RTÉ saddles up with Westport tour company

RTÉ saddles up with Westport tour company


A WESTPORT-based entrepreneur will feature on RTE’s rural enterprise show ‘Higher Ground’ on Wednesday.
Paul Harman set up Electric Escapes in Westport, which runs guided cycling tours around Mayo including a route to Croagh Patrick. Why electric? Well let’s put it this way – you won’t break a sweat trying to peddle these bicycles.
Electric Escapes opens up the joys of cycling to people who could be put off by the physical demands of ordinary push bikes. With electric bikes, riders can immerse themselves in the scenery of the west in an ‘up-close-and-personal’, slow-paced way that is also environmentally friendly.   
“My idea is to pull together my experiences, smiles and memories, of travelling, what I enjoyed and pass them on in the form of Electric Escapes. My best memories and trips were when I didn’t get to where I started out to go to. My enjoyment was being wherever I was at the time,” stated Mr Harman.
Higher Ground will feature Mr Harman getting business advice from experts Paul McCarthy and Peter Young, who mentor him in sales, marketing, finances and negotiating with suppliers and tour operators. Peter Young is best known for his ‘On & Off the Farm’ pages in the Irish Farmers Journal in which he writes weekly on innovation and starting businesses in rural Ireland, while Paul McCarthy is a Rural Business Specialist with Teagasc and has organised events and written extensively on rural business and rural entrepreneurship. He is a regular contributor on national radio and print media.
The show will be broadcast on Wednesday, August 4, on RTE One at 8pm.
As with the  county town of Castlebar cycling has taken off big-time in Westport and local bike suppliers have told The Mayo News they have never been so busy.