The Bike Overnights program at Adventure Cycling embodies the mission of Adventure Cycling by working to make bike travel accessible and inclusive for all, especially people from historically marginalized communities including BIPOC, LGBTQIA, women, and gender nonconforming cyclists, and cyclists with disabilities.

We encourage the bike travel community to share and join together in accessible, inclusive short overnight trips in their community; provide direct support and resources to those from BIPOC, LGBTQIA, women, gender nonconforming communities, and communities with disabilities who want to experience bike travel; and create accessible and inclusive resources, stories, and experiences for people beginning their bike travel journey.

The mission of Adventure Cycling is to inspire, empower, and connect people to bicycle travel. Historically, Adventure Cycling, like many organizations in the cycling, outdoor recreation, and adventure travel industry, has inadequately done the work of advocating for Black, Indigenous, and People of Color and other marginalized communities.

To ensure our mission embodies the values of equity, access, inclusion, diversity and justice, we are undertaking work to empower and provide resources and support for BIPOC, LGBTQ+, and trans/women/intersex and gender nonconforming people. Bike Overnights is a step forward in doing this work. Adventure Cycling is here to welcome and support all those who want to experience the joy of bike travel, and we want to make sure it is inclusive and accessible. You can read more about our commitment to diversity and inclusion here.

Bike Overnights are beginner-friendly, accessible, and take place over no more than 3 nights, and each day includes fewer than 60 miles of riding.

Bike Overnights are meant for the general public! There is also a need for safe spaces, especially in historically inaccessible and inequitable places like the outdoor recreation or cycling industries.

We’re happy to share rides that center and are only open to BIPOC, transgender, women, intersex, gender nonconforming, or lesbian, gay, bisexual, queer, asexual cyclists. We share all rides in our Bike Overnights event listings but these types of rides may not be open to individuals who do not identify as such.

A beginner friendly ride takes into account the mileage, elevation gain, road and traffic conditions, on-street or off-street trails, shoulders, and other considerations that make a trip accessible to anyone. When considering a route, ask: Would you take your friend who’s never gone on a bike trip?

When others sign up to participate in your ride, ensure you communicate with them extensively about what they should expect on your route, and try to plan for the possibility of people needing support or to turn around.

No. There can be great options near you or perhaps closer via train, bus, or ferry, but going to cabins, organizing a lock-in, or considering an Airbnb, bed and breakfast, or another option is great! Let us know what other options you’ve explored — we’d love to hear about them.

Absolutely! If rides aren’t appropriate for young kids or may include substance use like alcohol, it’s great to let your riders know and talk about that at your trip meeting.

We’ve created a great guide for you! There are also videos available, as well as several ride guides, created by Roxy Robles and Radical Adventure Riders. If you would like to contribute resources about leading an accessible ride, please reach out!

Adventure Cycling can provide funding in increments from $100 to $3,000 for those who want to improve access and inclusion to bike travel by centering beginner bike travel for persons from Black, Indigenous, People of Color, LGBTQ+, women, intersex, gender nonconforming communities, and persons with disabilities. Individual stipends top out at $500, and larger grants are available for groups with a 501(c)3 status or another nonprofit fiscal agent.

We mostly support rides and events where people from marginalized communities can experience and connect to the joy of bike travel! Bike Overnights trips MUST be three (3) nights or less, with mileage of fewer than 60 miles a day, and include at least four (4) participants. We have some reporting and photo requirements, and you can learn more about proposals and agreements by emailing bike-overnights@adventurecycling.org.

Yes! There are also stipend funds available for projects that support this work, such as creating articles, videos, webinars, and other resources. We will consider events and other educational gatherings depending on their alignment with Bike Overnights and Adventure Cycling’s mission.

Unfortunately, we’re limited in our ability to provide larger grants to individuals. We’d love to talk more to coordinate and to see if there are possibilities to support your work! Email bike-overnights@adventurecycling.org.

We’ll ask you to provide a proposal, as well as some reporting or narratives on how you used the funding. This includes photos and a follow up chat with our Bike Overnights staff. If you particularly awesome photos, we might ask to purchase them! We also ask you to share on social media, and we’d love to talk about more opportunities to reach your followers.