Adventure Cycling Association

OUR MISSION
Since 1973, our mission has been to inspire people of all ages to travel by bicycle for fitness, fun, and self-discovery.

Everyone understands fun and fitness, but what about self-discovery? Well, all we can say is, judging by what we hear from cross-country cyclotourists stopping in at Adventure Cycling headquarters, traveling by bike is a truly life-changing experience. A common observation is that crossing our nation by bike is a way to see it at its best. Quotes from recent visitors.

TOURING CYCLISTS WELCOME
Founded in 1973 as Bikecentennial, Adventure Cycling Association is America's premier nonprofit organization dedicated to bicycle travel, with over 43,500 members nationwide.

Adventure Cycling is America's bicycle travel inspiration and resource, offering many programs for cyclists, including a national network of bicycle touring routes and organized trips.

Our Mission, Vision, & Values

MISSION
The mission of Adventure Cycling Association is to inspire people of all ages to travel by bicycle. We help cyclists explore the landscapes and history of America for fitness, fun, and self-discovery.

VISION
We envision a future in which:

Making a Difference

WHAT WE'RE FOCUSING ON RIGHT NOW
Through a lot of hard thinking, countless staff meetings, and consultation with our board of directors, we've created a vibrant strategic plan for the next three years. The plan focuses on three primary campaigns: "Creating Bike Routes for the Nation," "Getting Americans Bicycling," and "Supporting Bicycling Communities."

Creating Bike Routes for the Nation
One of the purposes of "Creating Bike Routes for the Nation" is to encourage the development of more heritage and adventure tourism opportunities for cyclists. Our goals include gaining federal recognition of the National Bicycle Route Network (NBRN), building coalitions of support, and creating public awareness. Specific objectives include continuing to develop the NBRN through our routes and mapping program and encouraging public ownership of the NBRN through partnerships with various organizations who can help get the word out about what the NBRN is and how Americans can benefit from it.

Getting Americans Bicycling
A main purpose of "Getting Americans Bicycling" is simple: to create opportunities for bicyclists to network, improve skills, and gain confidence in their abilities so that they can enjoy cycle-touring for fun, fitness, and adventure. A major goal is to create a new outreach program that will be present in communities across the nation, providing nuts-and-bolts information on how to tour by bicycle. We're extremely excited about this new effort to reach out to people across the nation and persuade them to give bicycle touring a spin.

Supporting Bicycling Communities
A major goal of the "Supporting Bicycling Communities" campaign is to find new ways to support and play a larger role in the greater cycling community. One of the truly fun objectives of this campaign will be to create an awards program to recognize innovation, service, and commitment to bicycle travel.

Self Contained Tours

TASTE THE FREEDOM OF SELF CONTAINED ADVENTURE
Some feel that Adventure Cycling Association's Self Contained trips represent the epitome of pure cyclotouring. Packing everything you need onto your bike and hitting the road under your own power can be a deeply rewarding experience. Self Contained group tours is where it all began for Adventure Cycling, when over 4,000 people participated in all or part of the 1976 Bikecentennial TransAmerica crossing, the foundation of all we do.

This type of touring requires group cooperation and the spirit of adventure. If you possess a measure of determination and are looking for a challenge, the rewards can be significant. You'll go home with a strong sense of accomplishment, heartfelt camaraderie, and a lifetime of memories.

Participants carry camping gear, cooking gear, personal gear, clothing, and food in a trailer or panniers. One or two leaders ride along with a small group of up to 14 participants. No vehicles accompany self contained tours. All group members contribute to a cooking rotation. The tour itinerary is suggested and has some built-in flexibility.

The trip cost covers all overnight camping fees, including beginning and ending overnight facilities, food, leader expenses, maps, a safety triangle, and use of group cooking equipment, tool kit, and first-aid supplies.

So, choose your ideal Self Contained trip from the navigation bar on the right, and begin planning your adventure of a lifetime.

Supported Tours

ENJOY THE LEVEL OF SUPPORT THAT'S RIGHT FOR YOU
For more than ten years, Adventure Cycling's Supported trips have provided riders of all ages and fitness levels hassle-free bicycle travel in spectacular locations. Choose the type of support you need on your ideal cycling vacation from our two support options:

EVENTS
Come join a great social and bicycling experience. Meet fantastic people just like yourself. Enjoy great riding with other cyclists. Eat lots of good food. Many of these folks have told us afterward that the group size -- which ranges from 40 to 120, depending on the event -- was ideal: large enough to make it easy to find like-minded and/or similar-paced friends, but intimate enough to prevent them from getting lost in the crowd.

You'll enjoy tasty catered breakfasts and dinners, on-the-road lunches and rest stops with water, beverages, snacks and fruit, mechanical support, luggage transport, SAG support, detailed cue sheets, pleasant campsites (with optional motels available most nights), and a great bunch of fellow Adventure Cycling members. Little wonder these are our most popular tours!

SUPPORTED TRIPS
Designed to raise the comfort level a bit, while still providing experiences in the mold of traditional Adventure Cycling tours, each Supported trip offers luggage support and its own unique combination of food and overnight accommodations.

Supported trips are either camping trips, or a mix of camping and indoor accommodations. Your meals will be catered meals, restaurant meals, group cooking, or a combination. Some Supported trips include the services of a mechanic who follows the route every day in a support vehicle; other Supported trips do not include a mechanic with support vehicle. In these instances, your leaders will be versed in bicycle repair skills.

Education Courses

LEARN NEW BICYCLING SKILLS FROM THE EXPERTS
You hear all the stories and see all the pictures about how people travel by bicycle, self reliant and independent. You want to experience that freedom yourself, but would like guidance from somebody who knows. As the acknowledged expert in bicycle touring, Adventure Cycling would like to share its thirty-plus years of expertise with you. Choose from courses instructing you on beginner or advanced self-contained bicycle touring, or take your interest a step further and learn from our most experienced and knowledgeable leaders how to lead a trip yourself.

INTRODUCTION TO TOURING
If you'd like to learn the basics of self-contained road or dirt bike travel, we have the perfect trip for you. Learn bicycle travel techniques from experienced Adventure Cycling tour leaders. A wealth of information is covered during the course and your leader will teach you the basics of self-contained touring, beginning with two days of classroom instruction and ending on a self-contained camping tour through the countryside.

LEADERSHIP TRAINING COURSE
Our Leadership Training Course (LTC) is designed to teach the fundamentals of leading a self-contained bicycle expedition, and all Adventure Cycling expedition leaders have taken one of these three-day courses. Many people attend the course for their own reasons -- to start leading tours on their own, to hone leadership skills, or to get more background for helping with local cycling events. Whatever the reason, the Leadership Training Courses are open to all cyclists.