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For Robin Boyd, riding a mountain bike is not only her favorite pastime, it is part of her job. As president of VentureMedia Inc., an adventure communications/consulting firm she founded with her husband Daniel, the 40-year-old logs an average of 13 days a month on her bike. That might be impressive by itself, but factor in that she is also a full time professor at West Virginia State University and mother of two, and she becomes an Izanami (see Trendsetters article). Her riding experience pays off big for the state of West Virginia. VentureMedia provides consulting for cities, resorts, state parks and other organizations that want to improve and better promote their adventure sports programs. It also offers freelance writing and photography for adventure magazines and organizes international travel adventures. Filling a Niche “I found that they needed help in every area,” she recalls. “I showed up at one resort that was advertising itself as a mountain biking destination and the employees at the front desk told us that they offered no mountain biking.” At other locations, Boyd found trail maps that were very inaccurate, outdated and difficult to read. “Because one fork in the trail was not marked on a state park map, I got seriously lost. I was riding around for several hours before I finally found my way out.” She quickly realized this was not the message West Virginia wanted to send to mountain bikers—especially since they make up a large portion of the state’s tourists. The West Virginia Department of Tourism’s statistics indicate that since 1998, bikers and hikers traveling to West Virginia have increased from eight to 16 percent. Boyd and her husband Daniel, who served as photographer for the book, covered 19 mountain biking destinations throughout the state, including Snowshoe, Slatyfork, Holly River State Park, and Twin Falls State Park, just to name a few. Charting the Course Another troubling area was in the ranking of the trails. “We found no consistency throughout the state. What one park calls an intermediate trail, another park rates as expert only. Some places just haven’t updated their ratings in a long time. After several rainy seasons, a beginners’ trail can become an intermediate or even advanced trail.” Boyd is currently working with Sutton, Mt. Hope and other small towns to help develop and promote trails in their communities. “Initiating such programs is relatively inexpensive, of great benefit to the economy and causes little negative environmental impact.”
“Mountain bikers are not teenagers. They’re young professionals in their late twenties to mid-forties,” she says. “They have a certain amount of disposable income. They’re willing to pay for several nights lodging and meals out.” Boyd points out that West Virginia was recently ranked number one as a mountain biking destination by the International Mountain Biking Association. Charleston’s Angels “Mountain biking is not something you have to quit doing when you reach a certain age,” says Boyd, who has organized several skills clinics across the state, some specifically for women. “I think a healthy, fit lifestyle can only make you a better parent, a better employee, a better person.” Boyd has ridden on four continents, including Australia, Europe, Africa and throughout the Eastern and Western United States. But she is proud to say, “The best riding is right here in our own state.” Robin’s team beat out 22 other women’s teams from across the country to win the 2003 Balance Bar adventure triathlon in Atlanta, Georgia, and took first place in the expert women’s category at the infamous 24 Hours of Snowshoe in 2002. Other Adventures “Danny introduced me to wrestling, and I quickly learned that the wrestlers truly are athletes as well as entertainers,” Boyd says. “We decided professional wrestling definitely qualifies as an adventure sport.” Most recently, VentureMedia sponsored a March 2005 trip to Prague, Czech Republic, for WVSU students and community members. Currently the Boyds are in East Africa, to mountain bike and to shoot some scenes for an upcoming movie. “We will be planning more trips in the future; most likely one to Belize within the next year,” she says. “Our trips always have an adventure aspect to them. Especially when going into third-world countries, it’s important to travel with people who know what they’re are doing—people who have some understanding of the culture and who respect the culture. That is what we offer.” Bikes in Books Boyd says VentureMedia tries to take a unique approach to adventure communications – whether it be climbing a mountain to shoot an Appalachian-African musical, riding through West Virginia’s backcountry to get the stories of the people who live there, getting an inside look at the professional wrestling world or helping communities find hardcore single-track in their own backyards. “We like to think our business is about making big adventures happen, both in our state and abroad,” Boyd says. Contact VentureMedia at 304.343.7624 or www.venturemedia.biz. |
Reprinted from the June 2005 issue of WV Executive Magazine