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๐Ÿ Cycle Cities Buzz - A New Season, A New Perspective ๐Ÿšฒ

Published 14 days agoย โ€ขย 3 min read

Hi Reader,

September is here. And somehow, that always feels like a bit of a turning point.

For some of you, high season is still going strong. For others, things may already be starting to slow down.

But September has a way of making us look ahead.

There are still a few months left in 2026, but suddenly 2027 doesn't feel quite so far away anymore.

So, as we head into the final stretch of the year, here's what's been happening inside Cycle Cities.

Symposium News ๐Ÿค

We're now in the final month of the Early Bird rate for the Cycle Cities Symposium 2027.

September tends to disappear surprisingly quickly, so if you've been thinking about joining us in Hamburg, now is probably a good time to secure your place before the price goes up.

And a quick reminder for our Pro members: your membership includes one Symposium ticket, so don't forget to reserve your place.

I'll also be reaching out soon to those of you who have already registered to ask whether you'd be interested in giving a talk or sharing something with the group.

One of the things that makes the Symposium special is that the knowledge doesn't only come from the programme. It comes from the people in the room.

More information about the hotel, activities and the rest of the Hamburg experience will be coming soon.

Groupwork Gold Nuggets ๐Ÿ’›

We're moving on to the third question from The New Guard: Future Trends.

Nacho Bonilla, Aritza Alcibar Fradua, Marvin Urmersbach, Helene Szabo Darley and Teresa Vilas Boas have been looking ahead at where bike tourism โ€” and the businesses behind it โ€” might be heading.

Where do you see your company, and the industry, in exactly five years?

There was no single prediction, but several interesting patterns emerged.

The following content is only visible for the Cycle Cities Members.

โ†’ Lifestyle perks: Offering discounts or free food and drinks at company-owned cafรฉs, creating a social space where staff and their friends can meet.

โ†’ Radical flexibility: Younger staff value the ability to enjoy their summer and have guaranteed free time, even during high-intensity periods.

โ†’ Transparency on tips: Being clear about earning potential during the recruitment process, as immediate income can be a major motivation.

โ†’ Targeted recruitment: Reaching university departments such as History, Architecture and Tourism, or using Instagram to connect with active local communities.

โ†’ A shift in power: Perhaps the biggest takeaway was recognising that companies are no longer simply choosing their staff. Increasingly, staff are choosing the companies they want to work for.

The question isn't just: "How do we find more guides?"

But also: "Why would a young person choose to work with us?"

And that may require us to rethink what we're offering beyond the job itself.

Tool of the Week ๐Ÿ› ๏ธ

The Bike Tour Operator Capacity & Demand Playbook

We're currently reviewing the responses you've shared through our Cycle Cities Tool Feedback Survey. But you are still able to give your feedback. Remember, it is an anonymous survey, so feel free to answer!

The tool for this week is:

15 โ€” The Bike Tour Operator Decision-Making Playbook

How to Make Better Business Decisions With the Data You Already Have

Running a bike tour business means making decisions all the time.

Should you spend more on Google Ads? Raise your prices? Buy more bikes? Add another guide? Launch a new tour? Accept another OTA? Invest in your website?

The problem usually isn't a lack of decisions.

It's knowing which decisions really matter, what information to look at and when you have enough information to act.

As an independent operator, you probably don't have a strategy team or business analyst looking at your numbers every day.

You have customers to reply to, bikes to maintain, tours to run, staff to manage and a business to keep moving.

So good decision-making needs to be practical.

You don't necessarily need more data.

You may just need a better way to use the information you already have.

This playbook introduces a simple framework to help you move away from reactive decisions and make more deliberate choices across different areas of your business.

The goal isn't to make every decision perfectly.

It's to make fewer reactive decisions and more intentional ones.

Community โ€” Highlights โžก๏ธ

August was a good reminder of one of the things I enjoy most about this community: members don't only talk about business.

Sometimes Cycle Cities also becomes a rather useful travel guide.

Shayne and his wife put the network to the test during their European trip, starting with Rupert in Salzburg and later meeting Marvin in Frankfurt.

There were e-bikes, a 91 km ride along the River Main, a swim, some questionable signage and, apparently, absolutely no range anxiety.

Then came Budapest, where they joined Lori on a tour and got 1,000 years of Hungarian history in a few minutes.

Not a bad use of the Cycle Cities network.

There was also a great idea from Denis: creating more opportunities for members to feature each other online and strengthen their visibility through backlinks.

As you know, I've recently restarted the Cycle Cities blog, and I love the idea of using it to tell more member stories, showcase different businesses and create more connections across the network.

So expect me to start reaching out.

And finally, thank you to everyone who has already completed the feedback survey about the tools and resources we've been sharing.

Until next week,

Isabella

Managing Director (Interim)
Cycle Cities ๐Ÿšฒ

Cycle Cities on Social

1720/43B Knuckey St, Darwin, NT 0800
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