Chat with Ciclismo Classico’s founder Lauren Hefferon

When Outside Magazine recently awarded Lauren Hefferon’s cycling tour through Belgium as “Best Foodie Destination 2014”, we couldn’t wait to find out more about her. Here, we chat with her about being an entrepreneur, balancing career with family and following your passions:

Voyage Vixens: Do you remember the first time you learned to ride a bike?
Lauren Hefferon: I have a cowgirl’s soul. Since I never got a horse, I went for a bike!

VV: How did cycling become such a passion for you?
LH: I followed what I loved: being active and exploration. Luckily, I grew up in Keene, NH – a perfect cycling base with gorgeous routes in every direction. By the time I was a senior in high school, I was a full-blow cycling fanatic and decided that whatever I did in my life, cycling had to be at the hub!

VV: Lol. Pun intended! You studied art in Florence – que bene (Lindsay also studied art in Italy)! What was the highlight?
LH: The highlight of my time in Florence was being a part of a large cycling club that would join other cycling clubs in the area on the weekends for a massive (and super fast) bicycle ride. Each weekend, the rides would follow a gorgeous route into the hills of Tuscany. Within a year of my three-year stay in Florence, I had learned all of the most gorgeous roads.

VV: What motivated you to launch the cycling tour company?
LH: Before I started Ciclismo Classico, I worked as a tour guide for teenage children, leading tours around New England and then a six week bike tour from Rome to London. At that time, no tour company was specializing in Italy so I realized – with Italy’s incredible beauty, culture and varied scenery – there was an opportunity.

VV: Any surprises along the way as an entrepreneur?
LH: The harsh reality that owning your own business can actually result in doing less of what you love to do and more of what you do not enjoy (managing). It can completely take over your life if you don’t get some perspective and balance.

VV: Juggling your cycling business with a family, what do you find are the keys to maintaining balance between motherhood and being a female entrepreneur?

LH: Balancing everything you are passionate about is extremely difficult. Rather than balancing, I find myself trying to hold as many of my passions as I can, but inevitably my arms get tired and I drop a few balls, now and then. I want to be passionate about everything I do, so the real challenge for me is not to feel guilty when I drop a “business” ball, a “family” ball, or a “personal” ball.

VV: We are redefining what it means to be a “vixen” in today’s world — a vixen is a women who passionately goes after her dreams, scared or not, no holds barred — we think you qualify as an honorary voyage vixen! What advice do you have for women who are feeling stuck in their lives, to get un-stuck and go after their dreams?
LH: I advise women to close their eyes and think back to when they were a child…What did they love? What did they dream of? What made them happy? Then go out and pursue it. I try to live by the Rumi quote: “Let yourself be drawn by the stronger pull of that which you truly love.”

VV: How is that mantra playing out in your own life?
LH: I have recently decided to dive headfirst and follow my love of photography and travel. I have launched a new company Travel Vision Journeys  educational and active photography tours that immerse and connect travelers with the world’s most beautiful places through the transformational magic of the photographic experience.

VV: So, it’s a new element of the cycle tours?
LH: It’s an extension of Ciclismo Classico. But instead of exploring via bicycle, with Travel Vision, the camera becomes the means to connect, to create and to learn about the most beautiful places in the world.

VV: We hear the photo tours offer a cool souvenir...
LH: At the end of each trip, Travel Vision Journeys collects the best images and create a stunning photo journal to be shared by all. Tours to come include: Brazil, Peru and Mexico.

VV: What are your top three favorite places in the world to ride?
LH: Italy. Ireland. Norway. But I still have so many places to discover!

VV: What was one of the scariest rides you’ve experienced?
LH: I was on my three-month solo bicycle trip around Europe I was descending down a long hill. I suddenly crossed a railroad track, second later a speeding train passed by. I had just missed being run over by a speeding train. Very humbling.

VV: Did you ever win one of those high school yearbook claims-to-fame, like “most likely to…”?
LH: I was awarded Best Smile and Class Artist. Charm and creativity can take your very far!

VV: Favorite travel quote?
LH: Wherever you go, go with all your heart. -Confucius

VV: Favorite travel-centric book?
LH: Oh, The Places You You’ll Go – Dr. Seuss

VV: How do you define success?
LH: Having total peace of mind and living a creative, generous life, filled with endless curiosity; also, a child-like, playful spirit.

VV: We take beach cruisers for a spin once in awhile, but we’re not sure we could do a week-long cycle tour. One word comes to mind: OUCH! How would we – non-hardcore cyclists – prepare for a trip?
LH: Commit to cycling 3-4 times a week, even if it’s only for an hour. I think forming positive habits is hugely important in life and cycling, as a form of transportation, fitness and a way of life is a tremendously powerful habit that can change your life. Don’t think about the fitness aspect but rather, see bicycling as an opp to be with people and explore where you live. I also encourage people to give me a call so I can coach them individually. One of my greatest pleasures is to inspire others to embrace cycling.

VV: Thanks for joining us Lauren! You definitely inspire us to not only bike more but to zone in even more on the things we love.

Photos courtesy of Lauren.