As I am settling into my new role with the organization, I am pleased to share with you our 2022 Annual Report. This report has provided me with a great opportunity to reflect back on what our small organization, with your generous support, continues to accomplish each year, and to look ahead eagerly at all of the exciting things we have to come.
We kicked off 2022 launching an Advocacy Toolkit to mobilize members to advocate for issues that matter to them locally and nationally. We worked with our partners at IMBA and Adventure Cycling Association to mobilize support for the Biking on Long Distance Trails (BOLT) Act which passed in the House of Representatives. The bill has been re-introduced this year and we will keep you posted on opportunities to lend your voice to this and other advocacy issues we feel are important to the bikepacking community.
At the end of 2022, we unveiled an exciting new long-distance route that has been years in the making: The Pony Express Route, created and stewarded by Jan Bennett. We have been thrilled to see so many folks excited to get out on sections of or the full, epic 2,200 mile route. We would love to collect and share stories from your adventures on the route, so please reach out if you are planning to ride the route and document your trip.
I just got back from my first in-person event with Bikepacking Roots, our Cabezon Community Campout in New Mexico. It was inspiring to ride and camp with Kurt and Kait and close to 50 members of our community! Our group included folks from 26 to 69 years old, and first time bikepackers got to swap stories with seasoned adventurers. This was a pilot of a new community-based event model we are looking forward to expanding around the country, to help build community and encourage bikepacking-curious folks to get out there!
Our campouts are part of a bigger vision for expanding Bikepacking Roots to meet folks where they are and support community-building for bikepackers of all identities around the country. While we will always love and showcase epic routes from America’s Southwest, given my home base on the East Coast, I am eager to support our efforts in response to your requests for routes that are shorter and represent greater geographic diversity around the country.
Speaking of your input, while we have shared topline results from our 2022 Community Survey, I am eager to dig into all of the great insights and suggestions you all provided and to share those results back with you in the coming months.
We are also committed to continuing our program to support BIPOC adventurers. Based on feedback from our fantastic Program Coordinator, Brooke Goudy, as well as grant recipients and mentors, we are taking some time to re-envision the program to better support community building and access to bikepacking for BIPOC riders. Given this, we will not be giving grants in the same format in 2023, but stay tuned for news on how this program will be evolving. If you are specifically interested in supporting these efforts, please reach out.
These are just a few things we are up to at Bikepacking Roots, and I am so energized to be leading the organization on the next phase of our journey, while making sure we remain committed to the mission and values that guide all that we do.
If you are also excited about our upcoming plans and are interested in supporting us as we grow and expand our work, consider making a donation today, or becoming a recurring donor.
Happy trails,
Noelle Battle
Executive Director
Photo by Kurt Refsnider