Origins and Beginnings
Our story
My name is Sofia Tsamassiros, owner and founder of Eudaimonia Tasmanian Cycling Tours.
Eudaimonia became a bit of a passion project for me after spending a lot of my own free time exploring the beautiful state in which I live. It became a means in which I am able to explore, create experiences and project my, somewhat limited, but forever growing creativity.
Firstly, what on earth does Eudaimonia mean?
Greek [Noun]
As a way of measuring wellbeing, Eudaimonia is the Greek word for human flourishing. Seeking to improve oneself in congruence with one’s values, the eudaemonic state of wellbeing is about finding life meaning and engagement.
After having dropped out on uni in 2017 due to too many years of panic attacks and a bad mental health space, I found myself a bit lost and in need of some reassessment. With a whole lot of free time I never previously had and very unsure of the direction in which I was going, I spent a lot of time riding my bike and found solace in a ‘sport’ which was so much more than just that to me. I discovered a means in which I was able to explore the state without creating a large environmental footprint and which was self driven (in more ways than one).
There was a lot of soul searching at that point in my life and so came about the name…
I found solace in riding my bike.
Having previously come from a competitive football (soccer) career and spent a bit of time running, cycling provided me with something that neither of those sports did. It became something that was less competitive and more explorative. A concept which was very new to me in an environment I had always considered to be competitive. It allowed me to not only pursue something of a physical nature, but provided me with a means in which I was able to truly experience my surroundings.
I had never explored so much of Tasmania until I took up riding.
I was warned it would be hard to make a name for myself with a business name such as ‘Eudaimonia’. I’d get plenty of, ‘what’s your business called again?’, ‘how do I say that?’, ‘what does that mean?’, ‘what do you do?’. When initially planning the business I tried my best to get away from this name, to have something more simple and descriptive. But I simply couldn’t. Eudaimonia is a name which defines who I am both as a person and as a business and I couldn’t think of anything more perfect to define myself by. Plus, truthfully, I like the fact that from the get go, the name evoked conversation. It isn’t stagnant and it isn’t boring. Because who wants that?
…so the name stuck.
Starting up your own business at the ripe old age of 22 is going to be a pretty steep learning curve no matter how well prepared you think you may be.
After the first 12 months of launching, the business was tracking along nicely, I had multiple international guests booked in for 10 day tours of Tassie.
and Then Covid hit
While having to refund and postpone trips without a known date was disappointing, Covid allowed me the opportunity to refocus on why I started Eudaimonia and what I really wanted to achieve from running a tourism based operation in my home state, Tasmania.
Tourism makes up a large percentage of Tasmania’s economy, however I have also found tourism as a whole to be very superficial, tapping into the consumerist culture our world seems to thrive on. We have many international companies that visit our state very briefly and to me, quite superficially. For many Tasmanian’s these types of companies can have both benefits and determinants.
One of the many things that makes Tasmania so special is that, as people, we like to live a slow pace lifestyle and one with variability. Each part of our island is so unique and that is part of what makes us, as people so diverse.
Where are we now?
If I were to run a tourism business in Tasmania, it had to be something that not only provided an experience, but made a difference to a community which I have grown up in knowing it has struggled. Whether that be by bringing a community together (which is a big part of launching our monthly Girl Gang rides) or choosing locations which need an economic boost and support. Our tours shifted from providing a full tour of Tas (which we now limit to once per year) to providing a deeper immersive experience in regional parts of Tasmania. Our base camps fit certain criteria whereby an area is struggling economically, while still providing a once in a lifetime experience for our guests… because let’s face it, are there really any bad parts of Tasmania?
Regional Highlights:
Strathgordon
West Coast
Huon Valley
Meander Valley
Flinders Island
Community focus:
Weekly morning rides
Monthly Girl Gang rides
Local racing support
Cygnet Cycling Festival
R&R Sundays
I don’t want this blog post to be selling you a product, however I always want people to understand that the products that we provide, have meaning to us. They’re not created because that’s what makes us money. We create them because we believe this is the best way we are able to both support our local community and bring you into the community to show you the amazing things that other locals are doing (because there are so many Tasmanians doing cool things out there at the moment!).
We want you to truly immerse yourself in the diversity and uniqueness each region of Tasmania has to offer, not just see a tourism highlight reel of the entire state.
Each region makes up Tasmania, however one region doesn’t define the state. We think you should explore all of Tasmania, but take your time to do so. Come back a few times. Most importantly, don’t rush the experience.
If you’ve made it this far, thank you for reading our Origins and Beginnings story… and the rest of my blabber. I hope to see you on a tour or on a bike in the near future. Never feel threatened to reach out.
Sofia Tsamassiros
Owner and Founder of Eudaimonia Tasmanian Cycling Tours