Our Best Miles Are Still Ahead
Building the next 50 years depends on what we do together right now.
Our Year-End Goal: $500,000
With your help, our goal is to raise $500,000 by December 31.
Our 50th year was one to celebrate. Together we launched two new routes, moved seven U.S. Bicycle Routes onto trails and greenways, put 300+ riders on guided tours, and saw 1,154 Drop-In Ride registrations on three of our iconic routes. Thanks to members and donors like you, and careful resource management from staff and leadership, Adventure Cycling is closing out 2026 on steady ground.
Now we’re building the next 50 years. Riders need routes they can trust, safe places to ride, and a community that helps them take the leap. Your year-end gift funds new routes in 2027 and advocacy for trails, public lands, and bike-friendly trains.
Your gift helps us start 2027 strong.
Our 50th Year, Delivered
What your support built in 2026
Golden Gravel Trail: our 50th anniversary route, 3,805 miles from the Mississippi River to the Pacific Ocean across eight states, about 70% unpaved. Riders downloaded it 14,406 times in its first season.
Eastern Canada Bike Route: 930 miles linking Toronto, Ottawa, Montreal, and Quebec City, with 65% of the route on dedicated multi-use trails. Four major cities on one route make getting there and getting home simple.
New Routes Website: every route in our network now has its own detail page, including the full Adventure Cycling Route Network, all U.S. Bicycle Routes, and our library of Short Routes.
U.S. Bicycle Route System: seven routes in California, Minnesota, Ohio, and North Carolina moved off roads and onto trails, greenways, and safe crossings. The system now spans 24,144 miles in 35 states plus Washington, D.C.
Short Routes and Community Partners: our first partner cities along our routes (Dayton, OH; Fredericksburg, TX; and Park City, UT), with projects ranging from rider discounts to new Golden Gravel Trail signage in Park City. Plus a new Short Route: Gatlinburg: Gravel, Pavement, and Pancakes.
Advocacy: 10 advocacy actions for trail funding, public lands, and safe streets; a new Advocacy Hub where you can take action; and a seat on the Amtrak Bike Task Force, which released an interactive atlas showing where trains connect to our routes.
Drop-In Rides: 1,154 registrations on the Golden Gravel Trail, Great Divide, and TransAm, including 18 riders from Bikecentennial ’76 and 135 riders planning their first multi-day trip.
Tours and Gatherings: 22 guided tours with 300+ riders and 335 days in the field, 300+ people at the Jubilee in Tucson, about 150 at the Golden October Celebration in Missoula, and 8 Campfire Chats connecting members online.
National Bicycle Touring Portrait Collection: 5,279 portraits and stories of touring cyclists since 1982, digitized by 94 volunteers and going live online in mid-December.
What Your Support Made Possible
2026 by the numbers
2
New routes in the Adventure Cycling Route Network
4,735
New route miles
14,406
Golden Gravel Trail downloads
24,144
Miles in the U.S. Bicycle Route System
300+
Riders on guided tours
1,154
Drop-In Ride registrations
Building the Next 50 Years
2027: Where we’re headed
This year showed what’s possible when this community shows up. Members renewed, lapsed members came back, new riders found us for the first time, and individual donors stepped up all year long. Six new board members brought fresh energy, and diligent stewardship from staff and leadership has our budget projecting better than anticipated.
Steady ground is where building starts. Making Adventure Cycling valuable and relevant to every rider takes sustained support, and your year-end gift carries this year’s progress into 2027. Here’s what’s ahead:
New Adventure Cycling routes on a steady release schedule, plus enhanced planning tools and up-to-date data
More Short Routes, as routes developed for Adventure Cyclist magazine become official Short Routes in our library
The return of the Final Mile essay collection in the Winter 2027 issue of Adventure Cyclist
Deeper advocacy for safer cycling infrastructure, trails, public lands, and bike-friendly trains
2027 guided tours, now open for registration
Increased membership value
Continued investment in and improvements to our Missoula Headquarters
Your support this year builds the foundation for the years that follow.
The trail doesn’t build itself.
Help us reach $500,000 by December 31. Every gift, at any level, tells us you believe the best miles are still ahead.
50th Anniversary Tote
*optional – no retail value
Questions? Reply to any campaign email or write to us at questions@adventurecycling.org
Have questions? We have answers.
About the year-end campaign
Our goal is to raise $500,000 by December 31, 2026. Year-end gifts are the largest source of donations for Adventure Cycling each year, and they carry the work of our 50th year into 2027: new routes, new tools to plan your ride, advocacy for safe places to ride, and a community that welcomes every rider.
Your donation goes directly toward the programs and infrastructure that make Adventure Cycling possible: route research and development, advocacy work on the U.S. Bicycle Route System, guided tours and community experiences, member programs, and the organizational systems that hold it all together. This campaign funds the work that carries our 50th year into the next 50.
All donations will go into our general operating fund, where they are most needed at this time.
Absolutely, and thank you. Every gift is welcome and meaningful. If you’re able to give at the $1,000 level or above, you’ll become a member of our Tailwind Society, our community of leadership donors who receive special recognition. If you’d like to discuss a major gift or a multi-year commitment, please reach out directly to: development@adventurecycling.org
The Tailwind Society is Adventure Cycling’s community of donors who give $1,000 or more annually. Members of the Tailwind Society receive special recognition in appreciation of their leadership-level support.
The Century Circle is our monthly giving program. Century Circle donors give a recurring monthly gift, at any level, providing Adventure Cycling with reliable, sustained revenue that helps us plan and invest with confidence.
Yes, and we’d love it if you did. A recurring monthly gift through our Century Circle program, even a modest one, gives us predictable revenue we can plan around as we build for the years ahead. To set up a monthly gift, please email us at: development@adventurecycling.org
Yes. You can mail a check, give through a donor-advised fund (DAF), give stock, or make a qualified charitable distribution (QCD) directly from your IRA if you are 70½ or older. A QCD can count toward your required minimum distribution. For details, contact development@adventurecycling.org or call (406)721-1776.
About Adventure Cycling
Yes. Adventure Cycling Association is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. Donations are tax-deductible to the extent allowed by law. You’ll receive a gift acknowledgment for your records after your donation is processed.
Membership gives you access to member benefits: gear discounts with partners, discounts on routes, Adventure Cyclist magazine, member-only events, and more. It’s a transaction with real value on both sides.
A donation is a gift to the mission beyond what membership covers. It funds the work that doesn’t pay for itself: route research, advocacy for the U.S. Bicycle Route System, community programs, and the organizational investments that keep Adventure Cycling strong for the long term. Many of our strongest supporters do both: they’re members because they love the benefits, and donors because they believe in the mission.
Membership dues cover a portion of what it costs to run Adventure Cycling, but not all of it. The routes we research and maintain, the advocacy work we do on your behalf, and the community programs we run require more than dues revenue alone can support. As we build the next 50 years, donations make the difference between a program that survives and one that thrives. Your dues say you value what we do. A donation says you want us to keep doing it.
Adventure Cycling is currently led by our Interim Executive Director, Maxton Caplanides. Max came into this role as VP of Community Engagement, with a decade of service to ACA. As lead fundraiser and head of Membership, he understands our membership and its needs. Max leads day-to-day operations, while the board focuses on strategy and governance.
Yes. We believe financial transparency is fundamental to the trust you’ve placed in us. See our 990s and annual reports here, or view our Candid profile or our Charity Navigator profile.
Look at what your support built in our 50th year: two new routes, seven U.S. Bicycle Routes moved onto trails and greenways, a new Routes website, 22 guided tours, 1,154 Drop-In Ride registrations, a digital National Bicycle Touring Portrait Collection, and 10 advocacy actions for trails, public lands, and safe streets. Your year-end gift funds the next chapter of that work, and we’ll show you what it builds.
We’ll share updates on our progress toward the year-end goal and report on what your gifts made possible. Our annual impact reporting connects financial performance to program outcomes, so you can see the full picture, not just the numbers.
About membership
Your life membership has always meant more than a transaction to us. It’s a statement of belief in this organization and its mission. The most meaningful thing a life member can do this year is make a year-end gift above and beyond that commitment. A gift of $250 above your annual giving, or whatever level feels right, helps carry 50 years of routes into the next 50. You can give here. If you’d like to talk about your support more personally, reach out to our team directly at development@adventurecycling.org.
Yes, and we’d be glad to have you back. You can renew your membership and make a donation in the same transaction on this page.
If you have questions about your membership history or want to talk through the options, contact us at memberships@adventurecycling.org.