I think about this any time one of the lottery's go into the three coma zone. What would I do for MTB if I won over a billion (USD) and why? Let's assume that's over a billion after taxes.
Here's my list:
1. I'd go through the process to get several, World Cup track built here in Oregon/Washington and make sure these stay fresh and become regular stops. It'd be great to get the WC out from under their European safety blanket.
2. I'd fund World Cup teams. I'd at least build a development team and support more women WC racing. My nieces love Tahnee, Vali, Lou and I can tell how important female racers are to them. My guess is that's not unique to them.
3. I'd obviously build a bike park here in Oregon and set up a funding model where I don't care if it ever makes money.
Always curious to hear what others would do.
Build a continental race series, 1 series based in North America, 1 in Europe and 1 in Oceania for juniors and up and comers to compete for real prize money, and try leverage that as a feeder system into an elite level competition that replaces the UCI shitshow.
love this question!
i'd make an IROC for downhill (at least what i remember IROC (international race of champions) from the 80's being...maybe it still exists?).
X number of venues with X number of pre-selected racers run the same bike, suspension and tire manufacturer. each venue bike, suspension and tires change. brakes, cockpit and drivetrain can be whatever they want
the series has no UCI affiliation.
example
- val di sole, everyone is on specialized, ohlins and maxxis
- les gets, commencal, fox and schwalbe
- MSA trek, rockshox and continental
- last race of the season is riders choosing whatever setup they want to run out of the setups already used within the season. MAYBE within the season, they all have to race a stock budget DH bike that's $4k or less with only a limited # of spare parts for the weekend. would have to be on a track that wouldn't kill them at elite-level race pace.
all racers get paid well enough per race to participate ($50k?) so sponsor affiliations would hopefully mean nothing (like loic wouldn't throw the race on a commencal/fox bike to make specialized ohlins look better LOL).
goal is to find out how much the parts really matter under elite level riders. they'd all get the bikes and components well ahead of time to test and tune and not just be thrown onto them a week before a race.
gofundme, anyone?
oh that's cool. Never heard of that series. Would be a hoot to watch.
I'd buy property in places I want to ride (Squamish, Revelstoke, somewhere in Europe, etc) and host friends whenever they want to come out. Donate tons to different trail organizations and non-profits that promote cycling and make access easier to low-income and marginalized communities.
Ride when/where I want. Maybe push the limits of N+1, but give so many bikes away.
I don't think I'd invest in a team, or bike park or company. I want to ride bikes because it's fun and wouldn't want it to turn into work.
Buy summer rights to our local ski hill and run shuttles 6 days a week. As well as put money into the trails.
start a non profit to buy land for trail centers and lift parks in communities across the us but particularly focusing on the mid Atlantic. As well as help communities build quality bike trail on public land.
Learn to make steel full suspension frames with some wacky suspension designs in mind. Also lobby for some nationwide bike infrastructure improvements or failing that, just some local improvements.
I would probably hire a trainer, a dietician and a skills coach.
Then maybe have a team of DH, XC and l guess even road. Have the best stuff and the best training money can buy. Whoever designed the Specialized team colors this year will never be hired.
Other than owning my own Bike brand, Id love to pressure the UCI by creating a World series(a world series, not an american world series, sorry) that Does what alot of Car racing is like... obviously need a kick start but like broadcast rights, often the money is split between teams etc
Advertise the hell out of it and make it so brands Would actually make money from a race business model and almost force teams to the point of 'oh, UCI can get stuffed, This series actually makes sense'
This would require Turning against Privateers and offer a Teams Racing Charter(TRC) which is what the broastcast/pool money pays to.
You will see less Numbers but more Racing on your screens, more locations like Australia, US & NZ.
Id also love to have a crack at control Tyres for the series or for atleast certain locations.
MTB/cycle racing is very stuck in its own history, the same as RC racing, Could be great but the oldies stop it.
Buy the Klein trademark and start making aluminium full suspension bikes with amazing paint jobs, variable chainstay lengths, and taller stack heights. Offer the same level of component customisation as Propain.
Support local trail builders that build natural trails. Besides pump tracks, only locally available materials are allowed to be used and little/no machine building.
Get schools class sets of mountain bikes so that biking can be part of physical education. Educate a couple of teachers to be bike coaches and mechanics.
Buy areas of land everywhere to develop trail networks.
Fund lobbyism with politicians to get bike-related projects approved and commuter-friendly urban development implemented.
Finally: start a 26"-only bike company, develop modern 559 bikes, start a team, pay the best racers in the world to ride for it,....profit!
cocaine and hook...... oh mtb related. Sorry
Start my own WCDH team for sure, nice house in Queenstown and Few chalets in Europe and just people can stay, train and progress on my dime. Good question actually. I'd just travel and ride weird places like Bali and Japan etc.
I would join the Global Conservation Mountain Biking Club and buy a yacht to park in Princess Louisa Inlet and ride these trails:
https://photos.google.com/share/AF1QipO1RL9jF_wdZDgpg_Fc5xVBHiYwl-oYQHi…
Not my photos. There is a thread on the other site's forums that talk about this organization and these trails. There is a bit of background in the 2nd last paragraph here:
https://www.princesslouisa.bc.ca/history
"An organization called Global Conservation Mountain Biking Club, whose actual owners have not been revealed, has bought a waterfront parcel. When the society learned that the mountain bikers would come into the inlet by helicopter there was some concern. Yet in the last year the club along with a team of New Zealand trail builders has sensitively constructed trails that can’t be seen from the inlet. They have one wooden float on the water that blends into the scenery. Their land is, for the most part, conserved in its natural state."
1) Purchase a fleet of good quality, durable mountain bikes for kids in communities throughout New Mexico, especially Albuquerque, Las Cruces, and every Tewa pueblo and the Diné Nation.
2) Train mtb coaches to teach the kids skills and foster a love for riding while connecting with nature.
3) Purchase Sandia Peak ski area, build a world-class bike park, turn it into a non-profit, and bring kids from around the state to enjoy the trails.
4) Create racing teams made up of BIPOC kids so that folks of all kinds can see that mtb is for everyone.
5) Build myself up a nice DH bike.
Hah! My standard response is "die of an overdose".
I don't gamble or fantasise about massive windfalls but it would be nice to contribute to advocacy groups and volunteer trail building organisations. No longer having to work for a living means that contribution can be hands on, too.
But then idealism probably doesn't survive having become impossibly wealthy through no effort of one's own...
I've thought about this before. Fun question. Some of what I would want to do I actually am in the process of doing, and am going to hold those cards tight to my chest for now. Outside of that hare brained idea...
1) Money talks. You could completely (re)shape the racing landscape for the better. It'd really help if you and your $1B had a rival billionaire who wanted to really make things interesting. Seems these dick waving competitions are best with the pressure of competition. Of course I'm talking the WC level, but I'd make sure my wealth trickles down into the national, state and regional type stuff too. Hell, I'd lobby to get DH/enduro into NICA, too (is that happening?)
2) Trail building. Nothing would mean more than putting together an organization that really turns the screws on a federal and state level with respect to lobbying for real trails to get built in cool places (plus the resources to make it so). This, more than anything else, is what we currently need to "grow the sport" (in a positive/non-bumper cars kind of way).
3) Bikes for people who don't have access to bikes. CVD did something like this aiming at South America, but I have a hypothesis that if we can get a lot of people riding, the world will be a better place. Mtn bikes, cruiser bikes, e bikes (gasp) - bikes make people happy and happy people make for a better world. Again, I know there are a myriad of non-profits doing this stuff, figuring out who to fund, if starting something new is warranted, etc would be a worthwhile exercise.
4) I'd probably stop there and/or maybe do a few dirt bike things, but ultimately bikes would feel like a semi-silly place to spend time when I would have the resources to actually save lives...like...mosquito nets in malaria riddled places, concussion/mental health research, building an AI company to make healthcare cheaper bla bla bla - anything that is helping solve huge life changing problems. All of that stuff would keep me up at night...and frankly stress me the heck out. I know, it runs against the exercise and "I'm doing it wrong". I just don't think you can ignore the responsibility that ultimately comes with being a billionaire.
My answer will make it very clear I literally wouldn't know what to do with that kind of money. It's barely a tangible thought for me.
I would fund a media company that would focus on exposing lesser known riders and areas/trails and potentially make mountain biking more accessible in more remote areas. Whether its small towns in the US or third world countries.
Everything from freeriding to XC racing to practical commuting in third world countries to make humans more independent. That bike Seth covered that was built for third world countries was awesome.
The goal being to get mountain biking where basically no dollar amount can convince people to invest in it. And you need a strong promotional package to validate infrastructure for bikes. A lot of people like Bentonville for a lot of different reasons. I think the coolest thing they nearly achieve is being able to commute off the road. Bikes lanes are ok. Trails that go 'nowhere' are cool. But trails that are functional in a community is an underrated concept. Especially in an effort to preserve 'green areas' in smaller cities. Small cities should avoid turning into mini Los Angeleses. Concrete jungle design is dogshit. And if the only green in the area is golf courses ur fuckin up bud lol
Oh heck yes!
Friends went up and poached that a few years back.
Partner with Monster and make an Enduro/DH series in the US where the purse money is so high that the UCI series gets killed by the next year.
Make Enduro a money-making series by running events the same weekend as the DH races.
Once that gets rolling, start a well-funded regional amateur series with free TV rights to grow the grassroots of the sport.
I’ve thought about this before, and the conclusion is I’m selfish. Money without time isn’t worth much, so I’m quitting my job, and getting a coach and mechanic on retainer. Buying a slew of bikes (duh), a Hennessy Raptor R or TRX, a house in Squamish, and then taking my friends wherever else we want to go ride.
Continue to have none of the idea, but with more cooler gear.
reboot mountain cycle and foes.
Yeah.. a bunch of hukas and ko'kein...
Much less ambitious, but also lower funds needed. I can see on google maps that there is an abandoned go-kart track a few km from my house. Would buy the lot, redo the track, buy some electric karts, build a gigantic pumptrack on the remaining land and have a few simrigs in the entrance building. Run the thing just aiming to break even.
Instead I'll probably just keep my desk job for another 24 years...
-I'd build my own tyre company with designs based on MX tyres. MTB tyres are way too square.
-Have my own trailbuilding company to fix up the local trails
-Build a lift assisted trail center with 90% singletrack and only 10% machine maded BMX flow style trails
-Set up an impossible uphill climb series for both bikes and ebikes no rules other than two wheels and nothing more than 25km/h & 250w motor.
i'd save up and get a Yeti
https://www.realtor.com/realestateandhomes-detail/21423-S-147th-St_Gilb…
Pic number 2 tells you all you need to know
I’d quit my job and start a foundation to get bikes for kids and poor people.
Sick, I think i'll aim for a 3million house with a single kart!
Make sure that anyone that has ever purchased a bike get's a free fitting session. I want everyone to enjoy bikes as much as I do. Then, since everyone would want to ride all of the time, we will also need a world-wide share the roads program so we can ride to the trail head safely.
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