Award-winning Program has Provided Longstanding Support for Safe, Responsible Recreation and Open, Sustainable Access
Yamaha Bicycles is joining the Yamaha Outdoor Access Initiative (OAI). These are two of our favorite things.
We have worked on the Yamaha OAI program since its inception. For 15 years, we’ve helped shepard this program that has now invested more than $6 million into the mission of promoting safe, responsible recreation, and open, sustainable places to recreate.
Similarly with Yamaha Bicycles, we’ve been there since the beginning. Well, not for the entire 30 years that Yamaha (in Japan) has been making e-bikes, but ever since the Yamaha Bicycles brand was introduced in the United States. Check that; even before the Yamaha Bicycles brand was introduced to the US, because, well, yes, we helped make that announcement.
So getting to bring these two together to further the OAI’s mission is near and dear to our hearts here at SPEC. And besides our own personal appreciation, we see this as a significant step forward for outdoor recreation. To our knowledge, there’s not another brand that is taking on public land access issues with such breadth as Yamaha. Sure, there are bike brands and moto brands helping out, but both — together, combined? This is a first, and only a company like Yamaha that is focused on helping people have “a lifetime of memorable experiences” can cross over these segments.
What might this look like? Well, for one, we were proud to introduce Yamaha to All Kids Bike a few years ago. Since then, Yamaha has invested $200,000 into helping kindergarten kids learn to ride bikes. Interestingly, the stats show that only one in four kids will ride a bike in the US this year. That’s hard to imagine when you spend your life focused on outdoor recreation, but the reality is the great majority of people in this country are more focused on screens than outdoor rec these days. We hope to do our small part in changing that, but we can’t take any credit for that $200k donation. That was all Yamaha. And thanks to Yamaha, thousands of kids who likely otherwise wouldn’t touch a bike will learn to ride a bike in the coming years. That’s a big deal. We’re proud to play a small part in that.
So, here’s a press release that provides an official description of this announcement: https://www.globenewswire.com/news-release/2023/08/30/2734618/0/en/Yamaha-Bicycles-Joins-Yamaha-Outdoor-Access-Initiative.html#:~:text=CYPRESS%2C%20Calif.%2C%20Aug
But feel free to reach out if you have questions about Yamaha OAI, Yamaha Bicycles, or All Kids Bike. We’re always happy to talk about this and share all the details — and how people can get involved.
Thanks for reading. Now, go outside!
Van
