Braden Govoni (right), owner of Outpost Richmond, helps a customer select a bicycle. U.S. bicycle sales increased 65% last year as people took to the road to escape the pandemic.
Richmond, like the nation, has seen an influx of new cyclists over the past year, encouraged by the need for socially distanced transportation and recreational activities during the pandemic. U.S. bicycle sales increased 65% last year, with a whopping $4 billion in bikes sold between January and October 2020, according to the tracking company NPD Group.
“The winter months are particularly mild, the infrastructure is only getting better and we have long had a strong bicycling community,” says Richmond cycling veteran Braden Govoni, owner of Outpost Richmond, a bike shop on Forest Hill Avenue. “And Richmond is only increasing its access for recreational cycling.”
“We’ve got a mix of everything here,” echoes Josh Silverman, the president of the Richmond Area Bicycling Association. “We’ve got the Virginia Capital Trail, where you can go 52 miles from Richmond to Jamestown without any cars. We’ve got mountain biking options, particularly in Pocahontas State Park. Go east, and you’ll hardly find a hill, but head into Goochland and Powhatan, and you find rural areas with more challenging routes.”
And the bubble isn’t bursting, says Govoni, at least not in his shop. “Outpost Richmond’s sales are up significantly,” he says. “We had some months in 2020 that were up 100% over 2019. We’re not even into peak season yet, and our March sales were even better than last year’s.”
The bicycle renaissance is being propelled by new riders, Govoni says, “or people who haven’t been involved in cycling for a while. People in general are just spending more time outside. And I think we’ve reached a kind of critical mass with some of the ongoing improvements to bike infrastructure we’ve seen, the Capital Trail being the big one. Six years on, it is in the collective cycling consciousness.”
Cat Anthony, executive director of the Virginia Capital Trail Foundation, has witnessed the trend firsthand. “There’s been a huge increase in trail ridership, and it continues,” she says, citing a 42% increase in walking and biking on the trail in 2020, with 1.2 million visitors. One of the region’s most popular cycling events is the annual Dominion Energy Cap2Cap, which took place May 7-9 this year, a ride that helps raise funds to maintain the Capital Trail.
The 2015 UCI Road World Championships kicked off a cycling surge in Richmond.
Anthony believes the local bike boom may have actually started with the 2015 UCI Road World Championships, when Richmond hosted some of the top competitive cyclists in the world. “I know that after the UCI race, I started biking more,” she says. “That event really did help encourage Richmonders to go biking.”
Silverman thinks the bicycling resurgence has resulted in more accommodating public policy, as well as more attention to the goals set in the Richmond Regional Bicycling Master Plan — specifically, more bike lanes, such as the additions to Brook Road and Malvern and Patterson avenues. “We still have a way to go,” he says, “but with so many more bikes being sold out there on the market, I see a much bigger interest in building safer areas for people to ride.”
Richmond has been a prime cycling location for a long time, says Brantley Tyndall, the director of outreach and events for Sports Backers’ Bike Walk RVA. “It goes back to when Lewis Ginter had a bicycling club, he says. “We just have ideal terrain for biking and a lot of great biking infrastructure.”
Richmond offers options. For the hardcore cyclist, Tyndall says, there are long-running traditions such as the Tuesday-night bike race series in Bryan Park, a 50-year mainstay during summer months that paused last year due to COVID. For the casual rider, there are annual events such as the Virginia Credit Union Moonlight Ride in August, an evening pedal that starts at the Diamond and treks through numerous Richmond and Henrico neighborhoods.
Tyndall manages RVA Bike Month, a series of events and group rides that includes the leisurely Pedal Thru Petals, a fundraising ride for Massey Cancer Center sponsored by Amy’s Army of Cancer Warriors. Usually held in May, which is National Bike Month, the celebration has been rescheduled to October this year.
The most exciting news of late, Tyndall says, is the announcement of the Fall Line trail, a planned 43-mile Ashland-to-Petersburg path that will cross with the Capital Trail and snake through multiple communities. “You have to remember that there was resistance to the Capital Trail early on,” he says, laughing. “But now that’s its done and a great success, everyone is like, ‘Hey, why don’t we have one?’ ”
“We may be in a bit of a bubble,” Silverman says of the cycling boom. “I’m sure there are a lot of people who bought bikes who concluded that it was like going to the gym: They did it for six months and got out of the habit. And for some, it may be tied to their kids, so when they become empty nesters, they may lose interest in it. But it really is an addictive sport to many of us, and my hope is that this bike boom will continue.”
Bike Tours and Rentals
Don’t have a bicycle? Want to explore new territory on two wheels? Want to try out an electric-assist bike for a more low-key adventure? These local businesses have you covered.
ADVENTURES IN RVA
Rent road bicycles, tandem bikes and kayaks for kids and adults; they’re available by the hour, day or week. Tours include the Virginia Capital Trail, Belle Isle and other attractions. 1912 E. Main St. 804-648-2453 or rvabikerental.com
BASKET & BIKE
Bike excursions and rentals for exploring the Virginia Capital Trail, local vineyards, downtown and more. Custom picnic rides also offered in partnership with Palate Picnics. 804-564-2568 or basketandbike.com
KUL WHEELS
Electric bike rentals and tours exploring historic Richmond and the Virginia Capital Trail. Located along the Capital Trail for convenient access. Also offers e-bike sales and service. 804-205-3452 or kulwheels.com
PEDEGO ELECTRIC BIKES
Electric bike sales, rentals and tours of historic sites such as Hollywood Cemetery. 804-343-1850 or pedegoelectricbikes.com
RIVERSIDE CYCLING
This two-wheeled adventure and exploration offshoot of climbing, rafting and camping company Riverside Outfitters offers guided road and mountain bike tours of the region’s trails and greenways, plus bike rentals, repairs and sales. 804-496-0226 or riversideoutfitters.com/riverside-cycling
RVA BIKE SHARE
Municipal service offering 220 eight-speed bikes available 24/7 through 20 docking stations throughout the city. Purchase a membership on the website, mobile app or at a station kiosk. rvabikes.com
RVA ON WHEELS
Offers public and private tours for discovering Richmond via Segway, trolley, electric bike or GEM car. Pedego electric bike rentals invite riders to choose their own adventure or book a guided tour. 1301 E. Cary St., 804-343-1850 or rvaonwheels.com
