We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Nikola Bulajic. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Nikola below.
Nikola, appreciate you joining us today. We’d love to have you retell us the story behind how you came up with the idea for your business, I think our audience would really enjoy hearing the backstory.
During my undergraduate studies year abroad in Brazil, my mother was diagnosed with cancer, so I took a year off after returning to help her heal. When she was fully recuperated, I had a few months to fill before classes began so I purchased a cheap motorcycle, packed it with a tent and a few essentials, and hit the open road in the direction of whichever horizon happened to be the brightest each morning. The goal was to roam the country visiting as many national parks as possible, keeping to a minimal budget which forced a level of profound focus and self-sufficiency and allowed me to exercise and further develop my passions for travel, motorcycling, writing, photography, and camping.
So in 2011, I spent about four months and put 26,000 miles in the mirrors as I slowly got to know and fall in love with our beautiful country, in what I named The Pegasus Project – a solo world tour for the American Cancer Society. The following summer, I shipped my bike to Europe and did much of the same, learning to be self-sufficient and quite capable in this new passion of solo motorcycle adventure touring. That summer, I ended up reuniting with a young lady I met briefly in an elevator in Rio who shares a similar love for travel, and a few months later, we were married – we now have a toddler which has been a wild adventure. Much like the early settlers of times past, as with the founders of our great city such as Horton and Father Junipero Serra, along with the native local Kumeyaay people well before them, I moved to San Diego in 2014 in search of a better life which our great city has generously provided. Meditating one afternoon on the cliffs above Black’s Beach as the sunset behind the horizon about how to share my passion for motorcycle travel with locals and tourists alike, I created Pegasus Sidecar Tours – private, narrated city tours on the most advanced motorcycles and locally produced two person sidecars, cruising lazily along the coast exemplifying the idyllic SoCal lifestyle.
Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers
Pegasus Sidecar Tours offers private, narrated city tours in the most unique and exciting way imaginable – on a luxurious, American made motorcycle with a sidecar. We cruise the coast lazily while the guide (myself) narrates in the background. San Diego being the birth of California, amazing history is present on virtually every corner. Our excellent weather and scenic surroundings just add to the experience. Our tours are personalized and customized to each individual or group according to their personal desires and expectations. We are also happy to accommodate pets because as San Diegans know best, life is better with a furry friend by your side! I take my guests to places they would likely never discover on their own or through other group tours, and the ride itself along with the equipment is part of the experience. We can fit up to three passengers – two in the spacious sidecar and one behind the guide, and each receives and HD Bluetooth helmet so that we can all communicate. We also offer romantic picnics by the beach considering in our busy, modern lifestyles, the typical wicker basket picnic seems to have become a rare artifact from the past.
We are most proud of creating a company that aims towards excellence in all respects – our personalized attention to detail has customers pleasantly surprised – this being such a novel entrant to the tourism industry, most folks don’t exactly know what to expect, and even locals learn a ton and see their city in a new light. And it all happens in an exciting and novel way. What sets us apart from other tour companies is that we are the first and only ones to bring this idea to San Diego, and we are the only sidecar tour company in the world to combine the most luxurious motorcycle with the largest, most advanced and comfortable sidecar on the market – both made by American Workers in Ohio and California, while stimulating the local economy through local partnerships we are always looking to expand. Many visitors often have only one day or one chance to get to know our city – my goal is that Pegasus Sidecar Tours is simply the best way possible to use that precious time – we take this, as well as representing our city properly, extremely seriously, and are honored for the opportunity to do so.
I also offer private guided motorcycle tours, training, and trip planning and assistance services for the motorcycling community via the parent company, Pegasus Motorcycle Tours & Consulting.
Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?
Save for the forced pandemic hiatus, overall the road has been challenging but gratifying. Naturally, starting a small business immediately after graduating has been a challenge. But fortunately the life on the road followed by two years of motorhome living in Michigan has made me a man of modest desires and humble needs. Navigating the complex local bureaucracy of starting a whole new business concept has also been challenging, but the extremely positive reactions to our tours has given me so much energy to push forward. My former experience of living abroad and working as a tour guide and the natural evolution of The Pegasus Project into Pegasus Sidecar Tours has made this experience very exciting. Another main difficulty has been navigating the bureaucratic jungle of California’s business regulations, as well as finding appropriate insurance coverage considering sidecar tours are such a novel offering in the guided city tour market. Ours was the first company of this kind on the West Coast, and we pride ourselves in using the highest quality motorcycle and sidecar combination available on the market.
Our motorcycles are the indisputable kings of the road – the iconic pearl yellow Honda Goldwings, the most sold motorcycle in history, made by American workers in Ohio. And our sidecars are state of the art 2-seaters made by a local company just up the coast and put together and maintained by a local mechanic from San Marcos. The challenges thus far have been predictably largely financial, COVID-19 closures not withstanding, in that the cost of entry, marketing, and conducting business has been significant – but I believe that a great personal service and such a unique experience will continue to be recognized and rewarded. San Diegans have always valued quality – our denizens’ active lifestyle is proof enough of this – and my goal is to continue to aim for nothing but excellence. I am very confident that our business will continue to thrive and grow, for we have nowhere to go but up; and thus what has been the main challenge so far will inevitably be overcome – however, a challenge that will always remain and that I take seriously, and wholeheartedly welcome, will be to represent our city well and to do it justice when introducing locals and visitors alike to its glorious past, dynamic present, and exciting future.
How’d you meet your business partner?
I met Peng, my business partner, while working at a rock climbing wall in Michigan. Peng is the most talented and well traveled landscape photographer I have ever had the pleasure and privilege to call friend. His work inspires to roam the world and be in nature. We started rock climbing, cycling, and taking winter photography trips in the magical upper peninsula of Michigan from 2005. We became great friends and realized there was more opportunities for our lifestyle in California, so we both made the move at about the same time nearly 8 years ago. Peng’s work can be seen at PengShiPhotogrpahy.com
Contact Info:
- Website: www.PegasusSidecarTours.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/pegasussidecartours/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pegasussidecar/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCXfcAF7bYScb-Jk86GOLnfw
- Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/pegasus-sidecar-tours-san-diego
- Other: www.PegasusMotorcycleTours.com
Image Credits
Peng Shi Photography