Cycling Events – Good For Business?

With the recent Ride to Concur Cancer (a ride from Vancouver to Seattle) and the upcoming GranFondo (a ride from Vancouver to Whistler) there has been a lot of talk these days about the cycling world. I was speaking to a friend of mine the other day and he had mentioned that he though the demographics of cyclists were made up of higher than average net worth individuals. I thought this might be an interesting niche for Realtors to target so I reached out to Jacynthe Simard, the Finish Line Manager of the RBC GranFondo Whistler. I asked her the demographics of the cyclists enrolled in the GranFondo and how could people get involved. Here is what she told me:

Demographics: Predominantly male , median age of 45; well-educated and affluent (>50% HHI at $100K+/ year).

Volunteer needs: We are looking for over 100 volunteers to help our with a number of activities: event set-up/take down, hydration station, family zone, bag check, bike corral, etc.

The benefits of volunteering for the RBC GranFondo Whistler are:

* All shifts are a reasonable 4 to 5 hours
* Snacks and beverages provided
* Lululemon piece (either a jacket or shirt)
* A Water bottle compliments of RBC
* Front of the line registration to the 2011 RBC GranFondo Whistler
* Letter of reference for volunteer hours
* Be part of the first year of one of the biggest thing to hit Vancouver since the Olympics. This event will be epic for years to come, and you’ll be able to say you were there first.

Interested in getting involved? It might be a great place to market your real estate services. RBC thinks it is a fit. Do you? Maybe as a sponsor or as a volunteer. You can see all of the volunteer opportunities on their website.

More on the GranFondo:

Event vision: Create a world-class event that serves as a premium & unique mass cycling experience to all levels of riders that is both challenging and fun, and motivates people to ride.

What’s a GranFondo: A celebrated tradition in European cycling culture that is fast gaining momentum in North America. A long distance, mass-participation cycling event that welcomes professional, amateur, and recreational cyclists of all abilities

The Details: September 11, 2010. The only mass cycling event to ride the Sea-to-Sky highway from downtown Vancouver to Whistler Village; dedicated North lane for the event.

Finish Line Celebration Description: Riders will finish along Blackcomb Way in Whistler and be guided in to the post event celebrations in Lot 4 in the Whistler Parking area. We’ll dress up the area with a stage and live music, a family fun area, beer garden, delicious food, a stretching lounge, a massive bike corral, a massage area and a lounge for the Alta Classe. We want participants, friends and family, Whistler residents as well as visitors to come enjoy the festivities and cheer on those who will have biked a challenging 120 km from Vancouver to Whistler.