Bicycle Touring Business Cards – How To Use Them

When traveling by bike there are bound to be times when you will run into a person and decide that you want to keep in touch with them after you go your separate ways. This person may be another cyclist, someone you met in the supermarket, or a kind stranger who let you sleep in their yard. Whatever the case, carrying a bicycle touring business card is a great way to ensure that you stay in touch with this person once you go your separate ways.

I first saw the idea of bicycle touring business cards on my second long distance bicycle tour along the TransAmerica bicycle route. I was in a small town in Western Kansas when I stopped to use a large wooden outhouse on the side of the road.

Besides the fact that this outhouse was made out of wood, it was just like all the other outhouses I had ever seen. It was a box with a hole in the bottom. That was it!

But unlike other outhouses, this one was filled with cards from traveling cyclists. There must have been about a dozen business cards plastered to the outhouse walls from cyclists who were traveling the TransAm Route that summer. When I saw the cards so proudly displayed inside the wooden outhouse on the side of the road I thought to myself, “What a good idea!”

And it is a good idea! So good in fact, that I’ve created my own bicycle touring business cards and I use them all the time.

You’ll note that my business card is pretty simple. It has my name, email address, website address, mailing address, and nothing more. My logo and a couple red lines are there just to spice it up, but otherwise, the card is pretty plain.

How do I use my bicycle touring business cards?

Whenever I meet someone who is interested in my travels or has an interest in traveling by bicycle, I simply pull out one of these cards and hand it to them. This saves me the time of having to find a pen and paper and write down all my information. It also eliminates the chance that they will be unable to read my handwriting. In addition, having a card such as this makes me look more professional.

You’ll note that my phone number is not on the card… and I’ve done this on purpose. I decided to leave my phone number off of the card because 1) I don’t really like getting phone calls all the time and 2) I’m not always in the United States and able to answer my phone. If I do decide that I want to give someone my phone number, I simply pull out my card and write my number on the back. It’s that easy!

So that’s how I use my bicycle touring business cards… and if you are planning a long distance bicycle tour, I suggest you consider making some cards of your own. If you are planning to ride for charity or are making a bicycle tour to raise awareness for a particular cause, having business cards that tell a little bit about you and what you are doing is a great idea! More than anything, your bicycle touring business cards are going to be a quick and easy way to ensure that you keep in touch with the people you meet on your travels.

You can make some pretty simple business cards with Microsoft Word and other such programs (such as Publisher, Illustrator, etc.). Once you’ve designed your cards, you can get them professionally printed and cut, or you can simply take them to your local copy center and print and cut them yourself. If you have them professionally printed, you will likely have to order 500 or more. But if you take them to your local copy center, you can make as many (or as few) as you please.

If you’re planning to be out on the road for a while, start with 100 cards and see what happens. If you use them all up, you can always make more.

Have you used bicycle touring business cards or something similar in the past? How exactly did you use them? If you are planning a bicycle tour, how could you make use of your business cards to make more people aware of your cycling adventures? Please share your ideas by posting in the comments box below.

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