Quarterly Board Update – June
A Message from the Adventure Cycling Board of Directors
Dear adventure cyclists,
The Adventure Cycling Board of Directors recently decided to put its longstanding headquarters up for sale. We’ve made this conservative fiscal decision for multiple reasons and would like to share more information.
When work went remote during COVID, we discovered we could operate effectively with our team spread across the country. Now, with only eight staff living in Missoula, our very large building is being underutilized. The sale lets us take those resources that were going into maintaining a space we’re not fully using and put them back where they belong — into our programs — during a time when the nonprofit and cycling industries are both facing increasing challenges.
This week we published our 2024 audit financial statements. These statements illustrate those difficult trends and provide context for actions the board has taken in recent years, including the listing of the building this week. Those trends include the following.
Our membership has been declining for at least 5 years. Membership surveys show our member demographic is aging out of bike travel and not renewing. The contribution margin from our tours program has also been declining steadily, and map sales are challenged by the rapid emergence of free maps on digital navigation platforms. We are not bringing in enough new members because Adventure Cycling’s brand is perceived as older and pavement-centric and our programming is not well aligned with growing bike travel types (e.g. gravel, trail) and event trends (e.g. meet-ups and bike summits). Current members matter tremendously, as they have allowed our mission to impact thousands, perhaps millions, of traveling cyclists. But new members matter too, and the traditional methods we’ve used to grow our community have not been working.
This demographic and growth challenge has been a conversation at Adventure Cycling for over a decade. But the tipping point arrived, and major changes had to be implemented. In October of 2024, recognizing the financial and business model issues of the organization, the board began the process of restructuring. In Q1 of 2025, we restructured 30% of our staff. We chose this level of restructuring to preserve the three elements of our business model: Inspiration, Routes, and Experiences. But, even at these reduced staffing levels, Adventure Cycling is projecting a loss in 2025. We believe this model can continue to serve future adventure cyclists, but changes to our programming and brand identity are necessary to ensure we reach a broad cross section of potential members. These changes will be difficult, and we will need to manage our cash and implementation carefully.
It is the board’s responsibility to use Adventure Cycling resources to perpetuate the mission and maximize the impact of the organization. We believe that the renewal of Adventure Cycling’s mission is an important way to help thousands more people have life-changing bicycle travel experiences. With your continued support and solutions-oriented involvement, we hope you’ll help Adventure Cycling progress through this moment.
Signed,
John McDermott, Board Chair
M. E. Price, Board Secretary
P.S. Selling the building will take time and is unlikely to impact the cyclists visiting this summer. We plan to continue to have a physical presence in Missoula for our local team and visitors.
