Not a dreamer
Trevor Nichols - May 11, 2017 - Biz Profiles

Stuart Lang sits atop the quadricycle that will form the backbone of Smile Cycle Tours.

Stuart Lang sits atop the quadricycle that will form the backbone of Smile Cycle Tours.
Photo: Trevor Nichols

The last thing Stuart Lang wants is to be thought of as a dreamer.

“People that have dreams, and often don’t take action towards realizing those dreams, are perceived as dreamers,” he said recently, over a plate of chicken tenders at Central Kitchen + Bar. “It’s good to dream, but you have to have an action plan. Dates and implementation will always drive results.”

So when the young entrepreneur bought an 800-kilogram, 15-person quadracycle from Holland to start running his own pedal-powered craft beer tours in Kelowna, he made sure he had done his research first.

Lang might not like the dreamer label, but his budding business, Smile Cycle Tours, is evidence that he is one, even if he is very driven about the whole thing.

He still remembers the exact day – Nov. 29 –  he decided to leave his job and start his journey as a business owner.

Lang has a double major in biology in science, but after he graduated he had trouble finding work in his field. So not long after he got his degree he “pivoted” and took an MBA.

But, even as he worked for a big telecommunications company, he knew he wanted to be a part of the tourism industry. That desire lead him back to his hometown of Kelowna, where he worked for a time with a wine tour.

It was during a slow period, early in the winter, when he decided to take the plunge.

“I was trying to just get by and pay my bills, and that’s when I started to think … I need something that I can take more ownership in,” he said.

He thought about the whimsical, giant cycles he had seen crawling through the streets in Germany, and realized he could do something similar in Kelowna.

“I realized this is the chance for me to start something in Kelowna that I had an interest in,” he recalled. “I had no reason to not do it, and on Dec. 20 I was wiring money over to the Netherlands, just prior to Christmas, really kind of swallowing my gut and going ‘this is happening.’”

Now, as tourist season approaches, Lang’s dream is really starting to come together.

Because of different circumstances and different laws, Smile Cycle Tours doesn’t look exactly like its predecessors in Europe, but Lang said he believes he can use “the hand [he’s] been dealt in Kelowna” to his advantage.

 

Photo: Facebook

His quadracycle is a massive, four wheeled vehicle that runs entirely on pedal power. Guests sit facing one another on two sides of a long table, and their pedalling drives the vehicle.

Lang sits in a raised driver’s seat steering the cycle and acting as tour guide. While European tours often have a tapped keg right on the bike itself, laws are different in Canada, so Lang’s tour is more of a pub crawl.

Each tour meets outside Central Kitchen + Bar, and Lang takes them on traditional beer tours where guests can visit several of Kelowna’s craft breweries, or others where they can visit their choice of craft spirit and wine creators.

“Kelowna can offer something that I think many other communities can’t, and that’s four products right in the downtown core: craft breweries, distilleries, cideries and wineries,” he explained.

Ultimately, he said, Smile Cycle Tours is a great “slow fun” experience for anyone looking to get a taste of Kelowna’s craft alcohol scene, and his tour will also help promote local businesses.

He’s just getting off the ground now, but with all his planning, Stuart the dreamer seems poised to become Stuart the successful business owner.

“I’m ready to take that next step. I’m ready to own something, and take it from zero to at least wherever I’ll take it. And that’s when I intend to do,” he said.


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