainly earned a cold drink, but if they wore their Contender gear, they also earned a free pair of socks!
Arriving at the top we set up the tent and coolers. We then waited anxiously, hoping word had gotten out and everyone we had passed on the way up would stop by. It was only a few minutes before the first rider stopped in and grabbed a cold one. Slowly more and more people stopped in and before we knew it we had a small crowd. Some were just out on a ride, but it seemed the majority knew we would be waiting for them up there.
Who wants free socks? Apparently all the people who came up wearing Contender gear! While talking with everyone we heard some awesome stories. One woman said she hasn’t been riding as much as she used to and the popup was just what was needed for some motivation to get out. A few others said they had plans to ride elsewhere that day but decided to go up the canyon after seeing we would be there.
I personally never ride road; I prefer the mountains and mountain bikes, but the core concepts are the same. Really biking is more than just riding bikes. It’s cheesy and can be said about most activities, but that doesn’t mean it’s not true. Ask yourself, if you could never ride with anyone ever again, would you still ride by yourself? It’s a tough question but we could probably all agree that you wouldn’t be nearly as inspired and motivated, if at all. Riding buddies, close friends, and community are all key aspects of biking.
Having the opportunity to create a space for these to take place and grow is just awesome. As a bike shop, we have the power to do this and therefore we shall.
The goal of this popup was to take a step in the direction of getting more involved in the community that we love and support. For our first time doing something like this I believe it was a huge success. People got out there on bikes and showed up stoked as ever. Based on this we plan to do more of these in the future. Stay tuned!
Big thanks to everyone who came out!
I certainly hope that you have these get togethers in the future as my wife and I would love to be there! Please, if possible give a couple weeks notice and we’ll drive up. Thanks, Alan Thacker
Alan Thacker on