Wild Rivers Coast Rural Tourism Studio, Bicycle Tourism Notes, November 6, 2013 1 WILD RIVERS COAST RURAL TOURISM STUDIO BICYCLE TOURISM DEVELOPMENT WORKSHOP The Curry County Fairgrounds Gold Beach, Oregon November 6, 2013 PARTICIPANTS Karen Auborn, City of Portland Larry Ball, Gold Beach Chamber Cathy Boden, Curry Watershed Partnership Frank Burris, Oregon State University Extension Service Alexa Carey, Rural Development Initiatives Michelle Carillo, Oregon State University Ext Service Robert Carson, City of Gold Beach Ron Crook, Event Center on the Beach Sue Dawson, Gold Beach Visitor Center Frank Eckley, Oregon Parks and Recreation Michael Frederick, Chetco Brewing Donna Freeman Jodi Fritts, City of Gold Beach Amy Gaddis, Jot’s Resort Cynthia Griffith, The Bluebird House Ken Hall, America’s Wild Rivers Coast Marketing Consortium William Hamilton, City of Brookings Ron Hedenskog, City of Brookings Marcus Hinz, Oregon Coast Visitors Association Maryann Holcomb, One Lump or Two? Harry Hoogesteger, South Coast Watersheds Kim Hunter, Rogue-River-Siskiyou National Forest Carl King Annette Klinefelter, AK Consulting Dave Lacey, South Coast Tours LLC Beverley Manes, Port Orford Chamber of Commerce Jerry McManus Scott McNair, Jerry’s Rogue Jets Jessica Mercado, Del Norte Economic Development Corp. Ben Morgen, Port Orford Mainstreet Tish Mowe Jeff Parmer, Del Norte County Chamber of Commerce Tyson Rasor, Redfish Rocks Community Team Troy Russell, Elk River Property Development Nancy Schwieger, USDA Forest Service John Shipp, Powder House Vacation Rental Marie Simonds, Wild Rivers Coast Alliance Nikki Sparks, Event Center on the Beach Sandra Stauffer Wendell Stauffer Joe Willett, City of Brookings Tourism Promotion Advisory Committee Joe Williams, Bureau of Land Management Bob Hemus, US Forest Service Deane Roppe, Oregon Parks and Recreation Tina Lanier, US Forest Service/Gold Beach Ranger District Carl Maxon, South Coast Bikes Matt Mozzachio Facilitator Scott Bricker, Bricker Consulting TRAVEL OREGON STAFF Kristin Dahl, Director, Destination Development Nastassja Pace, Specialist, Destination Development
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WILD RIVERS COAST RURAL TOURISM STUDIO BICYCLE TOURISM DEVELOPMENT WORKSHOP The Curry County Fairgrounds Gold Beach, Oregon November 6, 2013 PARTICIPANTS Karen Auborn, City of Portland Larry Ball, Gold Beach Chamber Cathy Boden, Curry Watershed Partnership Frank Burris, Oregon State University Extension Service Alexa Carey, Rural Development Initiatives Michelle Carillo, Oregon State University Ext Service Robert Carson, City of Gold Beach Ron Crook, Event Center on the Beach Sue Dawson, Gold Beach Visitor Center Frank Eckley, Oregon Parks and Recreation Michael Frederick, Chetco Brewing Donna Freeman Jodi Fritts, City of Gold Beach Amy Gaddis, Jot’s Resort Cynthia Griffith, The Bluebird House Ken Hall, America’s Wild Rivers Coast Marketing Consortium William Hamilton, City of Brookings Ron Hedenskog, City of Brookings Marcus Hinz, Oregon Coast Visitors Association Maryann Holcomb, One Lump or Two? Harry Hoogesteger, South Coast Watersheds Kim Hunter, Rogue-River-Siskiyou National Forest Carl King Annette Klinefelter, AK Consulting Dave Lacey, South Coast Tours LLC Beverley Manes, Port Orford Chamber of Commerce Jerry McManus Scott McNair, Jerry’s Rogue Jets Jessica Mercado, Del Norte Economic Development Corp. Ben Morgen, Port Orford Mainstreet
Tish Mowe Jeff Parmer, Del Norte County Chamber of Commerce Tyson Rasor, Redfish Rocks Community Team Troy Russell, Elk River Property Development Nancy Schwieger, USDA Forest Service John Shipp, Powder House Vacation Rental Marie Simonds, Wild Rivers Coast Alliance Nikki Sparks, Event Center on the Beach Sandra Stauffer Wendell Stauffer Joe Willett, City of Brookings Tourism Promotion Advisory Committee Joe Williams, Bureau of Land Management Bob Hemus, US Forest Service Deane Roppe, Oregon Parks and Recreation Tina Lanier, US Forest Service/Gold Beach Ranger District Carl Maxon, South Coast Bikes Matt Mozzachio Facilitator Scott Bricker, Bricker Consulting TRAVEL OREGON STAFF Kristin Dahl, Director, Destination Development Nastassja Pace, Specialist, Destination Development
[The following notes form page 2 - 7 were taken during the workshop by facilitators]
WHAT ARE THE THINGS YOU HEARD IN COMMON AT YOUR TABLE?
▪ Improving accommodations for guests ▪ Using lodging and kiosks ▪ Little focus in this are on mt biking opportunities but there is a lot of opportunity ▪ Need to widen shoulders on 101 ▪ Bike lanes ▪ Communities needs to do more local/regional outreach about where they are and their ▪ All infrastructure – its needed
o Signage o Additional routes o Routes off of 101 o Safety like signage – Share the Road
▪ Money to upkeep and maintain the infrastructure ▪ Communication – developing in and out ▪ Infrastructure – a place to recharge laptops/cell phones ▪ Groups do come through with SAG Wagons, but there doesn’t seem to be much interaction –
need to max these opps ▪ Safety educational outreach to better understand bicycling rules ▪ Campgrounds around towns – this is where cyclists go but they’re not coming into town
o Can we dev a shuttle service or something of that nature? ▪ More bike racks ▪ Bike shop w/ tools between Ban ▪ Dev cycling as main stream form of transportation
▪ Need to know the current economic impact of cycling tourism and sell the communities on what those impacts are
▪ Low cost lodging in town like hostels and campgrounds UNIQUE DIFFERENCES
▪ Figure out how to connect with an work with USFS better ▪ How to bring hotels, vacation rentals into the fold? ▪ Local nonprofits are leading on a number of bike infrastructure initiatives (bike kiosks, etc.) ▪ The fact that we have this regional collaboration happening
o How Scenic Bikeways and bike kiosks are both examples of this regional collaboration ▪ Value in putting efforts into bicycle tourism
o Currently the touring cyclists aren’t perceived as spending that much money in our communities
▪ Get support from animal clubs to help with fundraising for bicycle improvements ▪ How do we encourage bike touring folks to stop as they pass through ▪ Should consider N. Cal in this discussion ▪ Look at how to diversify experience for various user types, ability levels, etc. ▪ Take a look at bike-hike combo opportunities – unique opportunities here in our region ▪ Public relations – to attract cyclists ▪ Get cyclists involved while they’re here with community projects (volun-tourism) ▪ Fully understand what IS happening here before we get started so we can build on it ▪ Work with USFS to take decommissioned roads and turn them into bike trails ▪ Consider our marketing strategies and channels to cyclists to let them know what we do already
have here and which campgrounds (etc.) are welcoming of them – magazines, etc. ▪ Reach out to cyclists to let them know what specific experiences there are here in this region –
what can they do (off the route) as they pass through – experiential stuff ▪ Use the Scenic Bikeway as a hanger from which to highlight experiences around the route.
Cyclists are only going to be here for a short period of time. ▪ Need to get cyclists on how to pay for road maintenance and bike paths ▪ Be aware of events that we can tie into and look for opportunities for new events in the region
WHAT DOES BIKE IMPACT STUDY PRESENTATION MAKE YOU THINK OF:
▪ Day trippers we can get more economic impact than ppl riding 101 ▪ Bike tourism – I think of folks riding 101 who don’t always stop and spend a lot of money, so I
don’t really think of families with kids, stopping, spending money, etc., (KD – folks on Trans-America route, they don’t spend a lot, they are trying to get from west to east as fast as possible; however now we are seeing folks come in on 2-4 day trips from Vegas, LA, BC, etc., and they are spending significantly more money)
▪ Folks coming are planning lodging in advance, they are purchasing tours – big opportunity with packaged tours, getting in front of those ppl booking tours – can offer them other deals to add onto their tour (fly fishing, etc.)
▪ Makes me think about the experience, what’s driving them to come here, do they want to give back, volun-tourism, is there a way to market that, stay at hotel, hike and then give back and work on trail for half day with USFS with your family
▪ Top 5 on recreational spent – we have all 5 of them in Wild Rivers Coast (hiking, biking, running, etc.)
▪ Clarification: Biggest dollar spent is by recreational riders ($200 Million dollars), what does this mean? They are going to Sunriver and they bring bikes on back of car or camper and then go camping, hiking, etc., and they didn’t necessarily plan vacation around biking, but choose to ride when there if it’s bike-friendly. Need to focus on all-ages, family friendly, all levels of bike opportunities, such as off-road paths.
THOUGHTS AFTER OTAGO CENTRAL RAIL TRAIL:
▪ Talk openly and often! Communication is key. Squeaky wheel gets the grease ▪ Highlight importance of community by-in and build support as there are issues perceptional,
generational, contextual ▪ In the end it was a the notion of getting people outdoors/active that sold the community ▪ Started with what they had (i.e. extra rooms in homes turned into lodging) and didn’t wait till it
was perfect or had all the infrastructure. Build it and they will come ▪ Perseverance is essential!
OVERVIEW OF ROAD AND MOUNTAIN BIKING – WHAT DOES IT MAKE YOU THINK OF:
▪ Sense a lot of excitement/opportunities and have been here only 6 days ▪ Mapmyride.com – a website to use, a way to share your ride ▪ Excited about the aspect of FAT TIRE bikes. I do wish as a community we could purchase and
rent them out ▪ Overlooked a lot is word of mouth, but it is a freebee in public relations, it is super important, I
like the idea of artistic bike racks ▪ Excited for opportunities for businesses to participate in the BFB program, as there are a lot of
ppl in this room but not all the biz owners and we need to plug them in ▪ We can watch the BFB program videos now and read the requirements and recommendations
and get ready and be bike friendly now and be ready for the program to go statewide: Industry.TravelOregon.com/BFB
▪ Excited to hear all the work that has been done around the state – don’t always have to recreate the wheel and can learn from them
LOCAL ASSETS: Tyson Rasor, Community Redfish Rocks Team
▪ 101 Coast Route: Cyclists already coming through ▪ Ford Institute Leadership Program North Curry Class Project: Bike Kiosks where can get info,
water, take a rest, have bike racks attached to it, and hope to include basic bike repair tools (tire pump, allen wrench, etc.)
o Funded by Wild Rivers Coast Alliance o Located in Gold beach, Port Orford, Langlois, Bandon, Brookings
▪ Designation of Scenic Bikeway o Best of best, avoids 101 as much as possible, connecting river/coast o Routed main SB but includes gravel back route connector and other routes connecting
to nearby communities ▪ Forest Service interested in working together
Carl Maxon, Southwest Bicycles ▪ Cycle Oregon came to Gold Beach 2 nights, 2011 ▪ Local bike shop to be support for locals and visitors, serve as hub of a spoke to get awareness, ▪ 4k grant to add bike lockers in Bandon ▪ Safety on Bullard Creek Bridge: Working with ODOT and support from Peter DeFazio
Commissioner to get lights/signage ▪ Pump track in Bandon City Park
Annette Klinefelter, Development Consultant
▪ Regional collaboration is happening ▪ Community health needs assessment in Curry County, 2011
o Health indicators: best air quality and environment; however one of highest obesity in state
o City of Brookings 4 priorities out of assessment: Bikeable/walkability, food systems, indoor recreation facility, health services
o Projects underway: Development of North Leg (intercity trail way system) to welcome visitors & currently applying for ODOT grant to develop South Leg – an off highway trail to get people from campground to town
▪ Collaborating to decommission Forest Service roads to utilize them as trails to foster active, healthy opportunities
QUESTIONS:
▪ What can Visitor Association do to give businesses tips to be bike friendly? o Inspirational videos and tips/tools at Industry.TravelOregon.com/BFB
▪ After partaking in RTS there are Ford Assistance matching grants program ? ▪ OPRD Recreational Trails Grant (opens May 2014):
www.Oregon.gov/oprd/grants/Pages/trails.aspx ▪ ODOT Connect Oregon: ▪ Moore Foundation grant for multipurpose facility – let’s collaborate
(1) Create welcoming communities by implementing the Bike Friendly Business program (30)
(2) Create a local advocacy group (17)
(3) Fat Tire Beach, Bikes and Brews Event (15)
(4) Bike repair stations (w/ kiosks, at gas stations, attached to bike shops) (15)
(5) Get our cycling info on existing websites now (15)
(6) Wild Rivers Ride Event – multiday (12)
(7) Gather ride/route information together from locals with bike knowledge (12)
(8) Wayfinding signs on road/trail (8)
REPORT BACK FROM WALKING MEETINGS (1) Creating Bike Friendly Communities through Bike Friendly Business Program
▪ Create a “Bike Brigade” in each community to educate others on what it means to be bike friendly
o Tie in with the bike advocacy group o Possible collaborators: volunteer groups and businesses
▪ Create a list of things that bike friendly businesses can do now ▪ Talk about why it’s important to be bike-friendly ▪ Recognize the participating businesses so they’re rewarded ▪ Have a single trainer who can deliver a presentation about bike friendliness – someone in the
bike advocacy group to help with consistency (2) Create a local advocacy group:
▪ Reach out and include people up and down the ENTIRE region so that efforts are approached regionally
▪ Identify members of who would want to be members of an advocacy group ▪ It’s got to be bigger than just this group of a few people from each community; will need to
broaden base of support in each community so that support is there when an issue comes up ▪ Start with compiling emails ▪ Come out with 1 pager about the group, what they’re about and how they’ll support bicycle
tourism development throughout the region ▪ Others: create a relationship with the USFS, BLM, OPRD, ODFW so that those
contacts/relationships are solid when help is needed (3) Fat Tire Bikes and Brews Event
▪ Build off of an existing event – likely the Brewfest o Lead: “Biker Brigades” o Collaborators: Brewfest folks
▪ Maybe extend off of the Bike the Rogue event ▪ Incorporate Fairgrounds area (where the rodeo is held) and possibly create a cool off-road track
o Collaborators: proven race organizations, Fairgrounds, South Coast Bike Shop, 4-H ▪ Could include a non-competitive fun event with Fat Tire bikes on the beach – could start in
Bandon, establish shuttle system and shuttle folks down to the Brewfest (4) Develop bike repair stations
▪ Tap into those with bike repair experience o If none, take a look at scholarships for bike repair training through UBI, possibly Rotary
or the Chamber ▪ Install repair stands at the bike kiosks, consider part-time attendants
(5) Get our bicycling info on the web now!
▪ Develop email chain so that when there’s new information people can field it to the right place o Lead: Travel Oregon to get the contact list to community o Collaborators: USFS, Chamber, OPRD o Possible funding: wouldn’t require funding
(7) Identify Bike Routes throughout the South Coast Region
Notes submitted by Annette Klinefelter
Required Action/Step
1) USFS/BLM does an inventory of existing areas as part of their travel planning process (also identify routes connected to rental destinations owned by USFS/BLM packer’s cabins, etc.)
2) Work with Jody at City of Gold Beach to coordinate with John at Curry County to do a GIS overlay for mapping purposes
3) Identify areas of fragmentation (i.e. where are trails split by privately owned land) 4) Convene group of advocates to meet with large land-owners (South-Coast, Campbell Group,
Plum Creek, Roseburg Lumber Company) Coquille Tribe) to determine conditions under which they’d allow traffic.
5) Vet routes with road jurisdictions 6) Identify 2-4 individuals and/or organizations fluent in road (gravel and paved) and trail riding to
describe conditions of the ride/assess feasibility. 7) Develop a format for cataloguing details about the rides. 8) Utilize existing web vehicles to house information, work with Travel Oregon to develop a
publication. BEST NEXT STEPS (OVERALL)
▪ Get some early wins so we can see achievement Possibly:
o Get existing bicycling information (routes, trails) onto existing websites o Start identifying bike friendly businesses now to create outreach list once state program
is available o Media/outreach to share what occurred today during the bike tourism workshop o Build on efforts underway – specifically the bike kiosks and moving the Scenic Bikeway
forward to designation, adding in cycling components as part of existing events