“Working In The City” is The San Diego Sun’s feature Q&A series with downtown San Diego business operators. It’s a way to get to know the city by meeting the people who work here. This is the 18th in an ongoing series.
Company: Social Cycle (based in downtown San Diego)
What happens here: We provide party bike tours in San Diego (as well as Palm Springs and Santa Barbara). Our pedal-powered bikes take you and your crew on a fun-filled ride to the best bars, breweries and scenic spots. We combine music, drinks and great vibes. Whether it’s a birthday bash, bachelor(ette) party or just a good excuse to hit the town, we bring the fun.
Owner/Manager: Laura Rovick has lived in San Diego for a quarter of a century, including 21 years in Little Italy. The business is 13.5 years old and she runs it from home. It’s a short, two-mile commute to the company’s main warehouse in East Village.
Employees: 20. They are the backbone of the company and the ones in direct contact with customers. We have employees that have been with us for more than 10 years.
Origin story: In 2011, it was time to venture out on my own with a business. My sister said, “Why don’t you call those crazy bike guys in Minnesota you’re always talking about?” Those “crazy bike guys” were the founders of Pedal Pub, a company based in my hometown of Minneapolis. I picked up the phone and one of the business partners happened to be in San Diego that very day. We met up for a beer, I learned about the business, threw caution to the wind and the rest is history.
Big events: We’ve had buyouts during Comic-Con and we’ve worked with crews from ABC, NBC and SyFy on really neat marketing activations. Our bikes have been turned into mobile screening rooms and trivia trolleys with celebrity hosts.
Celebrity sightings: Tommy Lee, LMFAO, Orlando Jones, former Mayor Jerry Sanders, The cast of MTV’s Jersey Shore, Bravo’s Real Housewives, and lots of pro football and baseball players.
Best aspects of working downtown: Being outside in the fresh, sunny San Diego air, music pumping from our speakers, with rad customers who are always in a good mood, laughing and happy.
Most surprising part of working downtown: All the changes over the years. It’s sad to see when businesses close, but hopeful when new ones open. We love showcasing what’s new and cool in San Diego.
Funniest downtown work memory: I could write a book on all the shenanigans that have gone on. One corporate group rented out all five of our San Diego bikes and chased each other through downtown. They brought SuperSoaker water guns to spray each other along the way.
Scariest downtown work memory: A building fire. I was in Balboa Park at the time and saw the smoke coming from the general location of our warehouse. I raced down there. Luckily, it was the building across the street and no one was hurt.
Homelessness: It’s been extremely challenging. Especially in 2020 and during the pandemic when things spiraled out of control – and the police were told by the mayor not to do anything about it (several officers told me this). We see the encampments, urine and feces on sidewalks, drug paraphernalia, mental health issues and have had our garage doors blocked so we couldn’t access our vehicles. We no longer have our customers meet us at our warehouse – we don’t want that to be their first impression of our business.
Parking: It can be an issue, especially during Padres games and special events at Petco Park. We encourage customers to take Uber/Lyft downtown so they can imbibe while being safe.
Business friendliness of the city, on a scale of 1 (easiest) to 10 (hardest): Starting out was extremely difficult. We were the first company to bring in this type of business There were no laws or precedents. Trying to navigate the city was difficult. Every department points fingers at another (mayor’s office, city council, transportation department, SDPD). Once we were able to jump through all the hoops, for the most part, it has been smooth sailing.
Favorite downtown business that isn’t yours: I love owners Steph and Kenny Lovi of Knotty Barrel and Mina Desiderio of The Local. They’ve poured their hearts and souls into great establishments that employ fantastic people, serve some of the best upscale bar food and take great care of their guests.
Best insider tip for running a downtown SD business: Things are still tough and many small businesses still haven’t recovered from Covid. I’d make sure you really have a niche and stand out in your industry so you can be successful for years to come. SDSun
