Mom Knows Best: Soul Ride Bike Shop and Taproom
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Cina and Kate are two best friends living in Prescott, Arizona. Blending their passion for health and wellness with their love of mountain biking, they set out to create a cycling community built for all levels. They began offering skill clinics and tours. Their vision slowly evolved into Soul Ride Bike Shop and Taproom, a bike shop that wants everyone to feel welcome. They have introduced hundreds of kids to the joys of mountain biking while fostering a sense of community and belonging for anyone who walks in their shop or takes a skills class.
BEYOND THE MAKER
This series from KÜHL goes beyond getting to know how people create something successful from what they love. We dive deeper into their origin stories and struggles to learn how they cope with failure and success, yet still find time to do the things they love. BORN IN THE MOUTNAINS™, raised in the shop—these are their stories.
SOUL RIDE BIKE SHOP AND TAPROOM
Moms Know Best: Bikes are Rad
Where would we be without our moms? Not far. They usher us into this life with care, guided by the instincts they’ve carried with them since birth: to love unconditionally, care endlessly and guide us mercifully.
When Cina and Kate, founders of Soul Ride Bike Shop and Taproom in Prescott, Arizona, set out to pursue their dreams, they followed the same instincts that made them great moms: be patient, don’t be afraid to ask questions and embrace the chaos.
The two best friends met each other on a group mountain bike ride after they both relocated to Prescott. Shortly after, the spark that began their friendship became a blaze that guided their professional dream and it’s still burning today.
THE INSTINCTS THAT GUIDE
As they raised their kids in the mile-high desert town, they wanted to provide them with plenty of opportunities to get outside. Around the same time, they both became frustrated with their day jobs. They sought purpose beyond a paycheck where they could leverage their love of the outdoors with their backgrounds in adventure sports, health and human development.
As young moms, each with two kids of similar age, they both felt kind of lost, asking each other where they fit in and where their voice could be heard. They wondered what it would take to marry their passions for health, wellness and the outdoors into a sustainable career.
They had fallen in love with the 572 miles of mountain bike trails that surround Prescott. They found the space for their minds and bodies to roam among the fragrant pines and coarse granite boulders that dot the high-desert landscape.
The thought of opening a bike shop scared them, but that fear wasn’t enough to stop them. Fortunately, when these two motivated women set their minds to something, there isn’t a lot that’s going to stop them.
STARTING SMALL AND THINKING BIG
Their dream began in a small closet-sized space where they offered bike tours and riding skill classes. They sold t-shirts and trucker hats to make ends meet and fostered a sense of belonging for all who showed up. It didn’t matter if customers could wheelie down the block or were still learning how to shift your bike; they were welcome there.
This goal of theirs meshed with their own vision for their own kids – less screen time and more skinned knees and time amongst the trees.
Their dream evolved from a closet to a 500 square foot hut where they continued to host clinics, gatherings and more. Their vision gained momentum and they eventually open up their own bike shop.
BEYOND THE BIKE
From the beginning, they set out with one goal in mind, to create a more inclusive bike shop that celebrated more than just riding bikes, but the feeling of connection, community and joy everyone deserves aboard two wheels.
They were tired of the bro-centric approach towards mountain biking and sought to empower anyone who wanted to ride a bike. The first bike show they went to, the free gift was a pair of cycling socks with boobs on them.
When two women waltz into a male dominated industry, there is going to be skepticism. But they brought a different voice and perspective to the table that belonged in the industry and were willing to do whatever it took to make sure it was heard.
THE BIKE SHOP IS FAMILY
Throughout the growth of Soul Ride, their duties as mothers never ended. They were the role models for the life they wanted their kids to live. What better way to share the values of hard work and doing what you love with your kids than weaving them into the process. Not simply showing them, but giving them a broom to clean the shop floor or making them the “Sweeper” on group rides to make sure no one is left beind.
They folded their entire lives into the bike shop, involving their kids and setting the expectation that this is more than a way to make money – it’s an investment in the community and into the things that matter in life: relationships, health, nature and so much more. If something you want doesn’t exist, you can (and should) create it.
Trial and error was how it began and developed. It was a scrappy hustle from the beginning. They said “Yes” to every opportunity that came their way to keep their dream afloat.
Building a small business from scratch is hard. Raising a family is hard. Doing both well is a challenge Cina and Kate embraced. Although raising a family have been an obstacle, they both used their instincts and strengths as mothers to build a unique bike shop that other shops in the area began to emulate.
Their resilience throughout the process and success of their business is a testament to their friendship. They had each other for strength. They bonded through connection and communication skills they knew so well as mothers and used those traits to build a unique brand. They held each other accountable when things weren’t going right and never forgot to laugh. Ever.
PEDALING FORWARD
Cina and Kate built a bike community that hadn’t just given them something to be proud of, but also a life for their kids outdoors. But it wasn’t just about them or their kids, but the entire mountain biking community in Prescott that helped Soul Ride succeed. So, when the opportunity came to sell it, it wasn’t an easy decision to make.
However, when you ride bikes, sell bikes, teach bikes, fix bikes and breathe bikes, burning out on the thing you love becomes a reality. Their kids had grown up. They were so proud of what they created and they both felt like they had other things to offer outside of the bike industry.
As they considered closing this important chapter in their lives, their mechanic and service manager offered to buy the business. They were happy to keep the business within the Soul Ride “family.”
It wasn’t long after the announcement of the sale that kids reached out to Cina and Kate personally to tell them just how much their experiences in classes, rides and races meant to them and sculpted their outlook on life.
In the meantime, they’ll focus on the things that bring them joy beyond two wheels: tinkering in the garden under the shade of a straw hat, yoga, and quality time with their families.
Their advice to women out there with a dream? It’s harder to let that dream squander in your subconscious than it is to pursue it. Be afraid of the feeling of regret ten years from now when you ask yourself, “What would of happened if….”
Don’t let fear stand in the way of your dreams. It’s usually a sign you’re headed in the right direction. It’s OK not to know everything and it’s OK to feel vulnerable. The question is, will you use those feelings to fuel your vision or suppress it?
Soul Ride Outfit
