Celebrating 40 Years: The Journey Is Just Beginning

March 23, 2015

Adventure Cycling Association will celebrate its 40^th anniversary in 2016, the anniversary of a 4,250-mile Trans-American bicycle ride called Bikecentennial during America’s bicentennial and brought together by the enthusiasm of thousands of cyclists, volunteers and supporters.  The 40^th anniversary is a milestone for Adventure Cycling that will honor the past and look to the future of bike travel with events, tours and projects that will inspire new bike travelers of all ages and backgrounds.

I’m fortunate to be the staff member who gets to implement the plans for Adventure Cycling’s 40^th anniversary. And coincidentally, in the same year that Adventure Cycling celebrates 40 years I will celebrate my 40^th birthday. I was born in the summer of 1976 during Bikecentennial. With this milestone approaching and the first two months of my new job at Adventure Cycling behind me, this is a new chapter for me, too. I’m already motivated by the innovative ideas of the founders of Bikecentennial and the advocacy work accomplished by my co-workers in the Travel Initiatives Department. I also can’t help but make a wish list of bike trips I’d like to experience as I listen to Bikecentennial riders talk about where their bikes have taken them.

This is just the beginning. Adventure Cycling’s 40^th anniversary plans will continue to develop in the next several months and I will continue to be motivated by the Bikecentennial founders and riders, my co-workers and Adventure Cycling’s members.

Adventure Cycling’s 40^th anniversary will be the biggest celebration of the bicycle since Bikecentennial. Plan to be at our headquarters in Missoula for the Montana Bicycle Celebration, July 15 – 17, 2016, for reunions, parties, bike rides, music, speakers, film, art, and Tour of Montana’s bicycle expo and professional bike races.

We are also working on details for National Bike Travel Weekend, an event that will inspire people of all ages and backgrounds to go on bike overnights on the same weekend. Another event, Bike to Your National Park Day, will celebrate Adventure Cycling’s 40^th and the National Park Service’s centennial by encouraging bicycling in the national parks, state parks and other recreational areas.

Adventure Cycling will also honor the past with archival projects to preserve the memories of Bikecentennial riders. I have already talked to a handful of Bikcentennial riders and founders and have felt moved by what the ride meant to them. It was transformative to many. For some, it meant falling in love with another Bikecentennial rider. Others moved to a new community they visited along the Trans-America Trail. Some felt empowered to choose a different lifestyle or profession after overcoming the challenges of the 4,250 mile ride. Some felt renewed faith in the American people after experiencing generosity along the trail. Most agreed that it was a defining event or the most exciting event of their lives, and one that gave them the confidence to accomplish anything in life.

Also, feel free to reach out to me if you are a Bikecentennial rider and want to stay in touch about the 40^th anniversary or if you have interest in volunteering or participating in the 40^th anniversary in some way.

My blog will appear every other Monday and will offer the latest on 40^th anniversary events and projects and will include interviews with Bikecentennial riders and others involved with Adventure Cycling’s founding event.

It’s just the beginning of Adventure Cycling’s 40^th anniversary and I’m confident you will be as inspired as I am from now until the end of 2016.

40th ANNIVERSARY HIGHLIGHTS is posted every other Monday by Adventure Cycling’s events and outreach coordinator, Eva Dunn-Froebig. Eva and guests will preview 40th anniversary events and projects and interview Bikecentennial cyclists. Adventure Cycling’s 40th anniversary celebration in 2016 will honor the past and look to the future of bicycle travel. Fill out this form to express your interest in the 40th anniversary. Celebrate the spirit of bicycle travel from the summer of Bikecentennial 76 by submitting your photos, stories, and words of wisdom from then and now, and any time in between in the comments below.