When Craig Oldfield suddenly found himself with free time on his hands last August as a result of COVID-19, he decided to jump on his bike and ride.
Twelve days and over 4,000 kilometres later, the Water Valley tourism worker had covered the province on his 2007 Kawasaki Versys 650 – an adventure touring bike that allowed him to take gravel roads when necessary. He has now accumulated an impressive database of small businesses eager for new customers.
His Facebook group Ridin' Alberta has been a roaring success. It now numbers 17,300 members, who regularly share critical information with fellow bikers on things like where to get the best burger, what locally-owned coffee shop is good, what hotels to stay at, and just about anything that comes up in conversation.
He is still adding about 100 new members each week, and even some international additions, looking to plan their excursions to Alberta this summer.
Oldfield credits good timing and the COVID effect as keys to the explosion of interest in his Facebook initiative.
"It was a timing thing. The last couple of years a lot of guys weren't travelling a lot, especially out of province. They didn't want us in B.C., so that resonated," he said.
He also thinks what he calls Alberta pride may have had something to do with the group taking off.
"I think the name, Ridin' Alberta played into that as well and these things take on a life of their own," said Oldfield. "You need a good idea and some luck – and I had both."
Everything went well on his solo journey until he hit Coleman, where he became sick and had to be rescued by a friend. After a short hospital stay he went back to pick up his bike.
Oldfield says his main goal was to help promote locally-owned businesses across the province, as they struggled in a pandemic-challenged year.
"I needed something to keep me busy. Nobody wanted us to leave the province. I've always lived in small towns, so I wanted to give a bit of shout out. So that's what I did," he said.
"We need to spend money at home – get people into the mom and pop bakeries," he said.
Oldfield is getting his old job back so he is not sure how his time constraints will affect the new business, but he is planning to expand his venture into a website, which will serve as a hub for bikers and businesses to connect.
