Emphasis on the GO!
You may have noticed a drastic and extended drop of blog posts recently. Since I crashed (which you can read more about in earlier posts) I've been spending a bit of time away from my bike and in perpetuity the cycling community. Despite the lack of bike riding, I have some bike-related news to share. I've been wanting a way to start giving back to my community, so I started a sock company that a portion of its profits to support young athletes. Since I get to choose which athletes they are, I find that normally means the money goes to youth cycling clubs. Here's the story of how that got started.
After crashing on May 17, 2018 I thought I would be completely healed in 3-4 days like the doctor told me. A month later I was hoping it would be another 2-3 weeks like the second doctor told me. Three months after crashing the pain in my shoulder was worse than ever, and I started wondering if I'd ever be able to ride again. I was depressed. I'd moved half way across the country leaving everything I'd ever known and loved to follow a dream that in less than a second had been stripped away from me. I started contemplating the meaning of life.
When I started cycling I made it my goal to get to the highest competitive level I was capable of. Although I still feel like I was prematurely stripped of my potential, I couldn't help but look back at the community that got me as far as I did. Without the borrowed bikes, donated kit, and selfless support that the cycling community gave me I would still be in Winnipeg, likely studying something I don't even like. This amazing community of cyclists had seen potential in me and propelled me to a level that on my own would've been nearly impossible. I wanted to find a way to do that for the next generation of young cyclists.
I started contemplating how I could help, but I was broke and broken, that is until October when ICBC (the provincial insurance company) paid for the bike that I was riding. Initially I thought about just donating the money, but then I thought maybe I should use the money to start a company. If I can use $6000 to start a successful company that's committed to helping young cyclists, not only will I have something to fill my days with that isn't riding my bike, I should be able to grow to a point where I can give more than $6000.
At that point I needed to find something to sell. It didn't take long to pick socks. I'm a sucker for a cool design on a comfortable sock, and I know that most cyclists share my sentiment. It took some time to learn what kind of legal hoops had to be jumped through, and to find a manufacturer that I trusted to produce socks I'm proud to label as my own, but by the end of February I had everything in place to start selling. K Go Cycling was born with two core values. We will only sell high quality products that we are proud to wear ourselves, and this company will always do as much good for young athletes as is financially possible.
In the last six months I've had the opportunity to support my local youth club, the club that helped me get here in the first place, a cyclist who's going to be going to Tokyo for the Olympics, and I've even sponsored a bike race. I was far from a title sponsor, but I'm a 22 year old who knows nothing about how to run a business, what do you expect?
I love the impact this company has on it's community, but a quick workshop on branding made me realize that the name needed some work. As of August 1st, K Go Cycling became Go Apparel. With this shift in name came a shift in purpose as well. Although I am still committed to helping ensure young cyclists aren't hindered financially, the purpose of Go Apparel is to make sure that all kids have the opportunity to go.
If you know of a group that helps kids get into sports, send an email to kelsey@goapparel.ca, or if you need some new socks, and want to support the youth sports (and this blog) head over to goapparel.ca to get some of the best socks you'll ever buy.
Live long and ride hard,
Kelsey
After crashing on May 17, 2018 I thought I would be completely healed in 3-4 days like the doctor told me. A month later I was hoping it would be another 2-3 weeks like the second doctor told me. Three months after crashing the pain in my shoulder was worse than ever, and I started wondering if I'd ever be able to ride again. I was depressed. I'd moved half way across the country leaving everything I'd ever known and loved to follow a dream that in less than a second had been stripped away from me. I started contemplating the meaning of life.When I started cycling I made it my goal to get to the highest competitive level I was capable of. Although I still feel like I was prematurely stripped of my potential, I couldn't help but look back at the community that got me as far as I did. Without the borrowed bikes, donated kit, and selfless support that the cycling community gave me I would still be in Winnipeg, likely studying something I don't even like. This amazing community of cyclists had seen potential in me and propelled me to a level that on my own would've been nearly impossible. I wanted to find a way to do that for the next generation of young cyclists.
I started contemplating how I could help, but I was broke and broken, that is until October when ICBC (the provincial insurance company) paid for the bike that I was riding. Initially I thought about just donating the money, but then I thought maybe I should use the money to start a company. If I can use $6000 to start a successful company that's committed to helping young cyclists, not only will I have something to fill my days with that isn't riding my bike, I should be able to grow to a point where I can give more than $6000.
At that point I needed to find something to sell. It didn't take long to pick socks. I'm a sucker for a cool design on a comfortable sock, and I know that most cyclists share my sentiment. It took some time to learn what kind of legal hoops had to be jumped through, and to find a manufacturer that I trusted to produce socks I'm proud to label as my own, but by the end of February I had everything in place to start selling. K Go Cycling was born with two core values. We will only sell high quality products that we are proud to wear ourselves, and this company will always do as much good for young athletes as is financially possible.In the last six months I've had the opportunity to support my local youth club, the club that helped me get here in the first place, a cyclist who's going to be going to Tokyo for the Olympics, and I've even sponsored a bike race. I was far from a title sponsor, but I'm a 22 year old who knows nothing about how to run a business, what do you expect?
I love the impact this company has on it's community, but a quick workshop on branding made me realize that the name needed some work. As of August 1st, K Go Cycling became Go Apparel. With this shift in name came a shift in purpose as well. Although I am still committed to helping ensure young cyclists aren't hindered financially, the purpose of Go Apparel is to make sure that all kids have the opportunity to go.
If you know of a group that helps kids get into sports, send an email to kelsey@goapparel.ca, or if you need some new socks, and want to support the youth sports (and this blog) head over to goapparel.ca to get some of the best socks you'll ever buy.
Live long and ride hard,
Kelsey
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