What is B3ars’ Origin Story? [B2]
LONG VERSION:
In September 2018 I accepted a job in San Francisco at a tech company. 1.3 years later said company did layoffs and yours truly was let-go with no idea what to do. So, with the severance I was given, I talked my now ex-wife into buying a fixer-upper in Panama City Beach, Florida. I thought, ‘that’s what I’ll do during the pandemic, flip a house.’ Sounds great, right? Be my own boss. Work with my hands. Not much interaction with others. House near the beach. L-I-V-I-N!
Hard no. The house required more work, more time, more money, and more skill than I had. Money went out the door faster than I could imagine. I began riding my bike into the local state park (i.e., St. Andrews) in the morning to care for my mental and physical health + decide what was the best go-forward strategy. In the park one morning was my A-ha moment. Eureka! This! I want to show this off! This state park, this view, this feeling. Will that work? A bike tour. No, it needs to be more. I wish I had a bagel. A coffee. In that moment, B3ars (for Bikes, Bagels, and Brew) and Bike PCB was born.
What the fuck do I know about tourism?
Or bagels?
Or coffee?
I rode my bike everywhere as a typical kid born in Northwest Indiana. I rode my bike to college classes in Louisville, Kentucky. I rode my bike to graduate school courses in St. Louis, Missouri. I rode my bike to a tech job on Market Street in San Francisco. I rode a bike on vacation in Amsterdam, Berlin, and Nice, France. But, I’m not a bike mechanic and certainly have never aspired to be a card-carrying member of the bicycle circle jerk community. Bikes. Bagels. Brew. Cool idea. Now, get back to working on your house, waiting on contractors to show-up, and shoveling money into that furnace.
But, the idea wouldn’t go away. I once did a bike tour in Munich, Germany. It was education, exercise, and excellent food (pretzels) and drink (beer) rolled into one. Could I replicate that? No, no, no. Forget it.
Still, the idea wouldn’t go away. I saw bicycle ride-sharing in San Francisco. It’s not easy. Customers abuse the bikes. They’re costly. You have to import the bikes. You have to maintain the bikes. You have to have insurance for the bikes. No, no, no. Forget it.
That idea, yep, still hanging around. You’d have to import bikes (all manufacturing went overseas in the 70s and 80s). You’d have to get permits and business licenses. Rent will eat all of your revenue. A freaking pandemic is in effect! Do not do it! Forget it!
I couldn’t forget it.
In fact, I began to think about it even more. What engaging aspects could I borrow from the Munich bike tour I did years earlier? What strengths could I leverage to optimize my fleet that I witnessed from the boon of ride-sharing in California? What training and development practices could I instill from my time in academia to make the tour fun and informative? What consulting practices could I steal to make sure customers were getting what they wanted.
I then began to build. The route. The script. The website (yep, I built this website).
So, in summary, I built Bike PCB because it was what I wanted. Light exercise. Local beach views. Education with entertainment. Food and drink. A route that was not too long, nor too short. As they say in Goldilocks and the Three Bears - Just right!
SHORT VERSION:
I was working a tech job in California and was laid off right as the pandemic started. With the severance they gave me, I talked my now ex-wife into buying a fixer-upper in Panama City Beach, Florida. I quickly realized, “I’m not very handy, I need contractors to help with this house, and I really have no idea what I’m going to do with my life.” So, I would ride my bike into St. Andrews State Park in the morning before applying for jobs. In the park one morning I thought, “Wow, this is amazing, I wish I had a bagel. A coffee!” From there B3ars (for Bikes, Bagels, and Brew) and Bike PCB was born. I then created a bike tour route and rode it 209 times with people from all over the world.
