Applications for the next round of BIPOC Bike Adventure Grants are now open – providing bikepacking gear, cash, and mentorship for community intiatives!
We’re excited to launch the 4th cycle of our BIPOC Bike Adventure Grant! The grant aims to reduce barriers to bike adventure for Black, Indigenous, and People of Color and has awarded 33 grants totaling more than $100,000 in cash and gear donations since its inception in 2020, making it the largest and longest running program of its kind.
Last year, the program shifted focus from supporting individual trips to providing grants to BIPOC Community Leaders to host trips, develop gear libraries, and other community building activities. The result was 13 grant recipients representing 11 states, over 65 first time bikepackers, and the creation of 8 new gear libraries.
The grant program has supported so many diverse experiences over the past year – a group of 12 cyclists – including 8 first-time bikepackers from 6 states – traversed 110 miles of the Katy Trail in Missouri, high school students bonded through an overnight bikepacking adventure on the Monumental Loop in New Mexico, and the Xanich community in California launched a gear lending library for their tribe and led two bikepacking training tours for 18 participants, including 5 elders and 6 youth.
Noelle Battle, Executive Director of Bikepacking Roots reflects, “It has been so inspiring to support these amazing BIPOC community leaders from around the country, and to know that the programs and the gear libraries developed will continue to support new riders for years to come.”
Devin Cowens — connector, community organizer, avid bikepacker, and founder of Radical Adventure Riders’ Atlanta Chapter — returns to lead this year’s program. “I’m thrilled to support the BIPOC Bike Adventure Grant again,” Cowens shares. “Now more than ever, it feels vital to invest in community and uplift BIPOC leaders who are creating opportunities to experience the outdoors and make bikepacking more accessible.”
Qualified applicants are those who identify as Black, Indigenous, or a Person of Color living in the United States (including Puerto Rico) and Canada (new this year reflecting the expansion of our programming into Canada). Community leaders who have bikepacked before and have experience leading groups, and/or are interested in gear library development and support are encouraged to apply. We hope to award between 6-12 grants for this cycle, each with cash awards of up to $2,000, plus generous in-kind gear donations from a number of business partners.
Applications must be received by no later than December 15, 2025. Applications will be reviewed by a panel of BIPOC adventure cyclists, and recipients will be notified by February 2026.