I thought I would take a couple of days after getting back to Boulder to reflect on all the experiences that accompanied biking from British Columbia to Baja to launch SWAE Sports before penning my magnum opus. It’s been an interesting couple of days as I’ve readjusted to civilian life. My initial realization was that most importantly, the 2-½ months on the road helped to solidify our team and define the direction of SWAE Sports.

After getting off the plane and driving back to my Rocky Mountain home, I immediately began to miss the other four guys that I’d spent just about every waking moment with since mid June. After feeding off one another’s excitement, sharing the hardships of the road, and waking every morning to the team immediately talking SWAE, life as it was began to seem, well, rather quiet.

When I separate myself from being a part of this whole expedition, it seems truly amazing that a group of five highly dedicated young men would undertake such an endeavor to launch a company.  As a consumer, it would hardly matter to me what it is SWAE was selling because if anyone was really that motivated, odds are that it was something I should be a part of.  I’d rep their shirt. It would get even crazier for me as I started to explore their website and realized that the reason those boys were so psyched was because they held in their hands a truly paradigm shifting business model for the adventure sports industry.  Of course they’d cycle 2,500 miles to spread the good news. It would all start to feel quite logical.

Whenever I return from a big trip it’s always a bit weird to think about the places I just was.  Sailing through the waters of the San Juan Islands, biking through the primordial Redwood forests of Northern California, and camping along the rim of Crater Lake begins to feel like a dream, or clips from a movie I watched before falling asleep. But they are my memories, my life experiences, the way I became a part of an organization that will undoubtedly shape the course of my life.

The greatest thing I’ll take from this trip is being witness to the fact that my actions along the West Coast will not only benefit my own life, but every outfitter, guide, and outdoor adventure school that sat down with us and subscribed to the dream that is SWAE.  I can only believe that they saw in our eyes the motivation to make our company’s principals a reality and that that kind of excitement was something they wanted to attach themselves to. When looking back over my notes, its almost ridiculous to see that the only companies we didn’t partner with after a meeting were those that didn’t want more business.  That’s crazy and yet it’s the truth.

The way people get outside is about to change, and I’m truly humbled to be a part of that shift. It’s happening because the team that comprises SWAE is actually our targeted customer. We live and breathe this lifestyle and we’ve somehow figured out a way to make a career out of doing the stuff we love. I don’t think I could be more stoked.

The successes of SWAE Sports on this West Coast cycling tour can’t just be measured in number of cities or outfitters the team have met, but from the experiences, the adventures, the people and the entire journey itself.

2,500 miles by bike to launch a company says it all and if it doesn’t, the above slideshow will paint a picture of the adventures SWAE Sports went through to promote conservation through adventure.

A view of the Venetians from our spot at Mr. Toot's Coffee Shop in Santa Cruz.

Although the sun had not joined us on our trip through Northern California, it was front and center as we settled into the laid back atmosphere of Santa Cruz. We spent our first night in a quaint home with a young group of people caught in post-college limbo. A surfer, an artist, a Wisconsonian and a cook let us sleep in their back yard and the next day, SWAE went to work.

Kyle Thiermann, our surfer host, had recently taken a six-week trip to a small town in Chile, where an American coal-mining plant is being proposed. Kyle spent his time speaking with locals about the impact of such a plant and what we in the U.S. can do to help prevent this from happening. Not only is Kyle an awesome surfer, he is incredibly passionate about supporting local industry and business, just like SWAE. Check out the video of his trip at www.claimyourchange.org.

Phone calls, research and meetings. While the sun hit the surf all day on Friday, Will, Elliott and Alex hit the streets to meet with outfitters. Will met and signed Venture Quest Sea Kayaking.

Since he has joined the trip, Alex has worked hard to sink into the pattern of finding outfitters and contacting them. In Half Moon Bay, just outside Santa Cruz, Alex met Chris Manchester and signed his outfit, Half Moon Bay Kayaks. In Santa Cruz, he was able to sign Pacific Yacht and Sailing.

Elliott and Will teach Ed Guzman, our host and surf instructor, how to slack line at his home near Manresa State Beach.

Elliott has had some great meetings since he joined up with SWAE in San Francisco. He got to go hang gliding in San Francisco and in Santa Cruz, met with two legendary surfers in Richard Schmidt and Ed Guzman, who are both owners of two of the largest surf outfits in Monterey Bay. The Richard Schmidt Surf School and Club-Ed Surf Camps are both well-established surf schools in the area. Elliott was able to line up an evening of dinner and videos with Ed, which gave us an opportunity to crash with his surf camp in Manresa State Beach AND take lessons from him in the morning.

There is no shortage of passion for the water in Santa Cruz. The stories Ed told us throughout Thursday night only reaffirmed this fact. Ed has spent time surfing some of the largest waves in California, just north of Santa Cruz in Half Moon Bay, as well as 50-foot swells in Ghost Tree, just outside of Monterey. Ed can talk surfing 24/7 and loves not only to talk about his experiences, but is adamant about helping people get into the water to learn the sport.

The crew get wetsuits as we get ready to surf with Ed, Friday morning at Manresa State Beach.

I am not a surfer by any means. On Friday morning, Ed thrust a wetsuit into my hands, handed me a board and was almost to the point of pushing into the water along Manresa Beach. This was my first time ever holding a surfboard. It felt oddly foreign in my hands, but I’m not one to shy away from an opportunity to learn something new. The waves were small, but surf-able and Ed and his staff are excellent teachers.

After some pointers on the beach, I was in the water, paddling out with Dan, Will, Alex and Elliott to make my first attempt at standing up on a surfboard. Ed spotted a reasonably sized wave and urged me to start paddling.

I stroked my left hand through the water, then my right, then both at the same time and with a little nudge from Ed, I was being jettisoned along the wave. I slid from my stomach to my feet and was surprised to find myself actually surfing and not eating salt water. It was a great feeling and after a few hours in the water, I was truly enjoying the surfing atmosphere with Ed and the SWAE crew.

Ed Guzman preps Alex and Elliott with fiber glass surfboards before we head into the water.

Santa Cruz is beautiful. A cozy town where the beach is one of its prime attractions. The beach, combined with blue skies and sun, make for a relaxed atmosphere where anyone is welcomed.

Although we only spent two days in town, I was inspired by the sights and sounds we were able to experience while we were there.

Saturday morning, we rode 30 miles down Highway 1, to Monterey, where SWAE will spend the next two days taking care of business. More to come as the adventure continues to unfold!

My culture shock aside, I’ve probably learned more about the adventure travel industry in these last few days than in my whole tenure as a SWAE Sports Adventurist. This is, in large respect, due to the fact that the industry was pretty much born in the Bay Area by people with an incredible amount of foresight.

On Friday I had a meeting with Dr. Olaf Malver, the CEO of Explorers’ Corner and I can’t begin to speak to the trove of knowledge this man possessed. In addition to running one of the most respected companies in adventure travel, Olaf’s resume of “firsts” ranges from sea kayaking Hao Long Bay in Vietnam, to exploring the uncharted island shorelines of the southwest Caribbean – populated only by the remnants of Carib Tribes.

Additionally, in recognition of his “true” explorations, Olaf is a lifetime fellow of the world-famous Explorer’s Club. It was an absolute privilege to sit down with him for almost three hours to talk about business strategies and long-term growth, what potential partners SWAE needed to speaking with, and how the systems we’re developing have the potential to truly affect the direction of eco-tourism.

Let me speak to the last point for a second. Because SWAE will never accept money for superior placement on our sites, it allows smaller companies to be able compete beside the big guys. The quality of each guide service is based upon user reviews and the niche in the market they’re filling. In addition, 10% of our company’s revenue is actually dedicated to providing local guides in the developing world with the necessary start up capital and expertise they’ll need to create their own eco-tourism business. Once their company has been created, they’ll have access to targeted marketing and the world of adventurists via swaesports.com.

In doing this, SWAE Sports has the ability to promote true eco-tourism, poverty relief, and sustainable outfitters in the developing world.  This model has been tailored in large respect to meet the challenges outlined by Bill Gates in the book Creative Capitalism, where he calls for a new form of capitalism that works to both generate profits and solve the world’s inequities.

It’s when I start talking about this aspect of SWAE, which is truly at the core of our mission, that I start to get really excited. It was wonderful to speak with a man like Dr. Malver, who in addition to the resume I’ve already lined out, also served as an eco-tourism development specialist for the United Nations.

I guess what I’m getting at is despite being taken out of my comfort zone of blue skies and expansive vistas, the Bay Area certainly has been one of the most important pin drops on our Pacific Coast Bike Trip. In addition to partnering with Explorers’ Corner, we’ve met, spoke, and partnered with some of the greatest companies out there from hang gliding outfits, to scuba diving and kayaking guides. Though we’re all ready to get back on the road, what we’ve learned from being in the city is sure to stay with us for a long time to come.

This is why we are cycling the west coast and haven’t been in a car in two weeks. In turn, this is why we love and believe in what we are doing. And as a quick plug, I’d like for you to do one thing: close your computer, come find us, and join us for the ride. It is going to be one hell of an adventure and we are trying to make it into a movement .