Familiar Faces on Calgary Bike Scene Launch Bici Bucerias Touring Company Calgary Herald
go to original January 22, 2014

Bici Bucerias, a bicycle touring company in Mexico run by two former Calgarians, Joel and Jillian Goralski, who were heavily involved in Calgary's cycling scene.

Every harried parent in the midst of a House Hunters International winter TV marathon has likely dreamed about relocating somewhere exotic and tropical.

Out on a ride with Bici Bucerias

So did Joel and Jillian Goralski, a Calgary couple kept busy with their homebuilding company, two preteen children and their involvement in Calgary’s amateur cycling community. Unlike most of those dreamers, however, last year they did it. The family picked up and moved to Mexico, and has turned their love of cycling into a way of making a living.

The pair, who for years sponsored amateur bike races such as the Tour de Bowness through their company Niklas Group, is now operating Bici Bucerias, offering bicycle tours to tourists and locals out of their home near Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, one of the country’s most popular and picturesque tourist spots.

Looking tanned and relaxed on a video chat with me last week from Mexico, the couple said they aren’t exactly living a life of leisure —  they are still operating their Calgary business as well as their new bike-touring company while their kids attend a Mexican school — but are trying to slow their life down and enjoy things a bit more. Regular bike rides in a subtropical countryside probably helps.

“Life is easier — the weather facilitates a much slower pace — but we still have lots to fill up our days,” Jillian said.

That much is obvious. Since starting their company last year, they’ve had a steady stream of tourists and locals enjoying their day- and week-long tours through the Riviera Nayarit region, an area known to millions of sun-seeking Canadians who flock there every year.

Joel, an avid cyclist since his days in Calgary, says the riding in the area is great. The roads are better than most people expect, with tamer traffic than back home and varied terrain that can accommodate cyclists of all types. He says motorists, especially in more rural areas, tend to be very respectful of cyclists, often pulling over completely to let groups of people on bikes pass.

“People are surprised how nice and friendly everybody is here. If we have a breakdown, there’s always someone who has stopped to help,” Joel said. “It seems, especially in the rural areas, people are still connected to bikes as a form of transportation . . . so they respect them.” Then, with a laugh, he adds: “You don’t see that in Springbank.”

“We could be a lot more aggressive in marketing, but one of the goals was to slow down a bit when we came here,” Joel said. “I love cycling, but I don’t want it to become a job where I get tired of cycling.”

We are located at Lazaro Cardenas #32 in Bucerias. You can find us right across the street from the Royal Decameron Hotel between Las Palmas and Fibba. For more information, please visit Bici Bucerias.