Corporate Spotlight: Tripsite.com

September 30, 2015

This post is part of a series spotlighting Adventure Cycling's Corporate Members. These companies support our mission and programs and do some cool stuff of their own. We decided to ask them some questions and, as a result, have learned a few interesting things about our supporters that we'd like to share with you. The answers below are direct from the companies. We hope that this gives you the chance to get to know them a little better, too. For this post, Corporate Member, Tripsite.com, shares with us a bit about their philosophy, their passion for cycling, and why they support Adventure Cycling Association.

Tell us a little bit about your company and it’s history.

Tripsite was founded in 1999 by the van den Hengel family and is still owned and operated by the same family! Fueled by a passion for cycling, the journey began in the spare bedroom of the family home, and sixteen years later has grown into an international company.

We have deep European roots, having been born and raised in Holland, and have had the pleasure of experiencing much of Europe over the years via bicycle, boat, and train. Now the passion and vision has taken us beyond Europe as well and we constantly look for new and exciting destinations to offer. We love cycling!

What services or products do you provide for bicycle tourists?

Tripsite is a marketplace for discerning cyclists offering a wide variety of bike tours. We especially pride ourselves on our portfolio of bike and boat tours that continues to expand each year as we find new boats and new routes. Our wonderful local operators provide amazing vacations. Many of them don’t have the influence to gain visibility for their quality products. We do. We regularly audit our tours using specific protocols and take client feedback very seriously. If a particular tour doesn’t measure up to our standards, we will not offer it! If an operator fails to maintain quality, we remove the tour from our program.

Why do you support Adventure Cycling through corporate membership?

As life long cyclists, we think what Adventure Cycling is doing is fantastic! We feel that education is the key to inspire and empower people to travel by bicycle and Adventure Cycling is a wonderful source of information and resources.

What are your favorite things going on in cycling right now?

The increasing awareness that cycling is getting in many parts of the world—particularly in the US—is fantastic. The founders of Tripsite are all Dutch natives so for us the bike has always been an integral part of our lives. The Netherlands has a massive cycling infrastructure called the fietsroutenetwerk, consisting of junctions and numbers that links the entire country. Though the US still has a long way to go in that respect, it’s definitely headed in the right direction. Adventure Cycling has had an impressive impact in that area!

Anna Z., lives in Missoula, MT, on her recent Jasper to Banff adventure!

Where would you like to see cycling in America in five years?

Advancement, awareness, education, and involvement in cycling. More bike lanes, fewer cars and like the Dutch, for each individual to own a bike and ride extensively in a cycle friendly environment.

What is your favorite service or program that Adventure Cycling offers?

We love that Adventure Cycling promotes cycling as a way of life. When we visited the headquarters in Missoula, the energy and excitement were contagious. We could feel the cycling camaraderie! Once people are inspired to cycle, they will become involved to empower others to cycle.

If your headquarters staff could relocate to any place in the world, where would they choose?

We think Missoula, MT is pretty great! In fact, we already have an office there. Currently, we have people and/or an office, in Pennsylvania (our headquarters), Missoula, MT, San Francisco, CA, Gori, Georgia (the country), Munich, Germany, and seasonally in Recife, Brazil as well. Our staff is distributed all over and very mobile. The definition of a headquarters is changing everyday! At this point, our company is incredibly virtual.

As your company grows, have you had mainly tailwinds, headwinds or crosswinds? Explain.

Any company that grows is going to have a mixture of all winds. That said, all of the ups and downs have been dealt with exceptionally well. We have a very tight knit staff that takes pride in their work, our company, and what we provide to our customers.

Has any of your staff ridden Adventure Cycling’s mapped routes? If so, which ones?

No, but we should sooner rather than later!

Tripsite.com founder, Hennie posing for a picture in Riccione while cycing in Italy!

What do you like best about the magazine?

The stories that inspire and motivate us to travel by bicycle, of course! Each story is captivating and leaves us yearning for adventure and the open road!

What cycling related benefits do you offer your staff?

All of our staff typically take one of our trips every year. Besides being a perk, it allows us to evaluate new tours, personally meet our operators, and keep tabs on existing products. We love to get together in NYC to do the Five Boro Bike Tour each year and cycle the city streets. Of course, having dinner in the city is wonderful as well!

Is there anything else about your company that you really want to share with our readers?

We take great pride in organizing and planning our trips for our clients. Most of our loyal clients are considered a part of our extended Tripsite family. We would love to help you organize the cycling vacation of a lifetime!

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