Most of Us Experience the Outdoors in Different Ways
If there’s a bullseye to the target audience for Loam Coffee, unashamedly, it would be mountain bikers. But that’s just the bullseye, as other concentric circles make up a target AND a target audience for Loam Coffee. That includes … gravel riders, bikepackers, hikers, kayakers, rock climbers, and more. Which one are you?
The truth is we each dabble in many different ways to experience the outdoors. While I’m first and foremost a mountain biker, I sometimes don cycling bibs and go gravel riding. I enjoy hiking, backpacking, bikepacking, and even some easy rock climbing. There’s no “best way” to enjoy being outdoors and going on adventures. Or maybe better put, the best way is simply the next way we get outside.
As a brand, we lean heavily into mountain biking because I’m writing our articles and posting on social media. As we grow and bring in others to work behind the scenes, we’ll continue to branch out and showcase other ways to explore and make memories outdoors. I admit, at times, it is easy to get tunnel vision with mountain biking and trail building. But when I think about it, though, I spend significantly more time on my gravel bike than my mountain bike. It doesn’t matter because both are simply vehicles (pun intended) to get me outdoors and on dirt (or gravel).
I’ve also discovered that the more variety I have, the more it keeps things fresh. If I ride my mountain bike too much, I get a little bored with it and the monotony. The same goes when I spend too much time on my gravel bike. But when I swap back and forth between them and throw in some hiking, I’m constantly energized.
Lastly, I can’t rule out the sheer enjoyment of bumping along the backroads in Nacho the Van. Nacho has carried me to many trailheads to mountain bike or destinations to park and go on gravel bike adventures. I also consider myself fortunate, knowing that not everyone has a vehicle to head into the backcountry. It’s not something I take for granted.
Most of us genuinely experience the outdoors in different ways; as we approach 2024, what’s one new way you could add to your quiver?