TAIPEI, Taiwan (BRAIN)—Steve Fenton and Katerina Rejchrtova made it official Wednesday—Taichung Bike Week will be held Nov. 15 through Nov. 19, moving the dates earlier in the year rather than in December.
Fenton, owner of Pro-Lite and Rejchrtova, chief executive officer of WTB Europe, said the dates were set after discussions with dozens of product managers and after several informal polls done by Bicycle Retailer & Industry News, Bike Europe and several e-mail surveys sent to more than 1,500 people. Both polls registered support for the earlier dates.
In setting the new dates, Fenton said he had to consider the Thanksgiving holiday in the U.S. and, more importantly, Taiwan regional elections to be held the first week of December. “Nobody wants to travel to Taiwan that week,” he said. Organizers also had to consider the multi-week Christmas holiday season in Europe.
“It’s what people want,” said Fenton. Organizers will distribute 6,000 catalogs at the Taipei Cycle Show outlining the schedule and other information for product managers. Like last year, the two key downtown hotels will be The Splendor and the Tempus (formerly the Landis) and Ride On participants will continue to meet outside the city at the Freshfields Resort.
Fenton said that there were some concerns that pricing would be unavailable that early, but he pointed out pricing is always tentative at that time of the year. “This way product managers can see the target prices rather than wait until January,” he said.
While Fenton and Rejchrtova have been at the forefront in promoting Taichung Bike Week, the city of Taichung is organizing the bike routes, transportation and other activities. “I’m a customer of the event and I live in Taiwan, so I feel like my helping this is contributing to the city,” he said.
-Marc Sani
