Down to Ride (DTR) in Royal Oak, an app that allows cyclists to discover rides and organize with their friends, launched their latest update with new looks, state map features, and social functionality, available on both Android and iOS.
The update comes after a July 2020 launch, a year in which a record number of new bikes were sold, and an estimated one in three Americans rode a bike according to a poll by the World Cycling Center. DTR has doubled the size of their team, including hiring Connor Grant as chief marketing officer.
Along with internal growth, the company has seen support from the outside, completing a seed funding round by Detroit Venture Partners, a VC Firm, and Invest Detroit, a lender and investor. They also have secured a partnership with the Iceman Cometh Mountain Bike Race.
“We are thrilled to back the Down to Ride team on their mission to make cycling more social, inclusive, and accessible,” says Jared Stasik a partner at Detroit Venture Partners. “This team is the latest in a recent wave of serial entrepreneurs choosing to build their next companies in Detroit.”
Grant says, “There’s a huge opportunity to help riders keep pedaling in 2021, that excites us. From e-bikes to beach cruisers to gravel bikes, we are in the business of getting more butts on saddles. To us, it’s more important who you ride with than how fast you ride.”
The Iceman Cometh Mountain Bike Race is an annual event hosted by Kalamazoo-based Bell’s Brewery in which bikers race 30 miles in harsh conditions from the Kalkaska Airport to the Timber Ridge RV and Recreation Resort in Traverse City. The race was cancelled in 2020 for the first time since it started in 1990 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“It’s been a tough year for our riders and one of our goals for this year’s race is to bring people together, and not just on race day,” said Cody Sovis, race director of the Iceman. “Organizing safe, smart, and local rides can be time-consuming, and a tool like Down to Ride just makes a lot of sense, especially right now.”
DTR is available now in the US and Canada. Click here to download the free DTR app for Android and iOS.
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