Advertisement Chris Jackson located his bicycle clothing company, Mt. Borah, here because he wanted to be in a small town, and also because Vernon County offers some of the best bicycling terrain in the country.
"It is phenomenal, it really is," said Jackson sitting in the office of Mt. Borah's manufacturing facility in Coon Valley. "It is some of the best road biking in the country. I tell people all the time to come to my office and take a 50-mile ride and you will probably see more Amish buggies than you will see cars. When you can go on a 50-mile ride and count the cars, I can't think of anywhere else you can do that."
The other attraction for avid bicyclists like Jackson, are the hills.
"Hills give you good measure of your fitness very quickly," said Jackson. "And they allow you to get to a level of fitness much quicker."
It was that love of cycling that got Jackson into the biking apparel business. Jackson started his company in Minneapolis and saw a niche in the clothing market that no one had filled. He knew that many cyclists did not like to wear the spandex-type biking shorts that many advanced riders wear and yet wanted that performance. He invented a biking short that was essentially a short within a short. It was a spandex biking short inside, with usual padding, but with a loose-fitting short over the top. The short was a hit and started Jackson on his way.
When Jackson decided to set up a permanent home for his company, he already had some ties to the region because he had contracted some of the sewing for his products in Portland. He has also spent time cycling in the area with friends and had always been drawn here. So, he made some inquiries about the Coon Valley Industrial Park.
"We really weren't ready for a 7,500-square-foot building, but they said we may have a building downtown that might work," said Jackson.
That building was the former Anderson Store in downtown Coon Valley and it was the home of the growing company for several years. Jackson later expanded and built in the industrial park.
"When we first moved here we had just a few desks and a couple sewing machines and it seemed huge,” he said. “I thought maybe we overbuilt. Now we are bursting at the seams."
Jackson knew he would need people to build his company.
"I think a small community is better at providing you with the support that you need," said Jackson. "And I don't think we could have found the kind of people we have anywhere else."
Jackson said he has 17 employees that were all hired locally.
Mt. Borah has expanded its line of biking apparel and has shifted its focus from the traditional biking market to specialty orders. The company has its traditional clothing made by contract manufacturers in other parts of the United States, but manufactures all of its custom apparel in Coon Valley.
"If I went out and tried to find someone to make me 5,000 or 10,000 shorts you could probably find lots of companies that can do that, but if you tried to find someone to make 12 jerseys with a specific design, you aren't going to find many companies that can do that," Jackson said.
This specialization has allowed Mt. Borah to find its niche.
"We are hoping to grow by about five times what we are within 10 years," Jackson said. "And with the way things are going it may be more than that."
Mt. Borah now manufactures custom cross-country and downhill skiing apparel, track and field uniforms and custom wrestling singlets are the drawing board as well.
About 70 percent of the company’s business comes directly from the Internet and the rest is word of mouth. One of Mt. Borah's most famous accounts came from word of mouth. One of President George W. Bush's Secret Service agents had ordered some apparel for a 4-H club and remembered the company when he was helping organize a bike ride at the president's ranch in Crawford, Texas, with Lance Armstrong. Armstrong had just won his seventh Tour de France and the agent wanted to mark the occasion for everyone, so he ordered some jerseys from Mt. Borah.
"I got a call one day from one of the people helping organize the event and he said he was on a plane with the president and they had some feedback on the design for the jerseys," Jackson said.
On Jackson's wall is a picture of the president, Lance Armstrong and the rest of the group, all wearing Mt. Borah jerseys emblazoned with "Tour de Crawford." Along with the picture is a letter personally signed by President Bush.
"That is our most famous job," said Jackson.
Jackson is not taking success for granted. He is part of a program that contributes 1 percent of profits to local causes. Last year the contribution went to help pay for a trout habitat restoration project on Coon Creek. Jackson also helped found Vernon Trails. He said this area has a bright future as a destination for bicycling.
Advertisement 
