Start by listening to my interview on the Indoor Cycle Instructor Podcast!
[Audio: http://indoorcycleinstructor.com.s3.amazonaws.com/126_JoyRide.mp3]
If you ask how JoyRide Cycling Studio came to be, the answer can be summed up in three words, “passion, necessity, and vision”, but of course there is a little more to it than that.
Passion: Lorie and Jeff Bickford, the owners, operators, and principal instructors at JoyRide, are long time cycling, fitness, and outdoor enthusiasts. Regular participants in “spinning” classes since 1998, in 2005 Lorie moved from the back of the cycling room to the front when she took her enjoyment of cycling classes to the next level by becoming an instructor. Jeff, meanwhile supported her move by becoming her “music guru” creating motivating playlists that along with Lorie’s enthusiastic coaching and attention to participants’ individual fitness goals, made “their” classes amongst the most popular in their local gym. Their collaborative efforts reflect the fact that they consider themselves “tandem riders” both in their cycling classes as well as in life.
Necessity: Over time, however, Lorie and Jeff recognized that cycling programs offered in their area were not keeping pace with the exciting advances taking place in indoor cycling. Gym owners, faced with competing priorities, often fail to promote cycling classes as a key feature of their clubs, instead treating them as an “add on” or “extra.” In the worst cases, essential bike maintenance and upgrades are deferred, ventilation systems are inadequate, and instructors are inexperienced, underpaid, and/or untrained. In the best cases, gym owners resort to offering “scripted” classes which provide no opportunity for talented, experienced instructors to express their creativity and create strong connections to the individuals in their classes. Finally, cyclists who are not gym members had no option but “join a gym” in order to participate in cycling classes. So, the question was, what could they do about it?
Vision: Having decided that an alternative was only going to happen if they created it themselves, Lorie began forming a plan to offer “something different and better” to Salem cycling enthusiasts and future riders. She envisioned a space dedicated solely to providing effective, high quality rides, in a safe, clean, and welcoming environment, without the obligation of joining a gym. The closest local model of comparison was that of their local yoga studio. In researching the idea further, she discovered that others had already turned a similar vision into reality by creating dedicated indoor cycling studios. After consulting with an established cycling studio owner and visiting several studios outside of Oregon, Lorie and Jeff knew this was an idea whose time had come for Salem, and for Oregon. Shortly after this realization, they conducted a local survey of potential riders’ preferences; sponsored a “name the studio” contest; and soon after JoyRide Cycling Studio was born!
Our promise to you: Lorie, Jeff and the entire staff of JoyRide instructors are dedicated to providing Salem/Keizer area residents, and all visitors, the opportunity to experience the best indoor cycling experience possible. We hope you will take advantage of that opportunity and come enJOY the RIDE with us very soon!