“Chase adventure” promises one of the brochures for Bicycle Adventures.

Widely regarded as the premiere bicycle tourism company in North America, Bicycle Adventures strives to live up to that expectation. They promise customers the opportunity to explore the world through the eyes of a cyclist.

Local residents and co-owners Brad Barnard and Todd Starnes live a cyclist’s dream. Starnes raves, “I don’t feel like it’s coming to work every day.”

Starnes and Barnard bring their enthusiasm for biking to their business, each participating in multiple tours every year to monitor quality for the customers. Their Redmond central office feels nothing like a typical office space.  Rather than cubicles, it is filled with bikes and canned food.

The duo purchased the company in 2008 and have since expanded to include destinations across the world from Taiwan to the Hawaiian Islands.

“We try to find areas without much bicycle touring,” Starnes says, “It’s what makes us unique.”

Starnes and Barnard are committed to giving customers as authentic an experience as possible, which starts with their commitment to giving “really good rides every day.”

While the company may have locations spread across the globe, they are still focused on the Northwest. Starnes believes that some of the best cycling in the world can be found in the Seattle area.

Relocating the company headquarters to Redmond has been like coming home for Starnes and Barnard. Both got their start in cycling watching races in Redmond and riding on the Marymoor Velodrome. They are excited to join the Redmond community.

So far, the company has only positive things to say about their move. Starnes raves about Redmond’s “fantastic walkability” with easy access to “coffee, beer and bikes.”

The Bicycle Adventures team is also eager to be involved in the local community. They recently partnered with Obliteride, a Seattle-based bike fundraising event for Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center.

Anyone can sign up for an Obliteride race, ranging from 10 miles to 150 miles, but they must provide their own bicycle. Unfortunately for people who do not live locally, this makes participating in the event nearly impossible or at least extremely expensive.

But the owners of Bicycle Adventures saw a way to solve this problem. They created the Borrow-a-Bike program which enabled Obliteride participants to use one of the company’s bikes for free for their race. The program was an instant success in the 2015 race.

More locally, Bicycle Adventures recently offered a free event at Postdoc Brewing in Redmond. They were pleasantly surprised by the number of people who showed interest in the event and came to hear about Bicycle Adventures. Starnes says it was a “wonderful night for everyone.”

When asked about the company moving to Redmond, Starnes said, “We didn’t know we were excited” until their arrival in Redmond. But experiencing the friendly atmosphere and strong biking community has reassured Starnes of the validity of the move.

Looking ahead for Bicycle Adventures, Starnes hopes the company will continue to expand since there are still “so many great places to see.” Further plans with the Redmond community involve a possible collaboration with Marymoor Park to establish a bike rental program allowing people to easily rent bikes for the day and enjoy all that the biking capitol of the Northwest has to offer.

For more information, visit www.bicycleadventures.com.

Claire Perry is an incoming senior at Redmond High School.