Campfire Chats
Real stories. Real riders. Real talk — just for members.
Join us around the Campfire.
Some of the best cycling advice you’ll ever get doesn’t come from a guidebook. It comes from the person sitting across from you at a campsite who just finished the route you’re dreaming about.
Campfire Chats is our way of recreating that moment. Just for members.
As a new benefit for members, we’re gathering small groups online once a month for honest conversations about bike travel, advocacy, and the beautiful messy adventure that is bike travel. You’ll hear real stories, get real tips, and have the chance to connect directly with the people on the other end of the screen — whether that’s a one-on-one chat or a small-group hangout after the session wraps.
Sessions will not be recorded, and seats are limited!
Not a member? Join today and secure your seat around the campfire.
Pull Up a Chair & Join Us at the Campfire
TransAm and the Courage to Try
Dreux DeMack & Brielle Wacker
April 22, 2026 | 5:00 PM Mountain Time
The TransAm Trail has a way of calling to people. The question is: do you answer?
In this first Campfire Chat, Bikecentennial rider, writer, and longtime ACA member Dreux DeMack sits down with tour leader Brielle Wacker — who has not only ridden the TransAm but leads others through it — to talk honestly about what it takes to go. We’ll dig into the real work of preparing for a cross-country tour, the highs and lows you don’t always see in the trip reports, and the unexpected connections that make the miles worth it.
Whether you’re actively planning a TransAm, still working up the nerve, or just love a good story from the road, you’ll leave this session with a clearer picture of what the journey actually looks like — and maybe a little more courage to try it yourself.
From the Routes to Capitol Hill: A Debrief from the National Bike Summit
Ellie Zachary & Haydin Grotz
May 20, 2026 | 5:00 PM Mountain Time
Advocacy doesn’t always happen behind a computer screen. It happens in hallways, hearing rooms, and face-to-face conversations with the people who make policy. And recently, Adventure Cycling was in the room.
In this session, Ellie and Haydin from ACA’s advocacy team will share a behind-the-scenes look at their time at the National Bike Summit in Washington, D.C. — what they heard from lawmakers, what conversations are happening around federal priorities for bicycle infrastructure, safety, and outdoor recreation, and what it all means for the future of bike travel. Ellie leads ACA’s Advocacy Program with a focus on outdoor equity and access; Haydin knows firsthand what it means to see this country from a bike seat, having pedaled cross-country from Baltimore to Seattle.
Whether you’re a seasoned advocate or someone who’s never thought much about policy, you’ll leave this session with a clearer sense of how federal decisions shape the roads and trails we ride and how we’re working to protect them.
Adventures (& Misadventures) of Touring with Kiddos
Nicki Bailey & Bethany Roberts
June 17, 2026 | 5:00 PM Mountain Time
One day you’re a nomadic adventurer with nothing to tie you down. Then life happens, and suddenly your touring partner fits in a bike trailer.
In this session, Nicki Bailey and Bethany Roberts compare notes on what it actually looks like to keep adventuring after kids enter the picture. Nicki has been bikepacking since 2013 — routes through Brazil, Patagonia, and Colombia under her wheels — and didn’t slow down after becoming a mom. Her son’s first bike trip was at 14 months; by 17 months he was in Scandinavia. Bethany, a personal trainer and mom of two young daughters in northern British Columbia, has built a family life anchored in adventure, from PCT thru-hiking for a honeymoon to bikepacking with little ones in tow.
Expect honest stories, real logistics, a few things that went sideways, and plenty of hard-won tips for anyone who wants to explore with kids.
Advocacy 101: How Outdoor Recreation Advocates for Public Lands and Trails
Taylor Rogers, Ellie Zachary, & Jeffrey Mizell
July 15, 2026 | 5:00 PM Mountain Time
The trails we ride and the public lands we love don’t protect themselves. They’re the result of people showing up, speaking up, and knowing how the system works.
In this session, Adventure Cycling’s Ellie Zachary and Jeffrey Mizell join forces with Taylor Rogers from Outdoor Alliance for a practical introduction to how outdoor recreation advocacy actually works, from local grassroots organizing to national policy efforts. Ellie leads ACA’s Advocacy Program with a deep commitment to outdoor equity and access. Jeffrey brings years of nonprofit leadership across the globe to his work advocating for safe cycling conditions for everyone. Taylor, Outdoor Alliance’s Grasstops Advocacy Director, works at every level of policy to expand and protect public land access.
Whether you’re a longtime advocate or someone who’s never been sure where to start, you’ll leave this session with a clearer picture of how change happens and how you can be part of it.
“I knew nothing then …” Comical Tales from our First Tours Ever
Jillian Millkey & ACA Tour Leaders
August 12, 2026 | 5:00 PM Mountain Time
Everyone starts somewhere. And for most of us, that somewhere involved at least one catastrophic gear decision, a wrong turn that added miles to the route, or a meal that should never be spoken of again.
In this session, we’re celebrating the beautiful humility of the first tour — the one where you figured out everything you didn’t know by doing it anyway. Tours Director Jillian Millkey joins a panel of Adventure Cycling tour leaders to swap stories from their earliest days on a loaded bike. Jillian came to bike travel after a lifetime of serious expeditions and rode the Arizona Trail before she really knew what she was doing. Our tour leaders have collectively been nearly everywhere and seen nearly everything; this is your chance to hear the stories they usually only tell around an actual campfire.
If you’re early in your bike travel life, you’ll feel better about every mistake you’ve made. If you’re a veteran, you’ll feel nostalgic about the ones you’ve long since forgotten.
Registration opening this summer!
Building the National Network: The U.S. Bicycle Route System and the Future of Bike Travel
Ellie Zachary & Jeffrey Mizell
September 16, 2026 | 5:00 PM Mountain Time
Somewhere out there, a route is being designated that will one day be someone’s first big tour.
In this session, Ellie Zachary and Jeffrey Mizell pull back the curtain on the U.S. Bicycle Route System (USBRS), the nation’s growing network of officially designated interstate bike routes. They’ll walk through how new routes get developed, what partnerships are required to bring them across the finish line, and how advocacy shapes the corridors that connect communities and open up new possibilities for bike travel across the country. Ellie leads ACA’s Advocacy Program with a deep commitment to expanding outdoor access for everyone. Jeffrey brings nonprofit leadership experience from across the globe to his work advancing safe and connected cycling infrastructure.
If you’ve ever wondered how U.S. Bike Routes come to exist, this is the session for you.
Registration opening this summer!
Gas Station Gourmet — Stories and Strategies for Eating on Tour
Jenn Hamelman & Uri Carlson
October 21, 2026 | 5:00 PM Mountain Time
Fritos and a gas station taquito. A Dairy Queen at mile 80 when you’re completely bonking. That one dinner you ate standing in a parking lot that you will never, ever tell anyone about … and also kind of miss.
We all have the stories. Tonight we’re sharing them.
In this session, former ACA Routes Director and cross-country cyclist Jenn Hamelman — now the founder of The Thoughtful Fork and a passionate advocate for food justice — joins registered dietitian and endurance athlete Uri Carlson to dig into the full, glorious spectrum of eating on tour. Expect plenty of laughs, a few things that’ll make you wince, and some genuinely useful insight from Uri on what your body actually needs out there.
Come hungry for a good story. Leave with a smarter approach to fueling the ride.
Registration opening this summer!
Tales from the Trail: Your Stories!
Hosted by Members
November 18, 2026 | 5:00 PM Mountain Time
All year we’ve been swapping stories around the fire. For our final session of 2026, we’re handing the mic to you.
This is your chance to share the moments from your pedal-powered adventures this year: the highs and the lows, the wrong turns that turned into the best days, the strangers who became friends, and the small, quiet moments that reminded you why you do this. We want to hear it all.
Have a story you’d like to share? Submit it using the form (COMING SOON!). Spots are limited, so there’s a chance not every story will make it into the live session, but we’re committed to finding a way to celebrate as many as we can.
Registration opening this summer!