Valley Report - 2024 in review
Credit: @nicolevanderwalphoto
365 days in 10 words or less
Mike:
Not what I thought but only because it was more
Sequioa:
connecting two identities: being an athlete and being Chinese American
Color The Valley takes home an award at the VOBA Economic Summit!
Credit: Dylan Woodrow
The VOBA Outdoor Economy Summit Pitch Fest was a wonderful opportunity for us to share about who we are with the larger Vermont outdoor business community. We will say that 5 minutes is quite a short amount of time to tell that story but it really made us focus on being as concise and clear as possible.
“What do y’all do?” This is a question that we get asked from time to time. We are a queer, women and BIPOC owned bikepacking company that specializes in creating inclusive bikepacking trips in Vermont.
What is our “why”? It should not come as a surprise to anyone that there is a lack of diversity in outdoor spaces especially in the bike community. We didn’t have to dig very hard to find data to back this up. Did you know that founders of color represent only an estimated 1% of outdoor entrepreneurs despite the fact that minority groups are the fastest growing demographic of outdoor recreationists? Did you also know that members of the LGBTQ+ community are the most active outdoor participants? As a BIPOC, women and queer owned company, we knew there was an opportunity here to change the narrative.
It was great to talk with folks who saw the value in what we are doing and thank you for encouraging us to keep telling our story. Bumping into friends and making new ones just validates our thoughts on changing narratives in the outdoor industry. We are all tackling it from different angles and this just proves there are BIPOC folks here in the Vermont outdoor community. We want to see it grow!
As we embark on this journey, we ask that you join us in helping more people see the freedom and joy that riding bikes can bring! We are looking for investors, brand partners, customers and businesses interested in supporting folks from marginalized communities enjoying the outdoors. If this describes you, reach out to us! Please help us get the word out about our company to all your friends and fam!
What’s up with the bikepacking gear library?!
Short answer, we are still working on it and hope to have something ready to go before bike season kicks into full gear (pun intended) in 2025.
Long answer, right now all of the gear lives in Mike’s house which is fine but having a place for people to access the gear that is more centrally located is preferred. We are glad to coordinate in case anyone wants to borrow gear earlier. We feel having it easily accessible for folks with a simple way to check it out will go a long way in terms of the gear getting used.
Full gear list to come but highlights for now are:
Two bikes that we can fully outfit folks (Small and Large bikes)
Plus additional gear including racks, sleeping bags, sleeping pads, tents and anything else you might need
We are looking for a space right now and have a few promising leads. If you know of or have space that you would be open to gear storage then please let us know!
That’s a wrap on 2024
Credit: @nicolevanderwalphoto
We spent the bulk of this year building Color the Valley from an idea into a reality all while working full time jobs. Looking back, we are proud of what we’ve already accomplished! We created a brand and developed a website, launched our business at the Philly Bike Expo, hosted bikepacking trips, tabled at community events, helped fundraise for the @rar.champlainvalley inaugural Northeast Autumn Retreat, built brand partnerships and received our first grant from Bikepacking Roots.
Our plan for 2025
As we look to 2025, we want to continue our growth! Our main project carrying us into the winter months is building out a bikepacking gear library based in Burlington, VT. We cannot wait to dig our hands into a place-based project that will make bikepacking more accessible for our community.
We also are looking to hire our first full time guide for the 2025 season! This will allow us to run a full season of trips while letting Mike and Sequioa focus on community building and growing our network of partners. We firmly believe that 2025 is going to be a pivotal year for us so we want to make sure we are giving ourselves every opportunity to be successful.
A tentative schedule of things we are working on you can find below:
BIPOC specific hangs and rides! We know y’all have been asking and it’s something we want to be more consistent about in 2025. Right now we are thinking of a monthly ride but if people want it more frequently then we will figure out a group of organizers that want to lead to make sure we can keep that consistency.
We will be at Midsouth Expo in March and they’ve been super accommodating with us planning on being there. We are also planning on participating in the 100 Mile Bike so if you see us out there make sure to say hello!
We will also be making an appearance again at the Philly Bike Expo and are excited to meet folks again and see all of the hard work of the different people in the bike community. Hopefully we can share a booth with a bike builder again next year!
We are collaborating with Skida to start a gravel ride series that will start sometime once the weather starts to warm up which will likely be in May and continue through the Fall. Not sure quite on the frequency right now but plan for at least a monthly ride starting and ending back at the Skida shop off Pine Street. This series will be open to all so make sure to come ride and support our local friends at Skida.
The Be Right Back (BRB) rides will make their official debut in 2025 and will likely be a monthly ride taking place on Saturdays. These are the rides where you enter the bike time bubble in the early to late morning but we promise to get you back before dinner. It’s Vermont in the late Spring and we plan to run it up until the time changes. Bring your swim trunks, fly fishing gear and whatever else you might have an idea to do or if you want to lead something give us a shout.
We want to pay you to ride your bike! This is not clickbait. We promise.
That’s right! We want to pay you to ride your bike or put on an event that supports bikepacking in your community. All that we ask is that you take photos, host an event around bikepacking or bikepacking education then share a few words with us for our newsletter or tag us in social media. We are flexible on what this can be so just let us know what you are thinking. No wrong ideas!
We are able to do this thanks to the generosity of someone in our community that wants to support folks bikepacking. Here is a brief breakdown of what you can expect if you are selected. Think of it as a Vermont care package courtesy of us!
$500
Color The Valley merch including shirts, stickers, patches and anything else we might have to send your way
Color The Valley Hoodie from one of our local favorite outdoor companies
Maple Syrup straight from Vermont and you’re damn right we are shipping that sugary goodness across state lines
Merch from local companies but likely outdoor related
We will have a form for folks to fill out in January! We are workshopping some names but definitely don’t want to call it ambassadors…maybe Friends of Color The Valley?
Our picks for 2024!
Now is our favorite part of the report…telling you what made us happy in 2024!
Sequoia:
Sunshine. Being able to ski for the first time since tearing my ACL. Making new friends! Becoming a runner. Connecting to my Chinese heritage more, learning some Cantonese and Chinese cooking. Bikepacking Acadia to Burlington (over 500 miles!). Planning the first annual RAR NAR. Getting to know my dad better and getting him into gravel riding. Organizing the CTV X RAR Alley Cat. Going Paddleboarding. Nesting at home.
Mike:
The biggest thing that made me happy in 2024 was community. It’s what allowed us to take this idea and start to turn it into something real. I have always been someone who felt like you had to take on the world by yourself or that you need to be in control of your own destiny but over the last several years I have been slowly unlearning that. It’s not to say that I don’t have my opinion or view on things but I’ve also come to value feedback because it helps to shape my view. So thank you to everyone who helped with that in 2024 and will continue to do so. Apologies in advance ;)
Now I can get to the stuff you really came here for which is my excellent taste in movies and music.
Thanks for reading!
This is brought to you with love and care from Izzy Johnson, Sequoia Young and Mike Ripley. Make sure to subscribe below so you don't miss out on the Valley Report.