Network while you pedal: New group does business at a biking pace

Brian Alfano (L) and Bill Dolan
want you to do Business
on a Bike.
(Photos © J. Maus)

In a city where biking is woven into the cultural fabric, not even the business arena can escape the two-wheeled influence.

In Portland, we’ve got a group for people that use bicycles to conduct their business (which I’ve heard might be named the League of Bicycle Businesses); and a group for businesses that are generally supportive of biking (the BTA’s working on that one, not launched yet); and now, we’ve got a group for folks that want to use bike rides as a way to build business relationships.

Meet Brian Alfano and Bill Dolan. Brian is a banker (with locally-based Umpqua) and Bill does home loans. These guys have combined their professional lives with their passion for riding into Business on a Bike.

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Business on a Bike was founded last August with the intention of bringing people together to network and create productive business relationships. Think of it like BNI (a business leads and networking juggernaut) on a bike.

“The goal of this ride is to combine two activities crucial to your well being, exercise and networking.” That’s how they explain it on the group’s LinkedIn profile.

Bill and Brian say the idea is simple: get to know other business owners as you head out on a ride that you would “most likely do in your free time anyway”. Brian emphasizes that the 15-20 mile rides are done at a “conversational pace” and that there is a strict “no-drop” policy (much less training-oriented than the famous Lawyer Ride).

If you think it’s a place to show up and give a sales pitch, you’re wrong. “It’s not like, let’s push this or that product,” says Bill, “It’s more like, everybody has the same purpose, so let’s get to know each other, let’s find out what we do. Then, if we want to do business with each other than great.”

“If not,” interjects Brian, “than we can just go for a ride!”

Bill and Brian say the group already has 65 members on Linkedin. So far, the group consists of everything from realtors to attorneys, financial planners, “and everything in between.”

In addition to people that just need to get the word out in the community about their business, Bill says they’ve also had people show up to the rides who were looking for work. “We’ve thought about doing an unemployment ride,” says Brian, “It sure would beat showing up for some job fair at the Convention Center.”

In addition to weekly rides, Business on a Bike features a different member each week. The featured member is the subject of an email that goes out before the ride, and is featured on their newly-published blog. The group has even gotten together for off-the-bike events, like when Bill invited everyone to a recent speech by a local CEO.

If bikes are the new golf, than Bill Dolan and Brian Alfano hope to make local roads into the new fairways — and improve our local economy in the process.

— Rides meet on Fridays at 3pm at Lucky Lab Beer Hall (1945 NW Quimby Street). Learn more about this group on their blog, where they’ll be posting ride and event schedules and information about featured members.