PASSION is a powerful thing and when you can tie it up with a business opportunity, the divide between work and play gets seriously blurred.
Sarah Watmore, from Hallow, and Jenny Price, from Blackwell, near Bromsgrove, first met virtually, racing for an online women’s cycling team.
When they realised that they lived close to each other, they started meeting up for outdoor rides culminating in a phenomenal week-long trip through the Pyrenees in summer 2019.
Seven days in the saddle, climbing thousands of metres at a time, was a daunting prospect and both women were incredibly nervous. Jenny’s husband suggested she treat it as a series of rides with mates, focusing on the fun aspects. That stuck with Sarah and in summer 2020, she proposed to Jenny that they use it as a clothing brand. And Riding With Mates was born.
Both women have other businesses, which have been hit by lockdown, so the need to start up with relatively low risk was key. “Covid-19 has been terrible for much of the economy but it has also provided some time and space for creative thinkers to come up with new ideas and offers,” said Sarah.
Jenny models our women's Riding With Mates t-shirt
“The increase in appreciation of independent and local stores and suppliers is a huge positive to come out of this and we’re hopeful that it will remain.”
“Setting up a business almost remotely has been interesting but fun,” said Jenny. “When we were able to meet up outside, we’d ride independently to a café to discuss the next steps over every cyclist’s favourite; coffee and cake. We’d then go home to work on them and share our endeavours over video calls. Lockdown definitely added extra challenges.”
Sarah models the Riding With Mates beanie
Riding With Mates is a supplier of comfy loungewear for relaxing after a ride, keeping warm before and event or generally wearing day-to-day.
The clothing is sourced for its eco and ethical qualities and the clothing is printed to order with roughly a three to six-week wait for the garments, although the young business is thinking of trialling more instant dispatch items soon.
Along For The Ride (and the cafe stop) t-shirt
Launched in January, the website showcases T-shirts, hoodies, zoodies (a hoodie with a zip opening), sweatshirts, bobble hats and caps in a great range of colours with new products lined up to launch, and a peloton of ideas for more designs waiting impatiently in the background. There are items appropriate for men, women and children.
You can be our Trader of the Week here
The designs focus on a celebration of cycling, from the pleasure of stopping for cake on a long ride to the achievement of riding up mountains and the simple joy of freedom, outdoors and powered by your own effort. Or you can choose the simple Riding With Mates logo, one of the best things about getting out on a bike can be the company.
Of their most memorable moments this far, Sarah said: “We have several highlights as the start of a business can be so exciting, from seeing our logo ideas come alive to receiving our very first order, which is still very fresh in our minds.
“We did a photo shoot around the river and cathedral in Worcester, which was great fun, were interviewed on the Kate Justice evening show on BBC Hereford and Worcester, and we achieved a shout out from Tour de France winner, Geraint Thomas, on his eponymous Cycling Club podcast.
Jenny left in Riding With Mates zoodie and Sarah right in Riding With Mates hoodie enjoying our photoshoot
“We have started working on bulk club clothing and are in the midst of production for our first project, T-shirts and hoodies for Revolution Velo Racing, the virtual team that led to us meeting.
“And we have supplied a proposal to Worcester St John’s Cycling Club to create hoodies for their members.”
• Riding With Mates is part of a Facebook group called Worcester Virtual High Street.
The ‘Worcester Virtual High Street’ group is free to join and allows independent shops, services, tradespeople, crafters, e-sellers and entrepreneurs of all kinds to promote their wares to customers free of charge.
Shoppers in turn have the chance to discover hundreds of exciting products, service providers, special offers and one-off buys on their doorstep – more details at https://worcestervirtualhighstreet.co.uk
• Do you have a business that deserves its moment in the spotlight? Or do you know of one?
You can let us know by following this link.
All we need are a few details and their efforts can be showcased in print in the Worcester News and online on our social media channels.
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