B is for Bentonville and Bentonville is for biking. When we started planning the Kids and Pets Issue, one story stood out right away — a Bentonville-based brand that’s helping the next generation of riders get rolling. Scott and Jannine Fitzgerald’s Buddy Pegs and Pedal Kids USA started out as a media solution for getting kids on bikes, but as their book “B is for Bicycles” reached more families across the country, they quickly discovered parents, like them, needed practical programming for raising riders. We connected with Scott to learn more about how Buddy Pegs and Pedal Kids USA came to be.
Tell us more about your background and how Buddy Pegs/Pedal Kids came to be.
I started a one-man bike repair shop in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, the same summer I started dating my wife. That turned into a large-scale, full-service bike shop that we built together for over 15 years called Fitzgerald’s Bicycles. Through that, I got really involved in the community and ended up becoming mayor of Victor, Idaho, which is an adjacent community to Jackson Hole. As mayor, I was thinking about how healthy communities develop and realized that bikes play a central role. When we had our son, we noticed there was a lack of support for getting kids on bikes, specifically media. So, we wrote a children’s book called, “B is for Bicycles” to address that issue and started a new company around that book called Buddy Pegs. When we started to sell that book, we did it through the bike industry at festivals, book shows, and races. We started talking to more parents, and we realized they were struggling with teaching their kids how to ride, so we started to sketch out some curriculum and activations as a companion piece to our “Raise Riders” book tour.
Having experienced life in other outdoorsy areas of the country, what do you feel makes Bentonville stand out?
Two things: Obviously, the investments in outdoor rec lifestyle. But more than money, it’s the vision. Money makes things happen faster, but without vision things won’t happen at all. There’s a clear vision about what type of community is going to create a healthy lifestyle for its residents. My hope is that Bentonville becomes a model that can be replicated elsewhere and then, collectively, we can become a healthy world.
Tell us how biking has impacted your own family dynamics.
We are happier as a family when we’re outside. You can’t hold a phone when you’re holding handlebars. Bikes give us an opportunity to build community. It’s important for communities to get to know each other and engage as a broad community, developing humanity that makes us all tick.
Why do you think NWA families are choosing to send their children to Pedal Kids versus other summer programs?
We focus on bike skills plus life skills. We want kids to develop the fundamental tools they’ll need to be successful, happy adults. We train our coaches to focus on being present, being patient, and being stoked. We use that word - S.T.O.K.E. - as an acronym for social and emotional learning: Stewardship, Teamwork, Ownership, Kindness, Empathy.
Have you experienced any surprises or challenges with the development of Buddy Pegs and Pedal Kids?
We did not expect a pandemic. That was a challenge. But it led to the physical location we have now. In 2020, we didn’t have a place to run our programs anymore, but parents were reaching out because we could still ride socially distant outdoors and they were looking for things for their kids to do. So we decided to rent our current location so parents could meet and ride from there. We decided to open the bike shop as a companion piece and offer 360 degrees of support.
The instructors seem to be a priceless ingredient to Pedal Kids mojo - Tell us about your selection process.
Our team is amazing. We look for incredible human beings first, and bike skills second. It’s about hiring people who care about the future development of our children.
The app is also an exciting development - When did this launch, and how has has it impacted the family experience with Pedal Kids?
January of this year, we wanted to better support both the families in our programs and the families who aren’t. The app offers tips and advice on how to move kids through their journey, and coaches can communicate through the app so parents get direct feedback. We get to share what we do in Bentonville and export that around the world.
Scott Fitzgerald
CEO, Pedal Kids USA & Buddy Pegs NWA
Working to spark a new era of connection, wellness, and exploration through bicycles, Pedal Kids USA champions the joyful revolutions of bicycle pedals as a path to wellness, connection, and discovery. Through accessible bicycle programming and summer camps, its mission is to transform families and communities, one pedal stroke at a time.
www.PedalKids.com | @PedalKidsUSA
Buddy Pegs NWA is a family-friendly bike shop with equipment rentals for every skill level, plus safety gear and apparel for each member of the family at every phase of their cycling journey. Buddy Pegs NWA also functions as a home base for Pedal Kids' NWA summer camps.
www.BuddyPegs.com
3605 NW Wishing Springs Rd.
Bentonville, AR
We wrote a children’s book called, “B is for Bicycles,” and started a new company around that book called Buddy Pegs.