Kris Anderson’s Psych Bike focuses on mental health and community

By Kai Caddy

How did Psych Bike start?
Psych Bike started by doing therapy outside — walking around on the trails doing that. And then it turned into doing it on bikes with three or four people. I’ve always had this dream of getting to work and ride a bike at the same time. It kind of picked up a little bit of traction. This was something we just did on the side, but when we went into private practice, we just full-on incorporated it. Psych Bike got its start that way. It turned into people asking, “Do you have a bike?” And then it turned into, “can you work on my bike?” Then it was, “I need a bike.” So then the bike shop started.

How is the mental fitness training you offer different from traditional therapy?
There’s this thing where when you do therapy like this (face-to-face) it’s like you’re being interrogated. When you do therapy shoulder to shoulder, when you do it with an activity, it’s just different, people talk differently. It’s a different kind of thing. When you’re doing this (face-to-face), it can get pretty intimidating. But when you’re doing shoulder to shoulder and you’re on a bike or you’re walking down a trail, it’s a completely different experience. And being outside, it just changes everything.

What changed the cycling culture in Harrison?
We needed trails. So basically we were going to Ponca, we were going to Eureka Springs. We were going to Branson, and we would do weekend trips with folks. We would go to Bentonville, and we’d get an Airbnb. We’d just ride and talk. No one was coming here to ride. They were coming here to go to Howler. They were coming here to go to the Buffalo Outdoor Center and coming here to go to Horseshoe Canyon Ranch, coming here to go to Bentonville. And they’d come through, “Oh you’re the closest shop,” they’d stop and then they’d go. But nobody was staying here. That’s when talking about building trails in Harrison came about.

“When a NICA race comes to Harrison, that’s 800 to 1,000 kids plus their families. That’s a huge economic impact for this little city. We sold out almost all of the hotel rooms.” 

How did the NICA team, the Buffalo Riders, come about?
Part of getting funding for the trails was having a NICA team. They were looking for somebody to start the team. Chris Coleman and Chris Ross invited me to come to a HEART (Harrison Exercise, Adventure, and Recreational Trail Committee) community meeting to talk about this. They knew about the bike shop. They knew about the BMX team, and they were like, “Would you be interested in doing this?”

I don’t even think they got the whole question out before I was like, “yes.” I had a conversation with my wife and she was OK with dedicating time and resources to something like this. So, in 2023, I was the one who said, “Let’s shoot for 2024.” And literally two months later, we had a NICA team. We had sponsors, we had a logo. Within two months, we had a dang NICA team. We had a try-it-out day and a bunch of kids showed up.

I think we had around 10 NICA students for the first year. We had the time trial here that first year, it was an overwhelming success. One of the things I’m proud to say when it comes to NICA is the way that our community showed up to volunteer — they had to turn away volunteers at our NICA event. The city was so behind it. There were people that showed up to volunteer that had nothing to do with us, had nothing to do with the team. They just saw the thing to volunteer and came to help.

When a NICA race comes to Harrison, that’s 800 to 1,000 kids plus their families. That’s a huge economic impact for this little city. We sold out almost all of the hotel rooms. It’s not the same when NICA goes to Fayetteville. But if you come into a small community like this, it makes a difference..

What role does the shop play with the team?
When Terry Coddington was talking to me about NICA, he called it youth development on two wheels, that was all he had to say. He wasn’t talking about winning races. He was talking about youth development, about being good human beings. He said you don’t need coaches that can ride bikes. You need coaches that are good human beings. So I was hooked from moment one. The bike shop is very much a part of the NICA team. It’s kind of a central hub. It’s a recruiting place. It’s a place where they come to meet. It’s exactly what we want it to be.

You can kind of tell I don’t separate the bike shop and the team, because they’re very connected. We are a composite team, so we’re totally at the whim of our sponsors. I don’t really have to hit the road and ask for sponsorships. We have the same sponsors from the first year. They re-up every year. And I have new people that have reached out.

“When Terry Coddington was talking to me about NICA, he called it youth development on two wheels, that was all he had to say. He wasn’t talking about winning races. He was talking about youth development, about being good human beings.”

What’s your goal with the shop?
I’m an old BMX guy. I grew up in Pine Bluff. There was a guy in Pine Bluff, his name’s Tony Carew, and he’s the bike guy in Pine Bluff. For any Gen Xer or my age, everybody knows Tony Carew. And he built a BMX track in his yard. Pine Bluff had a pretty hot skateboarding and BMX scene in the ’80s. We had a bike shop in town and it was called Skate and Surf Connection. It was a place where we hung out — where we drooled over the stuff that was in the shop. They would put on competitions and races. So there was a nice culture in Pine Bluff when I was a kid.

So, with Psych Bike, I try to make the bike shop like that for the riders in town. I try to make it a safe space, try to make a place where they can hang out. That’s why we’re getting a bigger spot because there’s just no room in that one we’re in right now.

What’s the Harrison cycling community like now?
The cycling community has grown. We’re not really catering to the established riders. They’ll bring their bikes in for service, most definitely. But our little community group rides, that’s not even a warm-up for the experienced riders. We do a little three-mile ride on the weekends. It’s about attracting people to cycling that didn’t do it before. These are people getting on bikes for the first time and mostly a lot of kids.

There’s a crossover into hunting and fishing with e-bikes because they used them for hunting. They’re quieter than a four-wheeler. We got to set up at this outdoor expo and I showed up at this thing with a bunch of camo Handup gear, and folks loved it. But those e-bikes for hunting are a big crossover. I sell a lot of e-bikes to hunters.

The e-bikes are very controversial. But they’re also a crossover for connecting people to get on bikes.

What’s the future of Psych Bike hold?
The future is next door — more space. When I get the Buffalo Riders in here for a clinic, you see how cramped it is. The future is these trails.

The trail building is on autopilot. We just step back and just let it happen. So the future is now focusing on the mental fitness portion of this bike shop and trying to get as many people involved, practicing mental fitness. Gratitude, for example, is a skill we learn. One of the mental fitness skills that we teach is learning to practice gratitude, and it’s finding something that you’re grateful for every day. 

“We do a little three-mile rides. 
It’s about attracting people to cycling that didn’t do it before. These are people getting on bikes for the first time and mostly a lot of kids .”