Get Outside. Touch Grass. Live a Little.

Making Nature More Accessible with Eventure

By Jordan Staggs | Photos by STM Photography

The smell of a freshly brewed honey cinnamon latte mingles with the soft hum of music and the sight of shiny rows of electric bicycles lining the sales floor and walls of Eventure Florida’s new showroom and Waterborne Coffee shop in Panama City Beach. From stand-up paddleboards to surfboards, bicycles, skateboards, e-foils, and more, Pedego 30A founder Jason Medina and his business partner, Matt Cassidy, rebranded Medina’s Pedego shop in WaterColor as Eventure Florida about a year ago. The expansion from being a dedicated e-bike shop to offering a range of outdoor adventure gear and e-bike tours in the Scenic Highway 30-A area was the first step toward becoming Northwest Florida’s adventure experts. The new PCB location, about eighteen miles east, offers even more opportunities.

“The shop is brand new, and we’re really excited to be out here,” Medina shares. “I’ve been kind of looking at this spot for a long time, or at least Panama City Beach, because there really isn’t anybody else doing bikes or anything as we do, so we’re excited to be out here.”

Eventure’s new location in Panama City Beach, Florida is an official Velotric showcase store.

Panama City Beach is seeing significant growth and infrastructure additions, so Eventure hopes to grow and educate the community alongside it, he says. “We’re hoping to offer all kinds of ways to get people outside, touch more grass, get up and get moving—you know, that kind of thing. That’s our bigger focus, helping the community discover the beautiful landscape we live in and improve their health along the way.”

With around 10 e-bike brands at the WaterColor location and a variety of Velotric e-bikes at the PCB location, designated as a Velotric showcase store, the Eventure team is equipped to help any customer find their perfect fit. One of their favorite parts of the job is getting customers on an e-bike for the first time, Medina admits. While some cycling purists might consider an e-bike, with its pedal-assisted motor, as “cheating,” Eventure’s mission is to get people moving however they can. “It’s a good way to get around,” Medina continues. “We call the e-bike the ‘equalizer bike.’ You don’t have to be a heavy cyclist; you can just go out for the day, even if you haven’t ridden in months, and jump on your e-bike and enjoy it for a long, long ride. People are riding further and doing more on them than ever before. You can actually get more exercise, because you’re on it more. You ride further, you ride longer.”

Particularly since the pandemic, the popularity of e-bikes has risen exponentially in places like Scenic Highway 30-A, where bike paths are abundant, and in bigger cities with bike lanes built into the street. Medina says he believes infrastructure will continue to improve as more people see e-bikes as a primary mode of transportation and as more education around them is cultivated—something the Eventure team is actively working on in Panama City Beach.

“There’s some negativity coming out right now, and it’s usually from a lack of education. You’ve got the next level up from e-bikes: these e-motos that are starting to show up. And essentially, we just have to be cautious, because that’s not an e-bike. Most of those don’t have pedals. They look like motorcycles because they are motorcycles—they can do 50 to 70 miles an hour. And when you have people ripping down the bike path on those, it makes others say things like ‘These e-bikes are dangerous.’ But that’s not an e-bike. That’s an e-moto.”

While there are no e-moto retailers in the area, Medina says people are ordering them online. E-bikes, by comparison, typically top out at 20 to 28 miles per hour (with a speed limit of 20 mph on the bike path) and require the rider to pedal at least occasionally to keep the motor running. Medina and Cassidy hope to work with local government agencies to ensure regulations against e-motos do not lead to a blanket ban on e-bikes in certain areas as well. They hope that setting a speed limit or other regulation will still allow those who use their e-bikes for exercise or transportation to ride safely on the bike path. Making those types of safety changes in the community depends upon education and letting people get firsthand experience.

Waterborne Coffee is the new full-service coffee shop inside Eventure PCB. | Photo by Madra McDonald

“We’re here to help. A lot of people test ride, and they’re shocked at how easy it is to ride, but also that it’s not like an e-moto. It requires effort. And, usually, they decide to buy from us as opposed to buying online,” Medina shares. “You’re typically not saving any money buying online, and you’re getting something that may or may not work for you, that you may have to assemble yourself. When you come and support a local business, we can get you the perfect bike at the same price, already assembled correctly and safe to ride. And then we’ve got your back for service, gear, and all those kinds of things.”

E-bike tours have become extremely popular since Pedego 30A began offering them, and now Eventure has started offering them as well. It’s a perfect way to try an e-bike for the first time or to meet new people by joining a community tour. They can be booked through Eventure, and e-bike rentals by the day or week are also available, with delivery options for Santa Rosa Beach, Seaside, WaterColor, Grayton Beach, and surrounding areas.

And e-bikes are just the beginning of what Eventure offers. Stand-up paddleboarding is another hugely popular pastime for locals and tourists alike in Northwest Florida, whether they want to get out on the Gulf or explore the rare coastal dune lakes and crystal clear springs. E-paddleboards have also hit the market, with a gentle motorized assist that can be controlled from your paddle, allowing beginners to keep up and even seasoned paddleboarders to go farther and paddle longer, navigate stronger currents, and have fun while enjoying a great workout in nature.

Matt Cassidy is Eventure’s resident surf guru, having worked in the industry for many years before joining Eventure. One of his first jobs was at Sockeyes Beach & Sport, a favorite surf shop in Destin, Florida, that has since closed. He is now working with the city of Panama City Beach to arrange surf lessons through Eventure and even hopes to host a tournament this summer. Medina, meanwhile, says kiteboarding is his favorite and plans to integrate it into Eventure’s lineup soon, expanding their reach as the premier outdoor adventure experts in the area. 

But first, coffee. Opening Waterborne Coffee inside Eventure’s PCB location stemmed from working on the building every day for months and noticing a lack of great, accessible coffee options on the city’s west end. Both self-ascribed “coffee fanatics,” Medina and Cassidy decided that rather than having just a coffee pot in the office, they’d add another layer to the shop, and Waterborne Coffee came to life. The full-service coffee bar offers an array of coffee and espresso drinks, pastries, and café seating within the store.

From espresso to e-bikes, those who pop into Eventure can explore the new space, browse cycling and skateboard gear, plus coolers, tumblers, and other beach accessories, then take a Velotric for a test drive with the guidance of the Eventure team. Their level of service and knowledge, plus assistance with repairs for not only bikes but also paddleboards and more, is quickly making Eventure a go-to for outdoor adventure sports on 30-A, in PCB, and beyond.

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Visit Eventure PCB and Waterborne Coffee at 19201 Panama City Beach Parkway (Highway 98) on the west end in PCB, or visit EventureFlorida.com and WaterborneCoffee.com to learn more.