On your bike
What do you do when Covid 19 restrictions lose a key part of your customer base? For Martinborough’s Green Jersey Cycle Tours, the answer is – pivot and offer something new to locals.
By Katherine Robinson. Photos by Lucia Zanmonti.
“Over lockdown our business went into hibernation at a time when we do most of our business. Plus we had two cycle tours of France booked so it really made a dent in our balance sheet,” says Green Jersey owner, Stuart Edwards.
Like many other business owners, Stuart took a breath and considered how to adapt his business to life in the new reality. “On the good side, lockdown gave us a chance to sit back and do a bit more planning on how to pivot the business.”
On lockdown’s empty roads, many rediscovered the joy of cycling, and looked to fix bikes lying half-forgotten at the back of the garage. Under Alert Level Three, Green Jersey did a brisk trade in bicycle maintenance. Others looked to upgrade, and sales of e-bikes through the company soared.
But Stuart’s main lockdown project was to develop group cycle tours of New Zealand, particularly aimed at locals. “It’s actually what we intended to do from the start. We have done this in a small way but we never had the time to develop it further. Post-lockdown, other businesses have been looking at how to bring people to the Wairarapa; we’re looking at taking a bit of the Wairarapa to New Zealand.”
Under Alert Level Two, Stuart took a couple of test tours to Wanganui and Hawkes Bay. Away for up to four nights, the small, friendly groups included both regular cyclists and a few who had never been on a cycle tour before, mainly aged from 50 to 75. “We had an 80-year-old who had never toured before on an e-bike – like everyone, he loved it.”
Tours require moderate fitness – as in people who are fit and active, but not super fit. E-bikes are part of the tours’ success, with tour groups split roughly half and half between both kinds of bikes. That extra boost of electric power democratically smooths out the terrain.
“Though it’s interesting that the e-bikers don’t usually lead the pack, it’s often regular bikers who make it to the top of the hill first. It’s amazing how people manage it. ”
The tours are a cycling adventure but with comforts. Thanks to Green Jersey’s remarkable touring trailer, the tour is self-contained on the road. Rekitted during lockdown to include a mobile kitchen, it allows Stuart to serve homecooked hot food to cyclists – soup being a favourite. There’s even a toilet on board.
Accommodation has been in some real hidden gems of the country, says Stuart. This has included a Natusch- designed mansion in the Manawatu, eco lodges and Porters Boutique Hotel in the Hawkes Bay.
Plans for the future include a cycle tour of the East Cape through back hills, and a couple of tours around Taranaki.
“And we have some beautiful Wairarapa itineraries, such as the trip to Cape Palliser or the Remutaka Cycle Trail which would amaze locals as well as visitors. “
More info
Green Jersey Cycle Tours include boutique accommodation, food and group pick ups within the North Island. Groups number up to 10 people. For more details see https://greenjersey.co.nz
