It’s safe to say we are all learning as we go in the era of Covid-19. There’s no beating around the bush—it’s a weird time. We’ve been having a lot of internal discussions at Kona about what we can learn from this experience and how we can practice safe riding. We wanted to share a few thoughts with you.
We are still working hard for you. We are still designing bikes, shipping bikes, selling bikes, and creating fun and inspirational content for you to enjoy. Stuck in quarantine? Peruse the Cog and you’ll find so many different topics to read about. Or, head on over to our Vimeo channel and spend hours perusing our entire collection of Kona videos.
The most critical thing we can all do is to follow the guidelines of your local governing body, as well as the CDC and WHO. If you’re fortunate enough to live in an area where biking is still encouraged, then we wholeheartedly encourage you to GO RIDE YOUR BIKE! With this, though, comes the responsibility of riding in a way that may be different for each of us. Bikes are proving to be an essential source of transportation and exercise right now. Whereas mass transit isn’t currently the safest option of travel, riding a bike is a healthy solo way to commute to work or to the store. For those folks living in areas where cycling is not only allowed but encouraged, consider ways to ride safer:
-Ride only by yourself or with people in your household.
-If you DO ride by yourself, please share your ride plan with someone in case of emergency.
-Ride within your means.
-Take this as an opportunity to explore those mellower trails that you don’t normally spend much time on. You may be surprised at how much fun you’ll have.
We also want you to know that we are doing everything we can to support our dealers—your local bike shops. We are encouraging customers to stay safe and socially distant by buying bikes through the Kona Ride Online whenever possible. The KRO allows consumers to purchase bikes and have them shipped to their local shop to be built. This works out great for all parties: the dealer will get to ensure your bike is properly built and ready to ride, and they’ll get their margin for selling you the bike. When your bike is ready you can schedule a pickup with your dealer and they’ll clean and disinfect the bike’s surfaces and bring it out to your car.
It’s a strange time, to say the least, but we know if we all continue to work together, we can keep our shops thriving, our customers riding, and bikes rolling. So be safe. Ride locally, and enjoy the freedom of the bike. After all, that’s the very reason of most of us started riding in the first place.
