The Sisters to Smith Rock Scenic Bikeway video was released to the public by TravelOregon a few weeks ago. It stands as one of our favorite shoots; not only because the scenery and riding is great, but because we had the chance to add something a little different to the bicycle marketing stratosphere.

Bike travel and adventure-by-bike are enormously popular right now, but the stories and marketing of those experiences trend toward a really male-dominated narrative. Not that this is inherently a bad thing, but we have learned that successfully marketing an idea to a broad audience means showing said broad audience in your marketing. In other words, if you only see and hear guys, you’re likely only appealing to guys. And, for us, it was important and exciting to produce a statewide marketing piece that showing women, on bike tour, doing rad stuff.

There are lots of little details that seem minute on their own, but contribute to the feel of the piece and make it different from typical bike marketing. From the style of bikes (a custom Pereira, mixed with a vintage 3-speed) to the clothing (sporty but causal, with no giant logo blobs) to the action (camping, rock climbing, and playing a ukelele!). The experience is neither a hammerfest of a ride or a Cycle Chic parade, but remains fun and sporty at the same time.

In the end, it’s just a short 2-minute video. But the more we dive into video production, the more we we recognize the enormous impact these small details can have on bike advocacy and inspiring a broad diversity of people to try riding a bike.

To learn more about the Scenic Bikeways and hear some more behind the scenes details, be sure to come to the Scenic Bikeway Video Launch Event at Chris King!