Pedal Pioneers

Organize Youth Bike Trips for Fitness, Fun, and Self-Discovery

Adventure Cycling Association, America's largest bicycle touring organization, has unveiled Pedal Pioneers: A Guide to Bicycle Travel with Kids, an A–Z guide on how to organize overnight youth bike trips. Created with the help of bicycle experts, trip organizers, youth leaders, educators, and safety experts, this 88 page guide walks leaders—teachers, youth group leaders, and other bicyclists—through each stage of organizing a bicycle trip for kids, from creating a trip proposal to choosing meals, including chapters on:

• Partnerships
• Participant recruitment and retention
• Route planning
• Bicycle safety and riding techniques
• Equipment and clothing
• Hydration and fuel
• First aid and health
• Overnight accommodations
• Group dynamics

The guide comes packaged in a binder with a sample magazine, stickers, safety information, a discounted membership coupon, and more. The cost is $10.05 for Adventure Cycling members and $15.05 for non-members. Also, the Association's Web site includes a Youth Bicycle Travel Forum, a Youth Rider Registry for leaders, links to other national groups with bicycling resources, and more.

It's not necessary to be an accomplished bicyclist or touring champion to organize a trip—what's needed is enthusiasm for kids and bicycling and the time and energy to make it happen.

For information, visit http://www.adventurecycling.org/outreach/pedalpioneers.cfm.