One of the things you’ve been able to do, that I’ve always wanted for myself, is win Friday night at the OKC Pro-Am. It’s just kind of taken off and we’re doing a lot of really unique and fun things.” So then it’s inviting to the sportbike community and the Harley community. No one’s name is on the event, it’s Edmond Bike Night. So, that got me thinking about a bike night and what that would look like. I hadn’t found a way to give back to the place I actually live. As a guy who’s lived in Edmond for almost ten years now, I’ve never done anything in it. And most bike nights are Harley - driven and dive bars, and I just really like seeing all the different kinds of bikes. There just wasn’t really anything like that in Edmond. I’ve always really liked the coffee and cars events, where it’s all different styles of cars, and people just working on different projects. A lot of businesses run like bike nights where we could come together. ”For me, with the motorcycle community, a lot of that community isn’t focused on fitness and there’s a pretty heavy culture around dive bars in like south OKC & Bethany areas, which are great areas, I just don’t live there. As someone who’s already pretty busy, what enticed you to put something like that together? Tell us a little bit about your passion project, Edmond Bike Night. It’s about where you’ve visited, where you’ve been, and what you’ve seen.” For a lot of people, they share the same sensory experience. Feeling the wind kind of hit you and smelling the bakery. It’s about seeing the world and feeling the cool dip of a hill. That’s really familiar with anyone who likes going on a bike ride with some buddies and you’re getting a chance to talk and hang out, but you don’t want to drive there. They want to ride something, not drive it. But when you get to Harley riding, most of the people who like those kinds of bikes kind of fall into the camp of, they just want to see the world with the wind in their face and they want the thing they’re on to lean when they turn, right. So, I would say, I don’t know as much like the sportbike community or the stunt community. ”Well, like any community, based on how you connect to the style, you’ve going to have a preference, right. As a newish member of the Oklahoma City motorcycle community, how do you think that community differs from the cycling community and what things could the cycling community learn from them? So, kick back, grab your coffee, and let’s get to the bottom of all those nail-biting questions.Īside from cycling, you recently have a newfound passion for a different kind of bike, one with a motor. The important stuff, like drinking coffee and catching up. I appreciated it then, and still feel extremely grateful to the people who helped me through that time, regardless of how big or small their role might have been.īut let’s get down to business. It was a low point in my life and I remember them being encouraging and taking the time to listen to me rant.

It was during the in-between time of losing my job in 2012 and starting DNA Designs. One thing I remember the most about Tony and the other original founders of Bike Lab was going in the shop dropping offer flyers and posters for the Oklahoma City Pro-Am Classic. He’s also someone who’s always open to bouncing ideas off of and I’ve enjoyed watching his business develop over the years. Tony’s a hustler and seems to always be in the loop regarding the latest trends in tech. Despite never racing on the same team, we’ve matured through the road cycling categories together, and both launched our own businesses around the same time. Tony is one of the founders of The Bike Lab here in OKC. We assumed he meant he had another team in mind, we had no idea he was in the midst of launching a new bike shop. He graciously declined the offer and let us know he had something else in the works for the following year. I do remember “recruiting” him during the early days of DNA Racing and quickly realizing we’re about a year too late. I’m not sure the exact year, must have been 2010 or 2011 that I first met this week’s coffee ride guest. We’re gonna throw it back a few years to get this one started.

Tony steward