The Pedego Podcast

Riding the West (before the rest) feat. Pedego Glendale Peoria and Goodyear

Meet two early pioneers of the EBike Revolution, Sherry and Steve Pike, former sales execs for McKesson (one of the largest Medical Supply Companies in the world).  Who after 25 years rising up the corporate ladder had hit a wall and burned out of their corporate careers. Which began their search for something new. A small business to buy that they could call their own.  "So we went to a business broker," says Steve, "who presented us with everything from pizza shops to tire recycling stores, none of which lit the passion or fire we were hoping to find." 

"So I told Steve to go back to his passion," adds Sherry, "which for both of us had always been biking. And start searching there".  And lo and behold, they found Pedego Electric Bikes (long before most people).  Opening their Glendale/Peoria store in the outskirts of Phoenix in 2017.  And becoming (in the process) one of the first eBike stores in the area.

Cut to the chase, and they're now onto their second store in Goodyear, AZ as they continue to "go west" and travel even further on their adventure. Blazing a trail that so many other entrepreneurs and escapees from corporate America have since followed from Wall Street to Main Street and the frontiers of this new eBike Revolution.  On this week's PEDEGO PODCAST.

Meant to Be feat. Pedego Haddonfield and Pedego Princeton

Hear the amazing story of two high school sweethearts, Patrick and Wendy Reilly who not only seemed destined to be together, but somehow destined to be in business together as well.

Though you wouldn't have thought so if you watched the first 30 years of their life unfold as they got married in 1992 and started raising a family. As Wendy began work as a Behavioral Therapist and got her Masters in Special Ed. While her husband Patrick started down a long path as an engineer for Comcast.

But all that changed in 2017 during a family trip to Bar Harbor, Maine. When Patrick (who'd developed a bad back from too many injuries on his job) stumbled into a Pedego EBike store and discovered that (for the first time) he could join Wendy on her long hikes with their boys.

Enthralled with the fun they had that day, they went back home and began imagining "what if WE opened a store back in New Jersey"?  Going so far as to actually contact Pedego and explore the idea. But careers and kids kept getting in the way. 

Then COVID came and changed everything. Stuck at home in 2020, they drove to the Pedego store in Spring Lake, NJ and bought two bikes to celebrate their 28th wedding anniversary  And then destiny stepped in and altered the course of their lives (or maybe corrected the course to where they were always meant to be). 

Because shortly after buying the bikes, Patrick had a question and decided to call the local store, but instead dialed the Pedego corporate HQ in CA by mistake.  Even more miraculously, they remembered him and said "hey, if you're still interested in opening a store, we're looking for someone in Haddenfield" (where they lived)".

And thus began this new leg of their journey together that finds them not with just one store but two (with a second location in  Princeton, NJ as well).  Where they are working with that famed University to possibly purchase a whole pack of Pedegos for faculty and staff to pedal around campus. With all three of their sons now working with them as well.

Whatever you call this strange twist of fate, it sure seems like something that was somehow meant to be. As the family that first rode together is now blazing a new trail together. As accidental Electric Bike Entrepreneurs driving the EBike Revolution. On this week's PEDEGO PODCAST. 

A Quick Start feat. Pedego Powell

Hear how two friends who'd worked together in the home improvement industry (Scott Seneff and Travis Bryant) started imagining ways to improve their own lives by opening their own business. With lots of ideas bantered back and forth over a cigar and some whiskey. Until the happenstance sight of a Pedego Electric Bike store in Florida (while one of them was on vacation there) quickly set the gears in motion for this dynamic duo to open a similar store in their hometown of Columbus, Ohio this past April.  A fast start for this fast moving pair that quickly placed them as one of the the top ten Pedego dealers in the country (all before they'd even hired their first employee!)

Two more entrepreneurs who saw an opening and quickly shifted gears to pursue it. Suddenly finding themselves "off to the races" and riding at the front of the pack in today's quickly evolving eBike Revolution. On this week's PEDEGO PODCAST.

The Data is In: Pedego Electric Bikes ARE Fun feat. Pedego Boulder/ Golden

So how does a lifelong data scientist and former Dean with a Doctorate in Educational Equity decide to join the EBike Revolution?  By taking a cruise and discovering in port (quite by accident) how much fun riding one can be.  "My husband was always a hard core biker," explains Dr. Tina Moses, "but because of a disability with my leg, I could never ride along." That is until her husband booked an ebike adventure at the end of their cruise and she discovered (for the first time in her life) that she COULD ride a bike.  And all the fun she'd been missing.

That started a quest to learn more about the whole EBike Revolution. And the more she learned, the more she decided this was the course for her. Not just for fun, but for a new "second act career".  So she left academia and opened a Pedego Electric Bike store back in Colorado. And not just one but two, with stores in both Golden and Boulder, CO. 

The data was clear, the fun was obvious and it all added up to a new career path for this career academic. Shifting gears and going a different direction. On this week's edition of the Pedego Podcast.

Never Slowing Down

Hear how a couple of active baby boomers have adapted to their age and found a way to keep pedaling and pushing themselves forward. As they continue to pursue "second act careers" in real estate and "developing influential leaders" (like themselves). And pursuing new paths that still lay before them.

So hear the story of how 60 something Brenda Hudson, (after stumbling into a Pedego Electric Bike store in Delaware across from where she was having lunch), finally found a way to keep up with her hard core, bike riding husband, Michael. Who suddenly (after her purchase) found himself in the uncomfortable position of trailing her!

Which led him to take the leap and join the eBike Revolution as well. For health and happiness (and to keep up with his wife!) Opening new trails and paths for this ever evolving power couple.  On this week's ever growing, PEDEGO PODCAST.

How Remote Working Led to Remote Riding

When Paul Rieger originally bought his Pedego Electric Bike, it was all about commuting to work.  But when his company shuttered their office and shifted to remote working, he never envisioned this would lead him to "remote riding" as well.  

As Paul says with a smirk, "once my company closed down the office and I started working out of my upstairs home office. I found that the Boomerang didn't handle stairs so well. So I stopped using it for commuting and began exploring the 50+ miles of dedicated, paved bike trails that crisscrossed my hometown of Folsom, CA."

Including the 32 mile Jedediah Smith Bike Trail (named after that famed mountain man and discoverer) that runs along the American River down to Sacramento's Discovery Park.  A trail which he now regularly patrols 6-8 hours/week as an official member of the American River Bike Patrol.

So by working from home, Paul Rieger found the time to slow down and discover a whole new world around him.  A world this "boy on his bike" began exploring like the pioneers of old, who first travelled these trails in search of gold and a place they could call home.  Bringing that journey full circle, as a new breed of ebike enthusiasts and adventurers ride the trail again from their home offices in search of newfound riches, on this week's PEDEGO PODCAST.

Reporting on the EBike Revolution feat. Dave Hogan

We're not the only ones covering this story!  Meet Dave Hogan a former journalist and current blogger who writes about e-bikes in his blog THIS EBIKE LIFE. Authoring a book on the subject as well entitled E-BIKES: Putting the FUN Back Into Cycling (and Life) at Any Age (which includes profiles on Pedego Co-founder and CEO Don DiCostanzo and on two devoted Pedego customers, Dr. Miryam Liberman and Laura Maydahl who we've both had the privilege of interviewing).

Like many Baby Boomers, Dave grew up riding a bike as a child. His bike was his freedom. He rode it to school, parks, and pretty much anywhere he wanted to go. When he got married 46 years ago, he and his wife Kathy gave each other matching bicycles as wedding gifts. 

Now he's migrated to a Pedego Electric bike.  And with that move, found a whole new interest and angle to write about. Sharing the same stories we're all hearing from the trail of people getting back on a bike (often after years away from riding). Chronicling the same EBike Revolution we talk about here on the Pedego Podcast.

 

Being of Service to Others feat. Pedego Grand Rapids

As much as we all aspire to be of service to others, there are some for whom those words seem to be more than just a lofty goal.  Such a person is Tom Mulligan, who after 10 years of having fun in Radio and TV, felt compelled to transition into a career in social work where he could more directly help others in need.  In which he found a niche helping refugees in his adopted hometown of Grand Rapids, Michigan resettle into a new community. Helping people who'd left their war stricken world for a chance at something better. 

And that's when the seed was born in Tom's mind for his own piece of the American Dream. To own his own business, but one that still allowed him some way to connect with people and serve the community. And that's where this unlikely journey took a twist and down a path he'd never seen towards opening an electric bike store.  A product that served a need and provided a personal path towards health and happiness. And still gave him a sense of doing something positive for the community.

Join us for an amazing journey of "service to others" on this week's Pedego Podcast. With a good guy running a good business in the Heartland of America.

Walking the Walk

If you really believe in the idea of "sustainable living", then it's not enough to just "talk the talk". You've got to "walk the walk" as well. Or in our guest's case "change your daily ride" from a gas guzzling, soccer mom's van into an earth friendly eBike.  For all her commutes (even with kids!) 

That's the story of Deborah LaSalle from Boise, Idaho who co-founded Warm Springs Consulting, a "sustainability consulting firm" whose mission is to help organizations (including big mining companies) "be more efficient and trade-out carbon emitting technologies for those that maintain profitability in a way that's better for the planet".

So how could this "eco-friendly soccer mom" drive a gas guzzling mini van?  For Deb, the quest was clear. And her solution was the Pedego Stretch, a cargo carrying model that allowed her to take all her kids and all their gear wherever needed. 

Deb lives six miles from her office and for all that travel back and forth to work plus her kids' school and sports activities, she's switched to an eBike.  Even using it for occasional travel downtown and to the airport as well. Estimating that she's been able to switch over at least 50% of her normal travel to something that just feels better (and more fun!) for everyone involved.

Ride along as she tells us all about it.  On the week's PEDEGO PODCAST. And how (at the end of the day) she truly believes she hasn't sacrificed anything. But found far more than she expected on this electric bike path that feels a bit more genuine and a whole lot better for her, her family and the world they live in.

 

Bearing Bike Works Helps Inner City Kids Build Bikes

Join us for a rerun of one of our most inspirational episodes about the Bearing Bike Works in Atlanta and their work helping Inner City kids build their own bikes.  And through that, develop their own skills and determination to succeed.