Salty Turtle Cycling Club and their Haunted Hundred Bike Ride

Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:01):
Welcome to Topsail Insider, where you can hear all
about the businesses and eventsin the beautiful coastal towns
in the greater Topsail area ofNorth Carolina.
Coming up all right cyclingenthusiasts who also enjoy
excellent beer.
Head on over to Salty TurtleBeer Company and meet your tribe

(00:23):
.
I am here today talking withJill Schiffelbein, board member
of the Salty Turtle Cycling Cluband the chairperson for the
annual Haunted 100 Bike Ride.
This exciting event benefitsthe Karen Beasley Sea Turtle
Hospital, so stay tuned to findout everything you need to know
about joining this awesome clubfor brews, fun and fundraising.
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Hello everyone and welcome toTopsail Insider.
My name is Krista and I am yourhost.
Today.
We are talking to JillSchiffelbein.

(03:03):
She sits on the board ofdirectors of the Salty Turtle
Cycling Club and is also thechairperson for the annual
Haunted 100 Bike Ride.
Welcome, jill, and thank you somuch for joining me today.
I am so thrilled to be here.
Thanks for having me.
Yeah, my pleasure.
Before we dive into today'sepisode.
I want to just take a momentand introduce anyone who's new

(03:23):
to the area, or those planning avacation to the Topsail area
soon, to one of our local gyms.
It's called Salty Turtle BeerCompany.
It's located on Triton Lane inSurf City, north Carolina.
It's veteran owned and operatedand a real community favorite.
It offers a very laid backatmosphere, they offer creative
brews, they host awesome foodtrucks and they are dedicated to

(03:46):
supporting a lot of localcauses like turtles, pets, vets
and food pantries.
It is also Pender County'sfirst brewery, which opened in
2017.
They also host two clubs, theRun Club and the Cycling Club,
and we're going to talk todayabout the latter.
So, jill, how did you learn ofand join the Salty Turtle

(04:08):
Cycling Club, and then just tellus what you enjoy most about
being a member?

Speaker 2 (04:12):
I learned about it by drinking beer.

Speaker 1 (04:15):
Somehow I knew you were going to say that.
Of course I mean.

Speaker 2 (04:18):
I cycle so I can drink beer.
That's what most of us do, Imean not really, I love cycling.
I earn my reward Right, but no,I learned about it just going to
the brewery when I first movedhere.
I bought my place on the islandin November of 2020 and in
February of 2021 became afull-time resident and shortly
after that I'd gone up to thebrewery a couple of times and I

(04:39):
saw on their walls they havesigns for cycling club and I'm
thinking I should really getback into cycling, because in a
previous life I was really intotriathlons, did Ironman and all
that type of stuff 100 mileraces, yada, yada, yada and
thought you know, maybe it'sabout time to pick that back up.
So went and got a bike in Aprilof 2021, got involved.

Speaker 1 (04:58):
You have this amazing professional background, which
we will touch on much later, butnow you're this incredible
athlete too, with triathlons.

Speaker 2 (05:05):
Come on.
Oh, I was, that was previouslife, previous life.
You're not getting me runningright now.
My knees, four knee surgerieslater, my knees do not do that.
But cycling is great.

Speaker 1 (05:14):
I was talking to my husband about the cycling club.
He loves brews and he lovescycling, but it's been a while
If he loves turtles too.

Speaker 2 (05:20):
our slogan is ride bikes, drink beer save turtles.

Speaker 1 (05:25):
We have a trifecta going on here.
I love it.
Do you know the story behindthe founding of the Salty Turtle
Cycling Club?
Who came up with the idea anddid it just take off right away?

Speaker 2 (05:33):
I don't have the full story and I could say some
salacious things that my fellowboard members would laugh at.
But the real story as I know itis, there are a few people who
are also on the board.
Hayden Frost is our president,dale Steele is our treasurer.
Dan McDonald and Brad Pfeifferare also in the area, also on
the board with me, and Haydenand Dale met coincidentally when
Hayden was looking for a housewith his wife, chris, and him

(05:57):
and Dale.
Both are wearing the same exactbiking shirt from an event in
Iowa.
Oh no, way.
Rag ride, which is actuallyliterally happening this week,
right now, where you ride forseven days across the state of
Iowa.
And so it was their sign.
They're like this is ourneighborhood, this is our town.
We were meant to live here.

Speaker 1 (06:15):
Yeah, that's incredible.

Speaker 2 (06:16):
They hung out, they would cycle and they'd be up
having beers and eventuallytalked with one of the owners,
Dan Callender, who also rides,and a club was formed and that
was September 2020.
So people are really juststarting to get back out again
and let's, you know, let's getsomething in.
And I came into the picture inApril of 2021.

(06:37):
And there wasn't an officialboard or anything like that
right away.
The nonprofit 501c7, I believeit is.
It's like a not-for-profitsocial entity, so we don't get
taxed as long as we are notmaking profit, which is why we
make sure, of course, that allof our proceeds from everything
we do support any administrativelogistics for the club Because,

(06:59):
as you can imagine, cycling,like most sports, require
insurance in some way, shape orform.
But with cycling there's a lotof things to consider.
I know we'll talk about safetya little bit today.
Yeah for sure, there's somegood and bad things about that.
We decided it was probably good.
We are growing to a few dozenpeople that were showing up
regularly and we thought weshould protect ourselves.
And so we decided to do thisand form the entity and have not

(07:24):
only the business structurebehind it but also being able to
apply for insurance for theclub and things like that.

Speaker 1 (07:31):
Gotcha, you sit on the board.

Speaker 2 (07:32):
You're also the secretary, so I'm the secretary
of the board.
And then Haunted 100, which isour now annual public bike ride.
Again, 100% of proceedsbenefiting the sea turtles.
That is what I'm chairperson of.

Speaker 1 (07:46):
What are some of the benefits of joining the club?
What kind of activities andevents does the cycling club
organize?

Speaker 2 (07:52):
We do a lot of different things.
We have our standard Sundayride and this is how I joined.
It's 10 am every Sunday,although right now we are
starting at 830 because thetraffic I mean with all our
beaches being named some of thebest beaches we keep getting
more and more tourist trafficand so, as a board we decided in
the summers, we're now movingthe ride to 830 instead of 10,
just because it's a little saferfor everyone involved.

(08:14):
And safety is huge for us, so wedo that.
But most of the year it's 10amand you can find out exactly
when that switches over on ourFacebook group and, of course,
at the brewery too, they havethat information.
But really, you come out, youcan ride.
We do a 20 mile route.
We leave and return from SaltyTurtle Do you have the same
route each week.

Speaker 1 (08:34):
We do, you do.
Okay, same exact route eachweek.

Speaker 2 (08:37):
It's 20 miles and we like to do it.
We like to keep it consistent,One for locals who live in the
area too.
They'll see us every Sunday.
Some people know if they knowmembers of the club, they'll
stand outside and wave, or siton a balcony or stuff.
It makes it fun, but it's alsojust.
It makes it consistent and italso is good because sometimes
we have members who are not herefull time, as a lot of people
are not.
People come in and out and it'snice to have that consistency

(08:59):
because if people get lostthere's always a standard
regroup points and we docommunicate about a lot of
things before every single ride,including safety procedures and
group riding safety etc.
We just like to keep thatconsistent.
However, the club does have.
Brad is our.
We call him the chair of nonofficial Sunday rides and so

(09:20):
once or twice a week there willbe these rides posted.
Wednesdays we do a ride fromIronclad Shaka Taco yeah, and
ride around this area and it'snice.
And sometimes there areSaturday rides and sometimes
we'll do gravel rides and we mixit up.
And anyone on the Facebookgroup we have 400 plus people on
the Facebook group.

Speaker 1 (09:39):
Oh, wow.

Speaker 2 (09:39):
You don't have to be a member to be on the Facebook
group, but it is a private groupbecause we don't want the spam
to come in.
But anyone can post a rideanytime.
We just have a member who'straining for Ironman right now
and says hey, september 8th, Ineed to get a hundred mile ride
in.
Anyone interested in joining?

Speaker 1 (09:53):
Okay.

Speaker 2 (09:54):
Boom People sign up.

Speaker 1 (09:55):
I love that.
It's very supportive.

Speaker 2 (09:57):
It is a supportive community and we formalized
membership right and directly tothe question you asked, because
I get so excited talking aboutour community.
I love it.
We decided to have themembership because as a member
we can provide differentinsurance benefits for the group
rides and everything like that,which is good.
It just keeps all of us alittle safer.
But we also then have just kindof more of a standing within

(10:19):
the community right, we cancontribute to it.
So it's only $20 a year to be amember and you get discounts at
area businesses, so reasonable.
Yeah, 15% off of merch at SaltyTurtle, oh my gosh, that's great
.
That alone may save people morethan $20 in a year.
Right, but like other areabusinesses, sundial gives us
discounts on some coffee and tea.
Salt Marsh, on Sundays, givesus discounts, so cool.

(10:40):
It's just a really great way toinvolve the community, and now
that Top Soul Surf and Cycle isalso right across the Surf City
Bridge, they're a sponsor andgreat people too.

Speaker 1 (10:50):
What about what you do?

Speaker 2 (10:51):
after a ride you act like riding isn't enough in and
of itself.
Of course, after the ride isthe best part.
You know you've earned thereward, so after the ride.

Speaker 1 (11:01):
Do you guys all sit down at the Salty Turtle and
enjoy some beer and hang out andhave fun?

Speaker 2 (11:05):
We do, I love it Every Sunday, every Sunday.
And what's great is, if you,the community, is built up so
well now, and when we say wewelcome riders of all levels,
right, people are like well,what does that really mean?

Speaker 1 (11:18):
I wanted to ask you about that.

Speaker 2 (11:19):
Yeah, yeah so let me go into that first before we get
social right.
Sure, logistics.
It's a 20-mile ride, so ifyou're not comfortable riding 10
miles on your own on the road,it's probably not where you
should start.
However, join the Facebookgroup.
Say I want to get into cycling.
Here's where I'm at.
Is anyone willing to help guideme?

(11:39):
And you will have peoplejumping on board to help guide
you.
That's great.
You will have people jumping onboard to help guide you.
You will have some people saydon't go over the bridge, you're
new, just ride on the flatisland.
I will meet you on the islandand start the ride with you
there instead.
And you have to.
Mandatory if you ride with usmust wear a helmet.
Zero tolerance policy fornon-helmets.
We will not let you out in thegroup with us, period, if you

(12:02):
don't have a helmet.

Speaker 1 (12:03):
How many members do you have in the club and how do
you become a member?

Speaker 2 (12:07):
Yeah, to become a member.
We have a link to a site thatruns through an organization
called Racklet.
It's a software program thathelps us keep track of
membership, ticket, events, thattype of thing.
But we have a site throughthere you become a member, you
come to an event, you're goingto get a scan of QR code and and
get to figure it out.
We make it as easy as possible.

(12:27):
You don't have to become amember to ride with us.
We prefer you do, of courseright, but you don't have to
become a member.
We genuinely do welcomecyclists and make it a big
community thing.

Speaker 1 (12:34):
But why wouldn't you?
Because you get the benefit ofbeing in the insurance.

Speaker 2 (12:38):
Yeah, I mean, which is a huge benefit.
Right, there are some people wehave some people who ride with
us that are USA Cycling memberswhich is like $150 a year or
something and that covers theirride insurance.

Speaker 1 (12:48):
And I'm like, okay, you don't want to pay?

Speaker 2 (12:49):
an additional $20.
That's fine and there's reasonswhy people would or wouldn't
and we're not going to do that,but we try.
If you come more than a fewtimes, join us so we can get in.
If there's announcements, wecan make sure you're informed on
the information.
And to answer your question onmembers, we have I think the
exact town is 123 paid membersright now.

Speaker 1 (13:08):
What are the membership fees?
You said it's $20 a year, yep,and it covers the insurance.

Speaker 2 (13:13):
Mm-hmm, you get the insurance Anything else.
You get the insurance and thendiscounts at local places,
Gotcha, so from different foodmerchandise services, discounts
that type of thing, and you'rehelping us cover the
administrative costs.
So we can, of course, be this501c7 and make the donations we
do.

Speaker 1 (13:33):
Perfect what age groups are represented in your
memberships and also, is therean age minimum to?

Speaker 2 (13:35):
join the club.
That's a really, really greatquestion.
Legally, from insurance it's 18and up.
You have to be a legal adult tobe a rider.
We do have some families thatwill come with younger kids,
teenage kids who are active incycling communities.
We have some like award-winningyouth marathon triathletes.

Speaker 1 (13:53):
Oh yeah.

Speaker 2 (13:54):
It's great, but there's the separate process for
all of that and it's somethingjust to communicate and give us
a heads up beforehand if that'sgoing to happen, because we want
to make sure we don'tinvalidate insurance or anything
.

Speaker 1 (14:06):
Yeah, right.

Speaker 2 (14:07):
That makes sense, yeah.
But believe me, the familiesfor the after part, the
socialization part, even thespouses who don't ride friends
who don't ride my parents, whenthey come into town I bring them
out with us.
It's fun we have.
We had our first like cyclingclub baby not too long ago.
She just turned a year old Likeit was great.
That's so cool.

Speaker 1 (14:27):
What other activities are you doing?
What other events are youorganizing with the club?

Speaker 2 (14:30):
I know we'll talk about Haunted 100, because
that's one of the big thingshere today.
So I will table that one for now.
But we do, you know, inaddition to socializing after
the rides, just such an activecommunity.
If somebody we had last year,somebody from our club was
dancing in the stars for OnslowCounty and so we got a group of
people from the club together,purchased a table and supported

(14:52):
right, and so it's just again.
It's genuinely a community andI've lived a lot of different
places and a lot of people inthis area have lived a lot of
different places and most people, once they find this club, they
just feel like they're homebecause there's something for
everyone, there's an age groupfor everyone, and it's so nice.
So we have gotten.
This year we actually starteddoing an official quarterly

(15:14):
potluck.
It sounds so simple, but, oh mygosh, after the rides we're all
hungry and thirsty anyway.
And so once a quarter we havepotluck and, like one of our
members is I'm talking like topin the country bakery level
sourdough guy.
Shout out to you Michael Makeslike the best sourdough bread
and he joined us within thispast year and he brought that

(15:35):
bread once and we're all likeyou have to stay.

Speaker 1 (15:38):
And bring that bread every single potluck Every time.
It's amazing.

Speaker 2 (15:41):
But there's people.
We have a guy who used to own abarbecue company.
You know the company shut down,but once a year he'll do
different things.
It's just fun, and you get toknow people outside of the ride.
The challenge is, though, weall look very different in our
bike kits, with our helmets onand so sometimes you don't
recognize people when you're outjust living normal life.

Speaker 1 (16:02):
I wanted to know the age range within the club.
Is it like 18 to 80?

Speaker 2 (16:05):
I think we probably, I know for sure we have 60s, we
might have 70s, we might evenhave 80s.
Really, yeah, and we have 18,you know, barely barely out of
high school.
And it's really cool also, Ithink, to see, especially now,
people in all generations, maybea part of three or four
generations of people writingand socializing and being in

(16:26):
community together.
Yeah, we just had some membersshout outs to you misty and rob
I'm going to make sure you hearthis episode.
Rob got stationed in okinawaand they left and they were very
, very involved in the club andvolunteering and everything.
Everything we do is 100volunteer run and driven, so we
don't have any administrativestaff or anything like that.
So, it's all labors of love forthose of us in the community,

(16:49):
but it's like when people moveaway we throw a big old goodbye.
Away parties Going away notgoodbye, going away, coming back
, ride and after party andeverything, and it's people come
and they go, but most of themcome back and it's really great.

Speaker 1 (17:01):
I don't even ride and I want to join your club.
Come on over, right?

Speaker 2 (17:04):
You don't even have to ride to join.
You can just come drink with usafterwards.
We're happy with that.

Speaker 1 (17:08):
Just driving in our area period Highway 17 is it
feels like a death trap somedays right and then when you get
closer to the island we've gotall the tourist traffic during
high season it just feels likeit can get super dangerous.
So I'm wondering what kind ofsafety concerns do you typically
face when you're riding, bothwhen you're alone riding your

(17:29):
bike, but also as that largergroup.

Speaker 2 (17:32):
You know we try to do as much as we can as a group
that educates people that we'reout there.
So on our Sunday rides we havewarning riders ahead signs
before and after the entrance ofSalty Turtle, so we're at least
notifying people.
And then we, instead of ridingout in mass in one huge group
that's going to take up a longerperiod of time, we ride out in

(17:53):
smaller groups so that again wecan let more traffic go through,
et cetera.
Because what happens is, eventhough again we can get on the
road and be on the side of theroad and people could still get
by just fine, they don't andthank you for being cautious,
but we don't want to.
Our goal isn't to impedetraffic, our goal is to be in
the flow of the road.
So we'll get there and we'llrelease in smaller groups

(18:13):
intentionally so that there'snot this mass blocking traffic.
When we do have our big eventslike Haunted 100 that I know
we'll talk about in a little bit, we pay Surf City Police
overtime and do police effortsand escorts and blockage.
We do all of the things to keepriders and drivers as safe as
possible.

Speaker 1 (18:32):
Do you have any tips that you just want to give the
drivers today that they couldjust hold on to when they see
you and just try to remember tostay focused on your safety?

Speaker 2 (18:42):
You know I'm going to call something out because I
think, again, we're all guiltyof being in rushes.
None of us are immune to that.
It happens, life happens, andsome are legit emergencies and
some are just because, wow, Isat on my couch enjoying my
coffee too long and I'm going tobe late and it is 100% my fault
and we just have to own that.
Yeah, that's so true, it is, itis, and we all coexist.

(19:02):
The reality is, though, 30seconds can literally save a
life, and when you have peoplewho not calling out names, but
who own businesses in thiscommunity posting on Facebook
groups a picture of a cyclistriding on the far right side of
the road when there is a gravel,mind you sidewalk saying why

(19:25):
are these people trying to behood ornaments?
It's bad, and I think a lot ofpeople we innately think that
we're good and we don't do this,but we're all guilty of getting
frustrated at times.
Again, I have been frustratedwhen I've come across cyclists
and I am a cyclist.
Right, you have a legal rightas a vehicle on the road.
You have a legal right as avehicle on the road If you're
this person.

(19:45):
The picture was hugging theline of the road and someone is
posting publicly and callingthem a desired hood ornament.
That's not OK.
No, it's not.
That's not OK.
We're not going to have thosesame type of behaviors in a lot
of other areas.
So really it's take a breath.
It may be 30 seconds, but it'ssomebody's life and you don't

(20:07):
know their reason for writing.
We don't know your reason fordoing the activities you do, but
we all just get to do them.
Like we're fortunate to live ina place and in a country that
allows us to exercise a lot offreedoms, to do the activities
we want to do.

Speaker 1 (20:20):
Let's all just let people do their hobbies and be
safe.
Can I ask what the response wasto that post, do you?

Speaker 2 (20:25):
recall, Unfortunately mixed, Unfortunately mixed.
There's a lot of people thatwill publicly come out and
comment in this area about justhatred for cyclists Again being
on a legal road.
I am not saying all cyclistsare perfect, because there are
some that will just be in thesemassive groups and take up huge
chunks of the road and eventhough they could do that, be

(20:46):
considerate cyclists.
This is my shout out to all ofyou too Be considerate.
We're all coexisting heretogether.
But drivers, if you see acyclist actually signaling, it
is the same as a car.
No, yeah, that's legitSignaling.
It doesn't mean swerve aroundthem and then underswipe them so
they fall under the belly ofyour car, like happened to one
of our riders last year.
It doesn't mean that it's.
I am legally signaling and sopeople are doing that.

(21:11):
So I have to ask what accidentshave occurred during your club
rides, the ones that I knowabout there have been a few
people hit.
The worst one was definitelywhen a person was signaling,
moved over and a person swervedaround her into the turn lane
and sideswiped her and her bikewent under the vehicle with her.
That was by far the worst.

(21:31):
It was absolutely terrifying.
Was she injured?
She was, and it took her almosta year and she is a very active
member of this community andlike a high volunteer and it
took her almost a year to getback on.
I was almost hit.
I was run intentionally into theside of the bridge on Surf City
Bridge in a five foot bike lanein February and I actually

(21:52):
Intentionally run into the thisperson the wall, the wall that's
on the bridge, yeah there's alike, it's like four or five
foot bike lane which I'm goingto use because I want to be safe
.
I want to be safe.
Yeah, had pulled on there.
I think the person did not seeme at first.
You heard the slam of the brake.
Okay, they weren't payingattention.
Whatever, we were all guilty ofdistracted driving at some
point.
Yeah, fine.
But then got aggravated that Iexisted and gunned it and

(22:16):
swerved into the bike lane towhere I was holding.
I got my arms scratched holdingthe wall of the bridge to not
fall over.
Oh my gosh.

Speaker 1 (22:23):
Now that you're mentioning it, about the bridge
riding in particular, I haveheard people say why aren't
these bikers in the walking path?

Speaker 2 (22:31):
I don't think that's where you're supposed to be, no,
and actually it's a hazard andthere's trying to be educational
campaigns, because you willhave people on bikes and now on
e-bikes too zooming down thesidewalks.
The sidewalks are forpedestrians.
You're walking your dog, youhave your children with you Do
you want an e-bike zooming downon you then, or any cyclist for
that matter, no, no, it scaresthem.

Speaker 1 (22:52):
It scares the people who are walking.

Speaker 2 (22:53):
I've seen it happen.
Yeah, no, there's a four.
I think it's like four and ahalf foot wide bike lane on that
bridge.

Speaker 1 (23:00):
Intentionally.

Speaker 2 (23:01):
Intentionally.
But yeah, and even that Ididn't fall.
I grabbed the wall, I gotscraped up.
But even that scare right nowin high traffic season, I won't
get on my bike.
I am not mentally stable enoughto do that and ride in a group,
because when you're riding in agroup it's also the safety of
the riders around you.
And if I'm going to get scaredand push my brakes when I
probably shouldn't, becausethat's not normal, that's going

(23:23):
to damage other riders Iprobably shouldn't because
that's not normal.
That's going to damage otherriders.
So I take my leave.
We've all had experiences inmultiple areas of our life on
something that scared us orsomething that scarred us, and I
still got back on the bike.
But now, if I'm going to do it,I have people around me who
know what happened to me, sothey know that I'm going to have
a high heart rate and have alittle trauma in that experience
.
But that's the reality ofanything and I think anyone

(23:45):
who's pursued any type of activehobby or supply-based hobby
whether it is running ortriathlon, paddling, kayaking,
boating, surfing, shooting allof these things you can have
scary experiences that take youaway from them for a while.
It's really unfortunate whenthat experience is caused with

(24:06):
intention by another human.

Speaker 1 (24:07):
When was that February of this year.
Oh wow, no wonder you're stillfeeling it.

Speaker 2 (24:11):
A little shaky.
A little shaky On a happiernote.

Speaker 1 (24:14):
Yes, on a happier note Everybody we love cycling
now.

Speaker 2 (24:17):
But may I just say one thing in summary.
It's like cyclists don't hatedrivers, drivers don't hate
cyclists.
We all, in reality, are allfine together.
It's only when we think ourtime on either side on either
side is more valuable than theother people's out there, and
that's when misbehavior occurs.
It occurs when cyclists decideto group up and ride outside of
the bike lane and block sometraffic, and it occurs when

(24:39):
drivers aren't willing to take abreath and wait a few seconds
to safely pass.
So road cycling is differentthan other types of cycling and
I think a lot of people don'trealize that there's tons of
different types of cycling tires.
We see those wide fat tirebikes right that have about
three-plus-inch tires.

Speaker 1 (24:56):
Yeah, I have seen those.
What is that?

Speaker 2 (24:57):
for Riding in sand.
Much easier to ride in sandwith it.

Speaker 1 (25:00):
Oh, okay, that makes sense, yeah, yeah.

Speaker 2 (25:09):
But if you take my bike, a carbon racing road bike,
and you put that on the sand,you're going to wipe out because
there's no traction, because mytire is less than an inch.
Really thin.
Yeah, and that's what a lot ofpeople don't understand when
they're seeing cyclists on theroad and they're like, why
aren't you staying in the bikelanes?
Well, the bike lane's notcleaned.
There's glass there and if Iride over that in my one inch
tire it's going to pop and I'mgoing to crash and it's not safe
.
So that's why, if you seecyclists on the road and we're

(25:32):
signaling we're moving over,it's not because we don't want
to be in the bike lane.
We love the bike lanes, we lovestaying on the right side of
the road even though legally wecan take up more.
We don't Granted.
There are some cyclists that do, but they're not us, I promise.
But we want to be safe and wetalk to our members.
We brief everyone every singleride.
Before you sign up and startriding, there's waivers you sign

(25:53):
.
You learn how to ride in groupsyou learn how to signal All the
different things.
So we are very big on justtrying to educate people.
So when people are coming newinto the community and they want
to learn, a lot of them havejust ridden by themselves around
their neighborhood and it'stheir first group ride.
So we take the time and wealways have someone leading the
ride and then we have someonethat's called the sweeper that's

(26:15):
at the end of the ride.
So no matter what level you areat, there will always be a
sweeper to help you along andfigure it out.

Speaker 1 (26:22):
My gosh, I love how safety conscious you all are in
making sure that everyone onyour team or in your club is
following the same rules and youhelping, helping each other out
that way.
All right, everyone.
So why don't you head on overto salty turtle beercom and you
can click on the events dropdown menu and you can go to the
cycling club page.
There you can click on become amember button and they also

(26:43):
provide a button to to easilyfind their Facebook group there
as well.
Okay, now you have a wonderfulfundraiser coming up near
Halloween.
Tell us about the Salty TurtleCycling Club's Haunted 100.
What is it?
When is it and how did it allget started?

Speaker 2 (27:05):
The ride.
This year is October 27th andit's always the Sunday
immediately before, or in thecase of the very first one, it
was a Sunday, that was Halloween, and I am a nerd to the extreme
and a fan of alliteration, andthis all ties into the story of
how it got started, which wasSeptember of 2021.
There was a normal Sunday rideand we take a break at North

(27:29):
Topsail Beach Park to regroupone of those safety checks that
we talked about earlier andregroup, and there's water there
and bathrooms and things likethat too Nature.
And we were there and I washaving this crisis of conscience
Not really, it really wasn'taffecting me, but I hadn't.
I had just gotten back intoriding that April.
It had been so much time awayfrom riding triathlon,

(27:51):
everything.
It had been about a decade andI said you know what I really
want?
To ride a century ride, ahundred mile bike ride before my
40th birthday, which wasNovember of that year.
I said any of you want to dothat?
And slowly people were like,well, yeah, I do that, done that
, I've never done that, I'venever done that.
Like oh, it's amazing, likeessentially right, it feels like

(28:12):
a really cool achievement.
You're like great, we'll do it.
And what happened is?
We mobilized and within it waslike a month and a half later,
it was a couple dozen people gotinvolved and people volunteered
all just from the club and wedid 100 miles so this, this was
the first year it wasn't ashighly organized as it is now,
oh no.

Speaker 1 (28:31):
Did you come up with?

Speaker 2 (28:31):
the route.
Yeah, we came up with the route.
We were joking about it andwe're like, oh, it'll do this
and it'll be on Halloween,because my birthday is a week
after and haunted hundred.
Yay, alliteration, it's goingto be so fun.
Yay, spooky ride.
And yeah, we came up with theroute and there was some lapping
, because there's not a ton ofareas around here that have

(28:53):
smooth enough roads without tonsof potholes for road bikes to
traverse easily.
Yeah, and you know, we wantpeople to be safe.
So we made a route and then dida full loop and a half a loop
of the island to add the lastbit of the 100 miles.
I will tell you that last partof the loop was so miserable
because you're like I could justbe at the brewery drinking a
beer right now, and so weactually ended up because of

(29:16):
that and the looping, which isjust not really fun for anyone
who.
you know you're not going to goboating and just circle an
island around and around andaround right.
You're going to you to wantsome different change of scenery
.
And so we found out that, okay,the next year, when we decided
to make it a public event andhad about 100 riders come in, oh

(29:37):
, it went up to 100 really fast.
Yeah, it was crazy.
We'd made it 100K, which islike what?
62 miles.
So it's still a very gooddistance of a ride and we also
have a 50K option.
So what's great about that iswe wanted to have a 50K option,
which is about 30 miles, alittle over 30 miles, so that
people who'd been riding with usand they were just comfortable
with the 20, they could feellike for one day, like they

(29:58):
could challenge themselves andpush a little harder.
And it was really really cool.
So we had family and friendssupporting us, making peanut
butter and jelly sandwiches andkind of tossing them out to us.

Speaker 1 (30:08):
Not really, we got off the bike and ate them.

Speaker 2 (30:11):
But it was casual and three of our active members,
myself included, have Novemberbirthdays and another member
came up and surprised us with acake, like it was just again
showing what this communityreally is.
So a few months later we wereall talking after a ride and I'm
like why don't we open this upto more people?
This?

Speaker 1 (30:29):
was great.

Speaker 2 (30:30):
But then it becomes a real event, then it becomes not
just club, then it becomesoutside riders.
Then it becomes.
Oh, if this is going to beofficial and something that we
know, what else do we have to do?
Well, that means, whateverroute you pick, you have to talk
to every single municipality,you have to get permissions, and
you're going through three,four you pick.
You have to talk to everysingle municipality, you have to
get permissions, and you'regoing through three, four, I

(30:51):
think.
So we have Holly Ridge, well,surf City, holly Ridge, sneeds
Ferry, which is just Onslow,which goes with North Topsail
Beach and Topsail, so wecoordinate with all of them.
They all have separate insuranceforms and event forms you fill
out, which we do.
We have our event insurance,which is additional on top of
the club insurance that we have,but if you're already a member,
it helps save us there.

(31:12):
So that's why member pricing isgoing to be cheaper than
non-member pricing for the event.
And we also have to get theroute approved through the North
Carolina Department ofTransportation.
So there's actually a ton oflogistics that go on with this
and shout out to Hayden Frost,our president, who navigates
this seamlessly and also goesaround and when he's telling

(31:33):
people about the event and doingpresentations, brings in the
bike tires to educate and showthe differences and why it's
important that the roads arecleaned and everything like that
Nice.

Speaker 1 (31:44):
That's cool and you said all the proceeds go to the
Karen Beasley Sea Turtle Rescueand Rehabilitation Center.
This is one of Salty Turtlecompanies.
It's their primary charity thatthey contribute to.

Speaker 2 (31:54):
Right, yeah, and oddly enough, that's not
actually why we picked it.
We are all just big supportersof the Sea Turtle Hospital and,
of course, who doesn't love them?
I think there's probably a gooddozen or two dozen of our
members that are certified nestwatchers and walkers and have
been trained in all of that, andwe decided that if we were
going to open it up outside, wewanted to make it about more

(32:15):
than riding, and it was aunanimous decision to have the
proceeds go there and we thought, great, if we can contribute a
thousand or two dollars, thiswould be really lovely, and the
first year we contributed 5,200.

Speaker 1 (32:26):
Yeah, so I wanted to talk about that.
The first year was just theconcept of it and figuring out
that this could be somethingmore than just a group ride.

Speaker 2 (32:36):
It was really.
It was really.
Let's get some people a hundredmiles in and have a really nice
beer and food afterwards, butthe second year you raised how
much?

Speaker 1 (32:46):
$5,200.
Amazing.
And then, combined the secondand third year, you said over
$13,000.
Yeah, so the third year.

Speaker 2 (32:53):
Last year we raised $8,500.
So $8,500 went to the hospitaland this is an event, mind you.
Our ride this year and it hasbeen capped.
The first year we had like 20riders, the first public year.
The second one we had I thinkit was like just over 100.
And then the third year we hadI think it was 120, something.
It has capped at 160 riders.

(33:14):
And why is that?
Namely because we have certaincapacities in that area for the
after party which is a huge partof the event for us, so fire
marshal capacities andeverything like that, and also
it's a manageable amount ofriders for the area and we did
it during a low season.

(33:35):
So what's amazing about it?
And we didn't even realize thiswas going to happen.
We had people from all overcoming in, people who are
on-again, off-again residents ofthe area, coming back, bringing
friends, people who are notmembers of the club, people who
hadn't visited here before thenext year.
They came back.
We had a ridiculous like 80%return rate or something.

Speaker 1 (33:58):
Oh, that's wonderful.

Speaker 2 (33:59):
Which was it was really high and people brought
new people.
We had people flying in fromother places and driving in from
other places and renting housesand bringing more tourism
during an off season yeah, whichis really great, and we support
the local businesses,especially right around that
area, and we know that areaaround Triton Lane is blown up

(34:19):
now.
It's amazing.
So it's so many people andplaces get to benefit, but of
course, most importantly, theTurtle Hospital, and they have
been Kathy the president overthere, I mean, she's amazing and
they have all been just a hugesupporter in this, and not just
because it benefits them, butthey come out, they volunteer,

(34:40):
they set up a table.
We have someone dressed up inthe turtle costume.
They've arranged so the guestsof riders, so they have
something to do during the ride,because if people are coming in
town, their families are withthem, they get tours of the
hospital.
There's things for them to do.
We've really made this aconscientious.
Let's raise awareness about theturtles, let's have education
at the event, let's make sureyour family, your kids, are

(35:03):
taken care of.
You drag your parents there,like I do every once in a while.
They're taken care of and it'sjust a really, really nice time.

Speaker 1 (35:10):
The after party.
That's for the bike riders andany family members, yeah, and
any family members.
And you all come back to theSalty Turtle.
Is that where that event isheld?

Speaker 2 (35:18):
We hold the event at the Cove which Salty Turtle owns
.

Speaker 1 (35:20):
It's their other space, the event space.
Like an event space yeah.

Speaker 2 (35:23):
And it's.
This is it's one of my favoriteparts of the event, right.
So, because of capacity, wecan't just be like, hey, anyone
come to this event, right, butfind somebody to ride 50K or
just sign up to ride it.
The proceeds are good, it's adonation.
Come to the after party, but wehave an after party that is
fully catered.

(35:43):
Your registration, if you ride,includes a t-shirt, a finisher
pint glass, a beard coupon or awine, beer, wine, like.
You get whatever you want, someother swag, it's amazing.
And then you get the tour ofthe Turtle Hospital and even
riders.
If you want to go, you get aticket.
Now we started this last yearto be able to redeem to go if
you wanted to go at another time.

(36:04):
So if your family wanted to waittoo.

Speaker 1 (36:06):
You could all go together.
Oh, another time.
So if your family wanted towait too, you could all go
together.

Speaker 2 (36:08):
Oh, that's wonderful, yeah, amazing.
But the after party too.
We have a 50-50.
That's really popular.
Last year we introduced anauction item.
We're going to do some moreauctions this year, which is
going to be fun.
I get to the auctioneer.
I don't speak fast at all, soI'm sure you're not surprised
there.
And then we have live music.
Our members Dale and Robin.
They're amazing.
They sponsor live music nowevery year.

(36:30):
Dale's a musician and plays ina band.

Speaker 1 (36:32):
So they'll be playing there at the after party for
the registered writers.

Speaker 2 (36:36):
Dale won't be, but, yeah, we'll have live music for
the writers and the guests.
And then, yeah, there's a funphoto booth that we get
sponsored.
Patriot Illumination gives usthat.
We have sponsors in thecommunity that help us put on
the event and everything likethat too, and all of them, of
course, are listed on thewebsites as sponsors.
Okay, yeah, I do need to give ashout out to Lighthouse

(36:56):
Engineering, though, who has,after doing this the first year
he was one of the inauguralproviders said next year, what
do you need to do to make thishappen and count my company in
for the biggest sponsorshipwithout anything?
And so for three years in a row, lighthouse Engineering, thank
you so much.
Paul Scott has really just kindof kicked and led that off
Wonderful.

Speaker 1 (37:12):
So people that can register to ride on the website
can they register on the day ofthe event if you're not at
capacity?

Speaker 2 (37:19):
No, our registration cuts off on October 1st, and
there's a number of reasons forthis Number one of course we
want to make sure we have theright amount of T-shirts,
glasses and all the swag stuff.
But people are like, oh well, Idon't need any of that
insurance.
We have to have specificnumbers that we're giving the
municipalities that we providethe insurance and everything
else ahead of time too.
So those number caps that wegive them, our policies are

(37:41):
based on certain rates and alsowe have to do certain things for
communication with all themunicipalities.

Speaker 1 (37:47):
Okay, so registration cuts off October 1st, so you
need to hurry up and go to thewebsite and register for the
event.
The registration fees Can yougive me the member fees and the
non-member?

Speaker 2 (37:58):
fees, absolutely so.
If you are a member of the clubagain, which is only $20 a year
, and if you've never riddenwith us, you can still become a
member it's amazing and get thediscounts at local businesses.
But with that it's $65.
And that $65 covers the rideand event insurance, which is
huge, super important.

(38:21):
Snacks, coffee, muffins, etcetera at pre-ride, all the SAG
support and the aid stations.
So we have very well-stockedaid stations all along the ride.
It is a fully supported routeand anyone who's ever ridden a
long-distance bike ride you knowwhat that means.
It's not just oh, here is onetype of power bar in Gatorade.
No, there's like fruit, there'ssandwiches, there's snacks.
You have, I like snacks.
Right, they're fun.
You want to ride for the snacks.
So we're fully covered.
Topsail Surf and Cycle comestheir bike mechanics on site and

(38:43):
everything if needs help, andit also includes, of course, the
t-shirt, the pint glass, theincluded beer after it and your
entrance to the after party,which is a fully catered meal,
and it's a lot of food.
We have been very fortunate towork with Burrito Shack.
Allison and Mark shout out toyou guys love you guys who work
with us to provide great food,and also with Coastal, who is

(39:05):
the next door neighbors.
Coastal Wings, yeah, so we canalso you know, we can provide
some type of variety and meetmost dietary needs and all of
this stuff Gotcha, so it'sreally great.

Speaker 1 (39:15):
So $65, I think for all of that that's extremely
reasonable.
It is.

Speaker 2 (39:19):
And then if you're not a member, it's $80.
But become a member for justfive more dollars.
So if you spend 85, you're amember and you get the member
rate, but you don't have to.

Speaker 1 (39:30):
You don't have to.
It's just easier for somepeople to be 80.
I'm assuming that theparticipation age is 18, just
like joining the club.
Yeah, you need to be 18.

Speaker 2 (39:37):
You need to be a legal adult to ride in this
event in particular.
But again, you can come as aguest to the after party and
everything else if you are not ababy.

Speaker 1 (39:46):
Okay, and how can people who can't participate in
the ride or even be here for theafter party, how can people
still donate to your cause, toyour ride?

Speaker 2 (39:54):
Oh, thank you so much for asking that.
That's amazing.
So we have a group of amazingvolunteers.
Robin is our volunteer chairand she does an amazing job.
She's done this since the firstpublic leader.
Like it's amazing, shecoordinates everything.
Our Salty Turtle Run Clubactually steps up and a ton of
them volunteer.

Speaker 1 (40:11):
Oh, that's great.

Speaker 2 (40:12):
We share a lot of members in common too.
I figured you might.
It's great, Even though I don'trun.

Speaker 1 (40:22):
I still pay their membership fee and I am part of
the 0.0 club, which means I willgo out and socialize and drink
beer but I do not run.

Speaker 2 (40:27):
Finally, a club.
It's great.
So you can look for a call forvolunteers.
We will have them.
The Run Club will have them ontheir page, the brewery will
probably put a link on theirwebsite and then the cycling
page, of course, will have acall for volunteers.
And even more than that, I knowthe route and everything is on
our website.
If you are along the route thecoolest thing ever and last year

(40:49):
this happened for the firsttime the Turtle Hospital told
all their members and volunteersand some of them who lived
along the route just came outwith signs and cowbells and just
cheered when people rode by.
And when you are on your bikefor hours and hours, it makes so
much of a difference.
And so if you just want to seewhat it's like and peer in from
the outside, look at the routeand just be along the route.

(41:12):
Maybe, if you want, just comeup and go have a beer at the
brewery Our event's over at theCove, the brewery's open that
day or go there and watch as theriders come in and just be like
, forget this, I'm going tostand outside with my beer and
cheer the heck out of everyone.

Speaker 1 (41:25):
I did see where the routes were posted online.

Speaker 2 (41:27):
Yeah we have an event Facebook page, a formal event.
We have a haunted 100 Facebookpage, that last year after year
after year, and we also have ourregistration page.
The routes on all of them, okay, gotcha.

Speaker 1 (41:39):
Just continuing with the logistics really fast.
What time are the ridersarriving that morning?

Speaker 2 (41:44):
The 100K ride starts at 8.30 am, so you'll have
riders arriving starting atabout 7.30, depending on what
their pre-ride routines are.
They open up Salty Turtle forthe restrooms if riders need to
use it.
But yeah, we have coffee thatis sponsored and put out there.
We have snacks and everything,if you want some pre-ride fuel.
And we do just as we do everySunday we have a ceremony before

(42:05):
the event starts.
We don't do a ceremony everySunday, but we do an event and
there's.
We thank all of our sponsorswho have been so generous with
us.
We make sure everyone knows theroute.
We have route sheets, we havedownloads that riders can use
for their GPS, for their phone.
All of that's taken care of.
And then we also have a safetybriefing, of course.
We make sure everyone knows thesignals.

(42:25):
We make sure everyone knows thedifferent areas that tend to
get clogged up on the roads Justreally how to ride as
considerably and safely aspossible in the area.
And then we have a fullysupported police escort rollout,
which is really, really fun.

Speaker 1 (42:39):
That's exciting.
And the 50K starts.
At what time?

Speaker 2 (42:45):
An hour after the 100K at 930.
And we stagger those starts.
Number one for the number ofriders, even though they're both
police escorted, but number twobecause we want all the riders
to finish at approximately thesame time.
Because, again, the after partyis the big thing.
It's where we do the 50-50raffle, we have the auction and
my favorite part is we make thedonation.

Speaker 1 (43:02):
Oh, so they come there and get the check the same
day.

Speaker 2 (43:04):
Oh yeah, we got one of those giant checks for the
perfect photo opportunity.
Yeah.

Speaker 1 (43:08):
I saw that online.
I thought that was really cool.

Speaker 2 (43:10):
Yeah, yeah, it's so fun, so I get to always sneak
away every year and go hide inthe back storage room of the
Cove and ride it out.

Speaker 1 (43:15):
It makes me so happy it's the best.
How long does the ride last?
So, if you take off at 8.30,what time are?

Speaker 2 (43:23):
fastest riders, maybe three hours later so they'll
cover about 20 miles per hour,plus now we have many riders
that can go faster than that,but sometimes they'll stop, take
their time at aid stations orwhatnot.
I mean some people could finishsooner than that and sometimes
they do, but that would be thefastest.
So you're looking at betweenthree to five hours, depending
on the ride speed, and then the50k.

(43:44):
You can add that out, but wehave for the 50k we have people
and ride mountain bikes.
I mean it's a long 30 miles ona mountain bike but it's flat,
you know.
So it's a really nice thing, butI think what makes it so fun
and we see this more on the 50kride than the 100k ride, which
might be, for obvious reasons,it is for if you're a cyclist,
but if not, because it's a loteasier of a route is, you know,

(44:07):
a lot of the 50K riders will goin costume.

Speaker 1 (44:09):
So this is probably the most important question of
the day.
Most people want to know.
It's at Halloween, right beforeHalloween or on Halloween,
depending on the year.
So can people dress up in theirHalloween costumes before,
during or after the ride, andI'm wondering if riders must
abide by any kind of rules asfar as safety concerns, with
costumes getting caught up inchains and stuff?

Speaker 2 (44:31):
I think there were five questions there.
The answer is yes, yes, yes yesand yes, so yes to all of those
.
But we actually do, and westarted it for the first time
last year.
We keep adding things everyyear, so this year we have a
bigger like, more items in theauction and things like that.
So we're just now.
It's like, okay, let's slow ourroll.
This worked.
We get crazy high ratings fromour surveys and everything, so

(44:52):
let's just stick with what works.
But we added a costume contest.

Speaker 1 (44:56):
Oh, okay, this is after at the after party.

Speaker 2 (44:59):
At the after party we announce it, but it's you have
to ride in it.
Now you can show up with someaccoutrement to your point of if
it's not safe to ride with, weask you to not ride with that.
The best one last year, thewinner of the costume contest.
I don't know if any of y'allhave seen it, but like the
professional hobby horsingcompetitions where people the

(45:19):
hobby horse, like the horse headon a stick and people gallop
around, they're like doingdressage with this hobby horse.
I saw that, but I thought itmust be a joke.
It's not a joke, it is a legitreal thing and I think it
started in Finland, or at leastthe ones I've seen are Finnish.
But the woman who won thecostume competition and you get
salty turtle gift cards forwinning came dressed as a

(45:40):
professional hobby horser, andso she had a horse like a hobby
horse on her bike, kind of tapedthere, and then the outfit had
like a jockey outfit on.
It was amazing.
She rode without the hobbyhorse taped to her bike for
safety reasons.
Right, but she came with it alltaped in and we're like we're
going to ask you know yeah,let's, I'm going to hold this
for you, thank you so much.

(46:01):
We had so many amazing costumesthough last year and it's super,
super fun.
So, yeah, now we have a ridercostume contest.
Your family, your friends, kidsall welcome to come in costume
as well.
Not a contest for them, it'sfor the riders, but you can help
judge.
And what I find so fun about itis the year before we had it
official.
Some people just showed up incostume.

(46:21):
Anyways, we had, oh my gosh,jess and Mike.
They showed up riding in Batmanand Batwoman costumes together.
Super cute, super showed upriding in Batman and Batwoman
costumes together Super cute,super cute couples outfit and
we're like, oh, this is great,but what even started it before
then?
And I've said their names acouple times.
So Dale and Robin shout out toyou guys again.
Dale did it the first year byhimself.
He got a gigantic turtlecostume and he put it out there

(46:44):
that if he could get $1,000 ofpledges all going to the turtle
hospital, that he would ride the50K, the 30-some miles, in this
gigantic turtle costume Did hedo?
that he did.
The next year he got his wifeon board on a tandem, so it was
two turtles on a tandem, twoturtles on a tandem and they

(47:04):
brought in like $1,700additionally in the club.
So of course, the club members,they announced it at the rides
and people are throwing in moneyto make it happen and it's just
awesome, it is so very cool.

Speaker 1 (47:16):
It's fun.
It's so fun.
I want to just go watch.

Speaker 2 (47:19):
Be there, just come up, watch.
It's a good time.

Speaker 1 (47:22):
So you've done the ride, you've had that wonderful
after party.
When do you call it?

Speaker 2 (47:29):
I mean kind of a loaded question, depending on
how loaded some people are.
Yes, I know you see what I didthere, but we do the official
announcement.
So the auction and the liveauction, the announcement of the
50-50 and the presentationcheck.
That ceremony starts at 2.
And so plenty of time for youto get back from the ride, relax
a little bit, calm down enoughto actually enjoy a really good

(47:50):
meal, stay and enjoy the photobooth, the music, the
festivities, and then we have anice ceremony all together.

Speaker 1 (48:03):
Jill.
We jumped right into the cluband the ride, and I normally
love to start out just by askingguests a little bit about where
they're from and find out aboutthem, because I think this
podcast is important too, notjust about the events and the
businesses that we cover, but Iwant people to get to know their
neighbors and make some newfriends, that's so nice, so I
just wanted to ask you somequestions quickly, because you

(48:24):
have such an interestingbackground.
Let's start out with where areyou from originally and what
brought you here.

Speaker 2 (48:29):
Originally born and raised small town in Kansas
called Pittsburgh, then by wayof the Phoenix metro area in
Arizona for 14 years, by way ofNew York City for seven years
and then six months of crazinessduring COVID and a relationship
that didn't work brought meinto the Raleigh area and I said
I don't want to be here.
I'm close to a beach, I'm goingto buy a place there and alas,

(48:50):
it's now home.

Speaker 1 (48:51):
You said you came here in 2019?
2020.
Yeah, 2019?

Speaker 2 (48:53):
2020.
Yeah, November 2020.

Speaker 1 (48:56):
Okay, In the pre-interview you mentioned that
you are an avid traveler.
How extensively have youtraveled and what has been your
most memorable travel?

Speaker 2 (49:03):
experience, oh man.
So I do a lot of travel forwork.
I have two businesses, one I'vehad for over a decade and the
other one is newer, that I'm apartner in, and for that company
I'm a spokesperson, and for mycompany I speak on stages,
that's as a keynote speaker anda consultant.
That's my life.
So I'm traveling a ton for that.
And so every place I've livedin the past decade it's always

(49:24):
been for me it needed to be aplace that felt good to come
back to and to be my piece.
And wow, did I find that here?
Oh, that's good to hear, right,yeah, wow.
But I also I love travel.
I love exploring the world.
I learned so much more aboutmyself by learning about others
and different ways of life.
So this year, with what'scurrently planned and this can

(49:46):
change in a day Tanzania inDecember I'm going to climb
Mount Kilimanjaro and it will bemy 59th country, 59th country.
Earlier this year I was inKenya, uganda and Ethiopia.
And, latter part of yourquestion, the most memorable
travel experience there havebeen, so many and I think from a
memorable experience, tripsthat I have taken my parents on

(50:06):
are definitely super memorable,but for me personally, getting
to trek for gorillas in Uganda,oh wow, and work with
habituating gorillas, which isone place in the world you can
do this where you are followinggorillas that have not been
habituated to human proximity,and it is a four to seven year
process that they will habituatea single gorilla family and you

(50:31):
have guards and stuff.
But every day there's fourpeople that get to do this and
you pay a license and it's alarge donation to you know the
conservation efforts andeverything Sounds frightening to
me actually.
It's a little intimidating.
And, yeah, you have your packand you're trekking and it is
wild jungle, so you are goingthrough with machetes, cutting
your way through, but you'resitting and you stare into the

(50:53):
eyes of a wild gorilla thatshares 98% of our DNA.
It's crazy, right, it issurreal.
The eyes, it's like wow, whatare you trying to communicate?
It blew my mind and I justlearned so much about not only
that, but the conservationefforts that area is taking,
what tourism actually does to aneconomy, when it's done safely

(51:15):
and in a sustainable way.
The parameters they've set onthe percentage of the gorilla
population that they will allowto be quote unquote, trekked,
which is what the tourismindustry around it is called,
and there's very strict rules.
You don't touch them, of course.
Right, you do a lot of things.
How far away were you from them?
The closest I got was probablyfive feet which was crazy.

Speaker 1 (51:36):
And if they approach you?

Speaker 2 (51:39):
you're staying still.
You're staying still.
And the ones I did trekking oneday, which is the families that
are already habituated, and thehabituation the second day,
which is more of the why, and wehad a gorilla charge us for a
little bit.
It was a little intimidating,but oh my gosh.

Speaker 1 (51:53):
See, that's my fear.
I just that's no longer on mylist of things to do.

Speaker 2 (52:00):
But it was amazing.
I'd done safari before and I'vedone you know I call it the ice
safari in Antarctica thosetypes of things, but this was
the most intimate experiencewith another living being in the
wild that I've ever had Soundsamazing.

Speaker 1 (52:16):
It's not something I want to do, but I love hearing
about it.

Speaker 2 (52:20):
It's not for everyone but man, I feel so fortunate to
have met the right people toknow about these things and have
the opportunity to contributeand be a part and giving back.
I mean our cycling club givesback a lot to the community and
it's always in my businesses,it's been a big ethos of mine.
Every single year is apercentage of profits every year

(52:40):
goes to nonprofit causes ofsome shape, and they don't say
the same every year.
There's some that stayconsistent, like American Cancer
Society, personal experienceand other things, but I just
believe it's so important togive back.

Speaker 1 (52:53):
You have a business down in Wilmington.
Is it open?

Speaker 2 (52:55):
yet the AI business, where we specialize in digital
likeness, which is basicallycreating digital clones of you.
We clone your video presenceand your vocal presence and
through our application, whichis actually what the business is
, you're able to generatepersonalized communication at
scale.
So, for example, if you knewthe names, locations, interests,
whatever, if you had a CRMcustomer relationship management

(53:16):
software with all of yourlisteners information and I got
you cloned, what I can do is youcan set up an automated
communication that goes out,where every single listener
would get a personalized videomentioning by name where they
live, the first date of the showthey listen to, the name of the
next episode coming up.
I love that.
Oh my gosh the communicativepower of this is huge.

(53:37):
We have partner studios aroundthe country.
John and Moki, my two businesspartners, actually started this.
They talked to me about it, Igot on board, was using it and
this is back in 2021, beforechat GPT was even announced.
Right, we met, I was the oneusing it, started studying use
cases and, since my business isall about communication strategy
, it just fit and so we formed aformal entity and our studio

(53:58):
partners are all over thecountry and we are going to have
the first one in North Carolinathat is certified in producing
digital likeness clones Amazing,it's going to be in Wilmington.
That's so great.

Speaker 1 (54:07):
I'm so excited about it.
When is that going to open?

Speaker 2 (54:10):
I don't know the exact date going to open.
I don't know the exact date.
We are in the training phaseright now.
So, as you can imagine, there'skind of a rigorous process of
learning and the shooting andthe capture processes that we go
through, but at the absolutelatest this fall.

Speaker 1 (54:23):
Oh, okay.

Speaker 2 (54:24):
Yeah, that's coming up.
It's close.

Speaker 1 (54:25):
Yeah, I don't even think I'm smart enough to
interview you on any of that.
Is that that's Render?
The name of the company isRender.
Yeah, the name of the company'sname of the company's render
and you've written some books.
Can you just tell me about yourbooks quickly and about your
speaking and coaching?

Speaker 2 (54:39):
my fourth book is coming out this fall, which is
exciting.
The first one was a businesstextbook actually, which is like
business and professionalcommunication in the global
workplace.
It was used at universitiescame out 2009 this was a while
ago when I was teaching atArizona State and then the
Athletes Media Playbook was thesecond one, and that was
something that got me in thedoor at the NFL Super Bowls

(55:00):
player networking event BecauseI didn't have a book on athletes
in sports.
But I was being interviewedabout communication in sport and
the guy's like well, you need abook on this if you want to
speak.
And I'm like, well, I'll getyou one in a month.
And he goes yeah, you do that.
I'll be on stage in New Yorknext year with you.
And then 21 days later he had abook.
No, okay, I'm just blown away.

Speaker 1 (55:18):
I don't even know what to think about you,
honestly.

Speaker 2 (55:20):
In 21 days you had another book.
It's not like the most rivetingthing.
Writing a book is not hard,Selling a book is murder.

Speaker 1 (55:26):
Yeah.

Speaker 2 (55:27):
Selling a book is different.
So this but this was stuff.
I was coaching it already.
I was working with WNBA players, some NFL players, whatever, on
media and communication andgetting their presence out there
, and my first business focusedon that and executives and
organizations, helping themspeak better in public.
So it was relatively easy toput together from that
standpoint, but I sent it tothem.

(55:47):
Yeah, I got to speak at the NewYork Super Bowl player
networking event.
That was like pretty cool Funthing and I'm a tomboy from
Kansas so I was all geeked outabout it.
But my baby, my dynamiccommunication 27 strategies to
grow, lead and manage a businesscame out in 2017.
And I divided it into 27strategies and interviewed 27

(56:08):
different successful businesspeople, one for each of the
strategies along with it.
So it was bringing in a wholecommunity into the book.
So it wasn't just my viewpoints, it wasn't just my teaching, my
expertise, and so we did thatand it worked.

Speaker 1 (56:22):
So what about the Effective Business Communication
for Dummies?
And is this the official ForDummies series?
It is the official For Dummiesbrand which I was super honored
to get this request.

Speaker 2 (56:31):
So it's done.
It's done.
It's in final author reviewright now, and then either
October, november, it comes out.

Speaker 1 (56:38):
Amazing.
Let's talk about future plans.
So what can you tell me aboutfuture plans for the Cycling
Club or the Haunted 100 ride?

Speaker 2 (56:46):
From the Cycling Club side, we continue to welcome
more riders.
We genuinely love it.
We love fresh blood, new faces.
But it's great, the communitykeeps growing and people who
come in and stay are people whocare about others.
They care about the community,they want to be involved and
it's again just such a genuineand loving group of people and

(57:08):
I'm so, so fortunate to havefound it and I'm so fortunate to
call many of them friends andfor people listening that will
join future friends.
So please come be a part of itand when you have ideas and you
want to volunteer and step uplike, we don't turn that down.
We have members doing all typesof things.
We have official gravel ridesat gravel trails, at Holly
Shelter, the game land now thatwe never had before because a

(57:28):
member stepped up and said hey,I want to ride gravel and I'll
lead this effort.
Great, come on down On 100.
This year we have a goal offundraising.
I am really hoping that we willbreak 10,000.
And my board is going to killme when they hear this, because
they're like no that's not whatwe agreed on.
That is my hope.
That was not a goal, but I amputting that out there in the
world and we have a lot morepeople involved this year, from

(57:51):
leading in a volunteerperspective in terms of the
coordination, and it really doestake an army to put on events
like this and people are like,oh, it's just a bike ride.
No, I mean five municipalitiesof insurance and paperwork and
roads and Department ofTransportation and everything
else.
It's a lot and there are a lotof people who volunteer a ton
and too many to name right nowwith the time we have.

(58:13):
But check it out and if youdon't want to ride, just come to
the brewery that Sunday andhave a beer and watch the
craziness unfold.
It's a really, really good timeand it's a really important
thing for our community.
The Sea Turtle Hospital, karenBeasley Center it's an
institution here.
And it's a really, reallyimportant one for a lot of
reasons, and we're just honoredto support it.

Speaker 1 (58:32):
With the Haunted 100, .
Let's say you meet the 160 maxthis year.
Do you see growing that numberin the future?

Speaker 2 (58:40):
If we were to grow, we would have to find a new
venue because of capacity, andwe have talked about that, and,
as of right now, we like thesize, we like the community and
the super close nitness of itall afterwards, where we can fit
everyone in a space.
You never know what will happen, though, and it's not decided
maybe the chairperson, but it'snot decided by me.
It's definitely a fullcommittee vote.

Speaker 1 (59:01):
So, before we wrap up this episode, what is the most
important thing that you wantlisteners to take away from this
conversation?
Either it can be about theSalty Turtle Cycling Club or it
can be about the Haunted 100bike ride or both About cycling
in general.

Speaker 2 (59:21):
Again, 30 seconds and a deep breath can save a life.
Yeah, and I will continue topush all of our riders to be
safe and courteous andconsiderate, and if we can all
just do that, it's just betterfor everyone.
And if you're curious aboutwhat this is like, come out,
even on a sunday after a ridejust to hear the stories of
cyclists.
If you want to get involved,and if you want to get involved
as a cyclist and you want topick this up as a hobby,
genuinely join the Facebookgroup.
Put out in the world where youare right now.

(59:42):
There's going to be someonewho's going to step up and say,
hey, I'm just, you know, Iremember starting at that point
too.
Or hey, we have members thatare working off of recovery from
surgeries right now who arelike, oh my gosh, riding five
miles would be perfect.
Just get involved.

Speaker 1 (59:55):
Let's give out that contact information.
The address for the SaltyTurtle Beer Company is 103
Triton Lane, that's in Surf City, North Carolina, 28445.
And again, that website issaltyturtlebeercom.
The Salty Turtle Cycling Club,as well as the Run Club, can be
found on the Salty Turtlewebsite under the events tab and
you can register for the eventthere.

(01:00:16):
And I will have all of thelinks to the registration pages
the Salty Turtle to theirFacebook pages.
I'll have all of that in theshow notes for you, clickable
for easy access.
So thank you, listeners, forjoining us today and thank you
again, Jill, for being on TTopsel Insider and telling us
all about the Salty TurtleCycling Club and the Haunted 100

(01:00:38):
bike ride.
Thank you so much for having meBeen a pleasure.
Hey, if you enjoyed today'sepisode of Topsel Insider,
please show your support byclicking the follow or subscribe
button on your favorite podcastlistening platform.
You can also follow us onFacebook, Instagram, Twitter and
YouTube.
Please also go totopsoulinsidercom and join our

(01:00:58):
mailing list by clicking on theMake Me a Topsoul Insider button
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While you're there, you canclick the Send Me a Voicemail
button and let me know exactlywhat you're thinking.
Your message just might be onan episode of Topsoul Insider.
You can email me at Krista atTopsailInsidercom, or call or
text me at 910-800-0111.

(01:01:20):
Thank you for listening andsupporting Topsail Insider and
our local businesses andnonprofits.
These are our neighbors and ourfriends and together we build a
mighty and a beautifulcommunity I'm super proud to be
a part of.
I'll see you around Topsail.

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.css-14f5ked{margin:0;word-break:break-word;display:-webkit-box;-webkit-box-orient:vertical;box-orient:vertical;-webkit-line-clamp:2;overflow:hidden;}Salty Turtle Cycling Club and their Haunted Hundred Bike Ride

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.css-r6mb8g{margin:0;word-break:break-word;display:-webkit-box;-webkit-box-orient:vertical;box-orient:vertical;-webkit-line-clamp:1;overflow:hidden;}On Purpose with Jay Shetty

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Salty Turtle Cycling Club and their Haunted Hundred Bike Ride

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