Goals of National Bicycle Tourism Conference

06 Nov Goals of National Bicycle Tourism Conference

Registration packet for the 2013 National Bicycle Tourism Conference

The National Bicycle Tourism Conference will be one of my first conference in which I am not here for a well established company.  This is me investing my time and dime to be here at a place filled with people who are doing the things I’d like to do.  That is why I have to be mindful of my purpose of being here.

Learning

The main reason why I am here is to learn more about the bicycle touring industry.  I believe this is an exciting time where people are looking for a different way to spend their vacation and time off.  With the growth of bicycling in the country, it makes sense for me to see what this industry has to offer its clients and to see where I fit in.   My motivation is driven by my passion in bicycle touring, I plan on learning as much as possible.

Networking

I am naturally an introvert but this is my time to step out of my shell and tap into the extrovert side of myself.  It is easier as I am here by myself, I don’t have someone to be my crutch who I will just latch onto from the beginning through to the end.  I can “freely” meet people and ask people candidly what they do.  It goes back to my first goal of learning as much as I can and opening myself to new opportunities.  There are plenty of time provided by the conference to network.  They’re having a meet and greet this evening entitled, “Speed Meeting for Newbies”.  I intend on attending this and maximize my interactions as much as possible.  I just need to work on my elevator pitch.

Having fun

Probably the most important part of all this is to just relax and have fun.  I can’t take myself too serious but just be able to enjoy the conference like a kid in amusement park.  Maybe not that much fun but you get the idea.  I need to open myself for opportunities to see the joy of the event and appreciate the organizers’ efforts of bring everyone all in one hotel conference center.  There’s going to be a scavenger hunt at the end of the week which I plan on attending.

Let’s see where this takes me as I learn, network, and enjoy my time here in Iowa!

There will not be an email update for this week but I will continue the following week.  Please sign-up if you haven’t already to receive weekly updates of the blog.  Follow me on the various social networks to keep up with my day-to-day.  I’m trying to figure out how to tie Facebook in with my Twitter/Instagram updates.