Dirty Kanza and the Gravel Cycling Explosion Dirty Kanza

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Dirty Kanza and the Gravel Cycling Explosion: Kristi Mohn is a gravel coach, a champion for women’s cycling, and one of the original organizers of Dirty Kanza. She fell into cycling organically when she and her husband were looking for a way to stay fit. As a Kansan seeking adventure, finding her way to gravel and Dirty Kanza was a no-brainer.

In this episode of Bicycle Retail Radio, Kristi shares her thoughts on how and why gravel cycling has grown and what she’s doing to increase women’s participation in the sport. You’ll also learn what barriers women face as they try to get started in cycling, and how bike shops can help. Kristi also offers a peek behind the scenes of Dirty Kanza, from gratifying finish line moments to the joys and challenges of pulling off the event.

Please enjoy listening to Dirty Kanza and the Gravel Cycling Explosion.

Support the show (https://nbda.com/articles/donation-form-pg511.htm#!form/Donate)

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Rodd & Kristi Mohn- Dirty Kanza

Tue, 8/18 10:43AM • 33:47

SUMMARY KEYWORDS

gravel, bike, event, ride, women, dirty, bike shops, people, community, miles, year, emporia, cycling, distance, big, pretty, bicycle, bit, finish line, find

SPEAKERS

Rod Judd, Kristi Mohn, Chad Pickard, Rachelle Schouten

Rod Judd 00:10

You are listening to bicycle retail radio brought to you by the National Bicycle Dealers Association. Hello and welcome to bicycle retail radio. This is Rod Judd from people for bikes and I’m here today interviewing with Kristi Mohn, the marketing manager for the dirty Kansa, and all-around ambassador for all things gravel and bicycle participation. So welcome Christy, how are you?

Kristi Mohn 00:35

I’m great, Ron, how are you?

Rod Judd 00:37

I’m good. Thank you for joining us. So it’s great to be talking again.

Kristi Mohn 00:41

It’s a pleasure, for sure.

Rod Judd 00:43

Good. I wanted to get some insights into what you’re doing with the event this year and you’re sort of overall strategy. Tell us a little bit about your background as a bike enthusiast and you know what drew you to get involved in events in general?

Kristi Mohn 01:00

Well, you know, a lot of it just came down to health and fitness. At the core of it. I was a fairly avid runner in my late teens and early 20s. And as I grew older, I realized that running and my knees and my lower back are not jiving. And in through that process had also been working hard to get my husband to find something to do to stay in shape, and he turned to cycling, which meant eventually that I kind of turned to cycling as well. So it’s pretty organic how I came into it, and that was about 18 years ago. So

Rod Judd 01:34

how did you discover gravel?

Kristi Mohn 01:36

Well, if you’ve ever been to Emporia, Kansas, it’s pretty easy to see how he discovered gravel. Only about two paved routes that you can really ride around this community. But the gravel options are absolutely endless. So it really was pretty much a no brainer. And, you know, it really lends itself I think, to the type of writing that I like to do, which is a little bit more of an adventure. style. I also like the idea of the kind of being out there solo and away from things giving me lots of time to think and explore. So, gravel here was pretty natural, just because of where we fit in the country. So

Rod Judd 02:14

Sure. And of course, you’re a black business person that’s involved in many things. Mm-hmm. Tell me a little bit about, you know, what you’re doing in the black business in general. And, you know, what’s your take on the impact of gravel as a category for black businesses?

Kristi Mohn 02:29

Well, I think it’s been, you know, most people don’t really understand that dirty Kansa has been around for 2006. So this is actually going to be our 15th year of the event. I think gravel has become a very natural evolution of the process of where people are becoming, we’re seeing more and more distracted drivers, the roads are becoming less safe. gravel gives you that opportunity to get off the grid a little bit more and with how we are so connected, in our day to day lives anymore, it’s a reprieve from what we do. 24 seven, they So I think gravel has become a pretty natural evolution of where I would have anticipated the industry to go. I also think it really lends itself to the community, at least in my world It does. And that becomes something. In my mind, that’s really important too. So I think that’s why we’ve seen such a big boom and gravel. It’s just a safer environment and it’s more community-friendly.

Rod Judd 03:26

Okay. Where do you see it going next? You know, obviously, the styles and the technology with gravel bikes is changing. Sea stepping next.

Kristi Mohn 03:36

Well, I hope it continues to grow and bring in more and more people into the sport. And I think that that’s going to be you know, with the evolution of bikes becoming more comfortable and more durable and safer and more. You know, like I said, more comfortable to ride I think we’ll see more and more people choosing to explore the world on two wheels on gravel. And I think that there’s also you know, a lot of these bikes also work well as kind of a do-anything bike. Which I think is also important because if I can be a significant investment, you can have your bike also serve as a commuter bike or a bike Packer bike. And I think all of those things lend themselves well to gravel and to enter gravel bikes in that industry and that sector of the industry.

Rod Judd 04:15

Okay. You mentioned you know, you’re being involved with your husband and writing, what’s the appeal for you still about gravel, why he’s in love with this category, as it is in 2020.

Kristi Mohn 04:29

There’s just in my book, there’s no better way to explore the country, then on two wheels. I like it, because of the distances you can go in the time that you’re allowed. I think because the industry has grown up so much, you know, over the last 15 years, that it’s great because you have all of these different gravel events now that are popping up in all different places. that those are always at least two the all of the ones I’ve been to have been put on by people that are super passionate about the community that they’re in about gravel, and about the location that they’re doing these in. And it means that I can kind of, you know, thank my block on going and spending a great weekend around a great group of people and getting to see some of the best parts of nature in that area on two wheels. I just, I don’t see anything better as far as a way to explore the world on two wheels, as you know, attending these events and, and checking out these areas that people are finding things that they’re passionate about in it. That’s part of the reason I love doing it. And it’s also the solitude that will come from that to exploring those roads when you’re just going out for a test ride and whatnot. It’s pretty awesome.

Rod Judd 05:41

Yeah, that’s great. You know, in terms of events, tell us about your personal experience, riding an event like the dirty Kansa Do you remember the first time you rode? Tell us what it was like perhaps for people who, who haven’t had the pleasure of writing something like that?

Kristi Mohn 05:58

I’ve only been able to do dirty Kansa, two times, the first time was in 2010. And it was kind of I joined the promotions team after the 2008 event. And my husband was one of the original 34 riders back in 2006. And when I came and got to ride the event in 2010, it was right before we were kind of starting is the very first year we moved downtown. And I was pretty anxious about being on course versus being at the finish line because it was something new, but at the same time, dirty Kansa was much smaller than but my goal that year was truly to prove to myself that I could ride 200 miles in one day. So it was simply a finishing goal. And, you know, what would I tell people to expect I mean, it’s obviously a long day on the saddle. You need to know how to feed yourself and how to take care of your bike and all of those sorts of things that we tell you about their real my day ended, I slashed my tire pretty significantly, with about 30 miles to go. And ultimately, the repair didn’t hold. And so I finally called it with around 13 miles left or so and had my husband come pick me up. But I think a lot of people saw that as disappointing, but in my mind, my goal was to ride 200 miles. And when I got to that point, I was like, I got it, like, I know I can do it. And it kind of, I mean, although I wanted to finish dirty Kansa I also wasn’t disappointed because I felt like I had met an expectation of myself. The team of race promoters at the time is, you know, Jim Cummins, who’s the founder, Leland Danes, who we brought in, and then my husband and myself at the time, the three guys basically came to me in 2017, and they were like, Hey, you want to try to ride it again? Which of course, you know, I did. So I wrote it again in 2018. And that one had my full attention, like, all the training, I didn’t miss a single training ride, hired a coach all of those things, but You know, on that one, it was really, I spent a lot more time I did my homework, I knew what to expect I put the work in. And I really my biggest tip on that from that ride and my biggest takeaway was to ride your race. You know, I didn’t commit to riding with anybody. I didn’t make any of those promises. I just decided to do the very best I could, at my own pace that day on the bike and, and of course, was very dialed with my nutrition and my speed zones. You know, when we got into the checkpoints, know exactly what I was doing and had a really big game plan and ultimately led to a really good success, which was super exciting. One of the things about Kansas, you really don’t know how Kansa is going to play with you that day. You know, you get to do one part of the race, but the rest of it’s up to the elements that you face when you go out there is a good day.

Rod Judd 08:43

Amazing. You mentioned you know the appeal of solitude on a good gravel ride. Tell me about what is some of the highs and lows that go through your head during an event like the dirty Kansa What do you find yourself going mental

Kristi Mohn 09:01

I think a lot of it for me is just the game that I end up playing with myself is that the part of me that tells me that I’m going to quit right now, you know, everybody talks about that. But what’s happened is, the more events I’ve done like this, and the longer I’ve been riding my bike like this, that voice is completely out shadowed by this other part of my brain that like, that’s just nonsense, you know, you’re not going to quit. So stop talking to yourself like that. It’s just the internal dialogue that I end up having where it’s basically coming out to the fact that, you know, I’ve committed to doing something and I really, really want to see it through the best of my ability. Of course, I’m going to be smart and I’m not gonna put myself in danger physically, but at the same time, it’s learning to grasp those highs and lows that you have when you’re out there and talk yourself through it and the way you can then take that and apply it to your everyday life and how you work with people in your day jobs is pretty amazing how that kind of I’m not going to quit attitude can prevail and help you be successful off the bike too. And That’s one of my biggest joys from it.

Rod Judd 10:02

That’s great. It’s powerful stuff. Okay, so for a brand new participant, you know, when you’re out there talking with folks who, you know, well, maybe intimidated, how would you describe your events to a first-timer?

Kristi Mohn 10:17

Well, I think that’s an interesting question, Rob. Because in my mind, dirty Kansa really consists of several different distances. And we’ve done that on purpose that allows you to bite off what you think you can chew and help you grow. And I think that’s what I would prefer to people when they, you know, I get people to call all the time, this is I’m not quite sure about the 200. And talking them through what that would look like and how that would relate and what they’re trying to do, and helping them make the decision of what distances may be the right distance for them where they can be successful, but still, be challenged. And it’s one thing that I really like about our event is that we do have a distance starting as small as 25 miles or as short as 25 miles. I shouldn’t say small because, for some people, that’s a really big deal. We’ve had people that have done the 50 miles that’s taken them nine hours to ride 50 miles. And when you consider that column Strickland last year finished in just under 10, he almost you know, triple lap, the 50, miler, and all intents and purposes. So I think it’s really, you know, for our event, it’s finding the distance that’s going to fit you and challenge you the best and make you feel accomplished. And that’s really kind of more of my focus and my drive at this point, then, you know, saying you have to do the 200 to have it be of any worth. It’s really finding something that’s going to meet your goal and where you’re at in your life and still gonna provide you that experience that you’re looking for.

Rachelle Schouten 11:41

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Rod Judd 12:39

You mentioned your husband was involved in the first 36 or so riders back when the event began. Do you know what motivated the introduction of this right, you know, why did they choose to create the dirty Kansa?

Kristi Mohn 12:53

Well, Jim Cummins and zoldyck our two founders had done trans Iowa, which is a 350-mile distance up in Iowa with Mark Stevenson up there, and they came back inspired from that. So the very first trans-Iowa took place in 2015 with the dirty Kansa on a deal taking place, this first event taking place in 2016. The takeaways they had from that was that 350 seems a bit unapproachable for I mean, 200 miles is a long way, you know, the DK now has the Excel distance, which is 350. But tuner miles is a long way, but they took away the distance might have been too long for just kind of your weekend warrior types. And they also did instead of a point to point ride, which was what Tran Seibel was that year, they did a loop so that you had to leave and get back to Emporia. So those were the big two differences between trans Iowa and dirty Kansa in that first year. That’s that’s what had inspired the event.

Rod Judd 13:47

So you’ve had some experience now with a number of iterations of the dirty Kansa. What are some of the things that you’ve learned from other races or perhaps that you’ve learned yourself that aren’t necessarily written down anywhere in terms of how to prepare, what’s the best way to get the best result out of the event? And what’s the best way to be satisfied with your experience there?

Kristi Mohn 14:12

Well, I think the big takeaway that I’ve learned from all of these events is, you know, watching the finish line, which is where I spend, most of my details are spent at the finish line. And I think, for me, the biggest takeaway is always that you’re, you’re so much more capable than what you think you’re capable of, you know, our abilities really can go beyond what we think we can do. And it’s the DK finish line, and many others out there too, are just such an emotional experience to see somebody that has made these goals for themselves, realize these goals. And it’s really cool too because I think sometimes what gets overlooked a little bit is watching those family members meet some of my biggest tugs that I’ve had at the BK finish line have been you know, not only with the finisher but then going over and hugging that family member. That’s been there. For them on their training ride was there for them in those support towns, it really the concept of bringing that community together and bringing families together and friends together is so prevalent at a race like dirty Kansa. And that, to me is just always a big takeaway. It’s just it just recharges your soul and your batteries to watch one of those finish lines.

Rod Judd 15:19

Great. Let’s talk a little bit about Lifetime’s involvement in the event, of course, lifetime acquired the event A few years ago. What does having a company from the health and wellness space bring to this event? Where do you see the great value there?

Kristi Mohn 15:36

The extra hands on deck, the extra resources have been just, there’s just no value to it. It’s enormous. We needed it. And we appreciate, you know, from the employer community and from the employment event staff. You know, we love the fact that we have a network of people and a team of people that can help pull this event off. It just was to the point where it was really difficult for people. And even though I mean, our volunteer crew is just top-notch, it’s still a lot on for people to pull off on that weekend. So it’s really nice to have, you know, last year was our first year with Lifetime in Emporia helping us and I went home on Thursday evening and took a shower. Which was, you know, a first in many years where, you know, the event starts or 30, you know, Wednesday evening gets here, and it’s pretty much a run till Sunday after the award ceremony. And it was amazing to be we were all sitting in the office kind of looking at each other going, you know, what should we do, and I think all four of us went home and took a shower before the evening gets together that evening, which was, you know, all because we had extra hands on deck help and get everything done. And it was just, it was an incredible feeling to know that that we had we chosen right and we picked an organization that was there to help and support us. So it was a really good feeling.

Rod Judd 16:56

Sure. Talk a little bit more about you know what it takes To put on the event, you know, how many volunteers are we talking about? and staff? What’s the heavy lifting? What goes into it?

Kristi Mohn 17:07

Our event services manager would have to get you the number of volunteers and pass. I don’t know, I even hate to. I even hate to take a guest. Yeah, I know. It’s probably 300 or so something like that. And I might be shy, I don’t know. And I’m sure she’s told me. But it’s one of those things where it’s for me, it doesn’t hit me right in the gut like it’s kind of in one ear out the other. But we’ve worked. I think one of the things that I’m super proud of is how we’ve worked with so many of these community organizations to help them use dirty Kansa as a fundraiser for themselves or help them generate funds to give you so we’re giving back to the community that way. And I think last year’s fundraising totals for all our organizations that we worked with was close to $100,000 from that weekend, and that’s, I mean, from a kid from Emporia to be able to impact my community like that is just really helped. bowling.

Rod Judd 18:01

Yeah, and talk a little bit more pleased about, you know what this means to the city. You know, obviously bicycling can have a great impact on local economies. Please share your thoughts and impressions on what it means to aporia.

Kristi Mohn 18:15

Well, I mean, last year’s study that they conducted after dirty Kansa weekend alone was a giveback of around $5.5 million. I think. So super substantial. And I think that the impact resonates throughout the year. We have people come and ride bikes in Emporia year-round, not just dirty Kansa weekend. So you know from that perspective, we don’t even know the calculation that the as a little race that could is sometimes what I call dirty Kansa or race it could it’s like what is it actually impacting in Korea with and I think it’s it’s a lot of notoriety and a lot of people that come here to ride your round, which is great. Right?

Rod Judd 18:54

You are clearly motivated by the passion for getting more people to ride with you. is obviously, you know, very important to all aspects of businesses and you know, in my opinion, to communities in general, talk a little bit about your motivation for getting women to ride wise women,

Kristi Mohn 19:15

it really came from the fact that when I joined the cycling community here, and in the Midwest, they’re just there wasn’t a ton of us out there. And I didn’t understand why. And I think it boils down to a lot of it is, you know, some intimidation and not necessarily the support networks that women were looking for in there. And I just really felt like coming from a running background too, and I’d seen, you know, 51% female participation in events. And on the running side, I didn’t understand why it wasn’t there on the writing side, because the cycling in my book was easier, more fun, more community-driven and something way easier to share with a friend or a husband or a significant other, whatever it is. Didn’t make sense. And I think it just became a passion for me that I wanted to get more women out there from the competition side and from the camaraderie side and from the fact that I didn’t want women missing out on what gravel was about. And I wanted that shared experience with them. Excellent. Maybe a little bit selfish. Like that. Yeah. Thinking about it from that perspective, like, you know, let’s, let’s do this.

Rod Judd 20:25

There’s nothing wrong with that. If it’s for the greater good, right. Totally. Some of the interactions you’ve had with women during your cycling career, you know, can you speak to a specific example where you really felt like you changed somebody’s life through cycling?

Kristi Mohn 20:41

That seems pretty presumptuous. I can talk about like, I mean, I suppose I probably have changed some women’s life and that perspective. I think, more of what I think about is and you know, I’ve used and named a couple of times this year but and gentle, who is a writer from Nebraska She’s been to a couple of BK camps. She inspires me greatly. She was on the docket to ride the DK 200. Last year and at Camp after just watching her ride and get through some stuff. I had a conversation with her where I, you know, I said, I think the 200 is you’re biting off more than you can chew. And I really want to see you finish. And I knew she had done some other distance events that she hadn’t completed and worked with her to do the 100 instead of the 200. And that moment of her finishing that 100-mile distance was just, it was amazing. You know, I try to think of other women that like Wendy shear she’s in. She and her husband, Jason do ordinary ethics now, which are bike races and community events down in Mississippi. And I think that that’s probably something that I’ve inspired. But, you know, it’s hard to say, that’s just it’s not necessarily why I do it. So I guess I don’t really look for that. If that makes sense.

Rod Judd 21:54

Those understand. You’re involved with a group of women who ride the world. Mm-hmm. Would you talk a little about that group’s mission, particularly the social aspects of your work there? Tell us a little bit about it.

Kristi Mohn 22:07

Women, right, the world was born out of 200 women 200 miles. And that campaign was launched in 2016. To try to get 20% women participation at our 200-mile distance event is that event grew. And we move through things with that. I understood that we weren’t, what I was really trying to accomplish was to get more women at the start line. And although we had been focused on the 200-mile distance, I wanted it to be focused on every distance because it’s not, you know, 200 miles is a significant amount and it requires quite a bit of training. So I was really looking forward to trying to get women on the bike at the start line to the 25 of the 50 of the 100 of the 200 and trying to make a space where they felt welcome to come and ride any distance at the DK and as we were trying to kind of my girlfriends and I hear we’re trying to kind to come up with how that look, we each started committing to how many miles we were going to ride that year and help hold each other accountable. And what came out of it was that when we added up our miles, we figured out we were going to collectively ride around the world. And that’s where kind of the women ride the world came from, and the incentive there and then the motivation there is to just simply get more women on bikes, give them a space to find support. Some of the initiatives that we’re going to be launching out of this will be including some toolkits for ambassadors toolkits for events, toolkits for a bike shop, really trying to make sure we’re giving women the community support that they need to decide to try riding gravel.

Chad Pickard 23:43

As a retailer, I filled out my very first America’s Best Bike Shop application over five years ago. And to be honest, the first time I was a little anxious, I felt the result of the process would either be the seal of approval or the seal of disapproval for my bike stars. It was shortly after they handed The awards that I realized, this is an excellent opportunity to work with staff on our messaging and customer experiences in our stores. ABBS kind of became the coach, we used to find holes in our sales process or staff training. Where else are you going to get critical feedback like that?

24:15

Go to nbda.com for more details and to sign up for America’s Best Bike Shop program.

Rod Judd 24:27

Can you talk a little more about those toolkits, you know, and how would retailers connect and what does that mean for the retailer or the community organizer?

Kristi Mohn 24:35

Sure, and those are all things that are in the works. But the goal here is that you know, we hear a lot of times that bike shops can be intimidating. So we want to try to partner with bike shops and find bike shops that want to be doing things that will make a woman purchaser feel more comfortable, feel welcome to some specific clinic and rides focused on them and just really kind of giving them the space to grow into Cycling where they’re not intimidated.

Rod Judd 25:02

Very good. What does success look like for you in terms of women’s participation in the United States? You mentioned, you know, attending running events where the proportions were much more balanced of mental women. What do you think we need to take it? And how do we get there?

Kristi Mohn 25:18

Well, you know, I think continuing, the one big thing I think I always hear is like, we just have to invite women to participate, you know, ask them. So I think obviously, that’s key is to events and bike shops and organizations and events to just continuing to ask women to participate. You know, what does success look like? Obviously, you know, 50% female 50% male is probably what true success looks like. Realistically, you know, what I hoped for at the 30 Kansas start lines is more shooting at a collective like 35% across all of our distances. We see interesting numbers in our 25-mile distance, it’s actually over 50%. It’s like 55 57% female participation. So I think it’s just a matter of, you know, continuing to make sure we give them to give women, those avenues to be successful and the avenues to have access is the big part of it and feel welcome.

Rod Judd 26:11

Speaking to decision-makers and leaders within our industry and the health and wellness industry, if you could have the floor and ask them to do something to get involved, what would you ask them to do?

Kristi Mohn 26:26

I think anything that I would ask anyone to do would have to make sense of where they are and what they’re doing. It has to be something that that is I hate the word authentic, but you know, authentic, organic, and what they’re doing. It has to make sense. It can’t be forced, it has to feel, you know, natural. And I think you know, continually looking in your own communities for women leaders, and empowering them is important. You know, we did that with big sugar when we launched big sugar down in Bentonville, Arkansas bringing on Gaby Adams is one of our event directors. It was a matter of empowering and the concept is, you know if she can see it, she can be it. Just making sure women have that space and have the opportunity to be leaders is super important.

Rod Judd 27:12

Yes, I’m glad you brought up the sugar. Do you see a younger writer attending that event? So I guess the back of that question is how do we reach younger writers and younger women in particular?

Kristi Mohn 27:26

Well, I think it all comes down to the same things that we’ve been saying. You know, obviously, Gabby’s, although we share a birthday, we’re many years apart. Bringing up young leaders and young writers, it’s just the same thing. Giving them the space giving them the floor, giving them the power to be leaders as we move things forward is super important.

Rod Judd 27:45

What do you think the barriers are specific to women writing in the United States right now?

Kristi Mohn 27:52

You know, cycling isn’t a cheap sport. So obviously, I think there’s always a financial part of it. Women tend to Although they tend to be the biggest decision-makers in the families, as far as finances go, they also are less likely to spend money on themselves. So there’s some training thereof like, you know, you’re worth it and your health is worth it. I think, again, it comes down to support and access, I think we’re doing a better job of it. Especially I think the cycling industry is doing a much better job continually of making sure that space and that seat at the table is available. I think we just have to keep doing all of those things and keep recognizing that it’s not, you know, it’s not equitable yet. But it’s, it’s way better than it was even you know, three years ago, I think.

Rod Judd 28:38

Excellent. So for the next five years, say, what are your personal goals for expanding particularly women, right, the world what’s next, you mentioned that the kids would be available, what is your grand ambition? You know,

Kristi Mohn 28:53

personally, like I just want to continue to empower the next round of leaders. Yeah, I’m not old, but I also I think you know what you said about getting younger people on bikes. And I think that’s important. And I think, you know, the next generation is going to come to the table with different ideas. And they need to be heard, and they need to have the space to do that. So, you know, I want to see, I just want to see that next group of ambassadors grow and be successful and support them, even if we disagree. You know, I think that’s another thing. Some feedback I’d gotten. There was a comment about competition versus camaraderie. And, you know, I think I do, I’m not one of those people that believe you can have both. So I think that I want to see women, right the world grows more leaders as we move forward. I’m also a big believer. I mean, obviously I’ve been championed as someone about women on bikes, but what really what it boils down to is the community piece for me, and I really want to see, I want to see local bike shops, I want to see local bike dealers understand how important their role is in their community. And hopefully, give them some ways to be successful if they’re falling short because I think, you know, obviously, the online stuff is out there. But you can’t build a community online. It’s just doesn’t work. Like I mean one where you’re going out and you know, going for a ride together and then having beers afterward or having coffee or having pizza, or whatever it is. And I want to see, I want to make sure those local bike shops are finding success moving forward.

Rod Judd 30:22

You’re obviously a marketing expert yourself, what are some of the inspirations that you get from perhaps other industries or things that you see day to day that can help us with community building in the bike space?

Kristi Mohn 30:37

realtor, also, and I think a lot of it comes, you know, comes from that, I think, you know, I’m so entrenched between those two communities. And the other one would potentially be music and just looking at how, you know, music can bring people together. Obviously, houses are definitely community-related. I think they all just kind of make sense to me is looking at those things. First, And I definitely am cross-referencing things all the time just in general, if I see something, how can I use that to make dirty Kansa better or, you know, make sugar better? Whatever it is. I just kind of glean stuff from things around me. Very good.

Rod Judd 31:15

All right, before I throw up some final comments, do you have any new events planned? Do you have anything new programs that we can look forward to in the coming year or two

Kristi Mohn 31:26

new events for me personally, or professionally?

Rod Judd 31:30

I’ve seen new iterations of a new big sugar or new dirty Kansa. Or perhaps,

Kristi Mohn 31:34

you know, we, I think we’re always looking at potential ideas for growth opportunities, it’d be silly to not continuously be kind of keeping our eyes open and our fingers on the pulse for things in need, and holes, so to speak, that where we could fill a gap. So those things are always in play. You know, personally, I think I’m hoping to get to some events I haven’t been to just to check those out. haven’t been too rooted, Vermont, which I’m going out to this year. And I’m really looking forward to that. I’m participating in Lead Boat. So I’m looking forward to that challenge and just trying to figure out other ways to continue challenging myself on the bike is important. It provides me inspiration coming back home, for sure.

Rod Judd 32:19

Excellent. Is there anything else you’d like to add? Christy? Anything that we haven’t addressed that you’d like to speak to?

Kristi Mohn 32:26

You know, I think I know, as I said earlier that, that I definitely have been identified as a leader in this getting more women on bikes and I’m, I’m stoked about that. But it’s not just limited to women. I want to see people get out on bikes and try gravel and try dirt and try, you know, even mountain biking. I think that there’s a lot to be learned out there. And I think it’s a super great place to find and build new relationships and find something out new about yourself. And so, you know, as much as I’m stoked on getting more women on bikes, I challenge those women to get other people in their families on bikes, too. I think it’s a really great avenue to explore and learn something new.

Rod Judd 33:06

Excellent. Well, thank you, Christy Christy mon. You’re an amazing ambassador for what we’re doing. I thank you for your time today and good luck with the events this year.

Kristi Mohn 33:15

Thank you. Hope to see you at some of them.

Rod Judd 33:18

Absolutely.

Kristi Mohn 33:19

Awesome.

Rod Judd 33:20

Bye Now

Kristi Mohn 33:22

Okay, thanks. Bye.

Rod Judd 33:23

This has been bicycle retail radio by the National Bicycle Dealers Association. For more information on membership and member benefits, join us @NBDA.com

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