Mountain bikers from all over the world will benefit from a one-stop-shop online destination marketplace with a recent partnership between Canberra startup CycleLifeHQ and the International Mountain Bicycling Association (IMBA).

CycleLifeHQ is a bicycle tourism development company that helps destinations grow their local economy and jobs through sustainable cycle tourism experiences. It was started with help from The Griffin Accelerator program and has prospered since then.  The digital platform allows riders to choose a curated ride of the city, which will connect them to local businesses, hospitality hot spots and other tourism offerings.

CycleLifeHQ helps communities to add another transport alternative when touring a city and because the content is curated the rider can choose their route based on their interests or riding difficulty.

“The motivation behind developing CycleLifeHQ was through frustration of not knowing where to ride or hire bikes or even where the bike friendly cafes were, I was looking for something that would tailor my needs and interests while exploring a new city” said Charles Black, CEO and co-founder of CycleLifeHQ.

The partnership with IMBA will amplify exposure for great mountain bike destinations and the increase visibility of mountain bike tourism. CycleLifeHQ will connect more mountain bikers to these great places to ride.

“We’re excited to help our partners and mountain bike destinations around the country reach more potential guests, increase visitation and build a steady economic model around bicycle tourism.”

CycleLifeHQ uses existing data and integrates it onto an easy to use online platform and are currently working with a range of destinations.  Since starting operations only 18 months ago, they have expanded globally with presence in Australia, Asia, Russia and most recently in the USA where they now have over 30 destinations listed.  Most notably, they are working with Tucson, Arizona one of the world’s best-known bicycle tourism destinations.

“As part of Tucson’s cycling tourism strategy, there is a key focus on Gastronomy which means we can tailor tours around the rich, vibrant culture and heritage of food and sustainable urban development’s, this is just one of the many cycling tours on offer to their visitors.”

CycleLifeHQ graduated from the GRIFFIN Accelerator program in 2016 based at the Canberra Innovation Network.

“This program has been instrumental in getting us to this stage, the mentors and coaches have provided invaluable assistance and insights on how to grow a startup business.”

To date CycleLifeHQ has 2,500 listings across Australia and the United States on their platform and employs 12 staff across Australia, America and Vietnam.