This gear library spotlight is part of our ongoing work highlighting gear libraries across the country! Check out our Gear Library Resource Hub for more.
RAR Champlain Valley is a local chapter of the national movement of Radical Adventure Riders, a movement towards gender inclusivity and racial equity in cycling and the outdoors. The chapter was formed in 2023 with organizers from Burlington, VT and Lake Placid, NY – either side of Lake Champlain. They host events to empower folks and create community, including open shop nights, recurring group rights, and bikepacking overnights. One of their favorite annual events includes co-hosting Radical Adventure Riders Northeast Autumn Retreat (RAR NAR) with other regional chapters, which is a long weekend full of workshops, group rides, shared meals, bonfire stories, community building, bike skills, and joy!
We chatted with Deb, a volunteer with RAR Champlain Valley’s Gear Library to hear more about their recent collaboration with the Peace and Justice Center. One of the most common questions we get about gear libraries is “where do we store everything?,” and this is a great example of a creative partnership!
What inspired you to start your gear library?
I think bikepacking is the absolute best way to experience a new place, but it can be intimidating and expensive to get into! How do you know what kind of setup is right for you? How do you know what style of bag you prefer? How do you know if you even LIKE bikepacking?? We don’t want people to have to buy a whole setup just to learn what does and doesn’t work for them. Having a gear library allows folks to try out different bags and decide what they like! It’s also great to be able to offer gear to folks who are traveling, whether that’s to attend RAR NAR or just to go on an adventure with friends!
How did the Gear Library get started, and where are you today?
When we were first getting started as a chapter in 2023, we received a handful of bikepacking bags from Salsa as part of their overall RAR sponsorship. We also received items from a local bag maker called Class 4 Designs. It was our goal from the start to have these items publicly available for borrowing from a community gear library. We had the vision and some gear, but didn’t have a space or logistics figured out yet. In 2024, our chapter received the BIPOC Bike Adventure Grant from Bikepacking Roots, along with another local bike group called Color the Valley. Now we had camping gear, racks, more bags, and support to get the ball rolling more. We started lending out gear to folks who joined us on bikepacking overnights, or traveled to attend RAR NAR.
As time went on, we realized that we wanted the gear to be easily borrowed on a regular basis in a way that was sustainable for our volunteer-led team. This meant we needed a permanent home for the gear that was publicly accessible. Cue the Peace and Justice Center! The PJC is a nonprofit in Burlington that uses education, advocacy, and activism to advance the interconnected issues of human rights and economic, social, and environmental justice. One of the many programs they have to further their mission is a lending library – and it doesn’t have just books! This “Library of Things” is stocked with many items that may be useful to activists, such as speakers, water jugs, projectors, and clip boards. Since we knew the PJC already hosted this lending library, we reached out to see if they would be open to including our bikepacking gear as well. We were so stoked when they said yes! Partnering with them allowed us to make the gear accessible to borrow anytime they are open, and gave it a wider reach in terms of who would hear about the gear library.
Dropping off the gear library items at the PJC, by bike of course!
What type of gear do you rent?
The gear library currently has bikepacking and touring bags, including frame bags, front and rear bikepacking bags, panniers, racks, and more. Soon we will add our camping gear, a bike travel case, and whatever else comes our way! Currently, panniers seem to be the most popular.
How do you manage it?
Now that the gear library is hosted at the PJC, a lot more of the logistics are handled by them – which is a great help for our volunteer-run chapter!
We label and categorize the items, and the PJC handles the backend work. They use an organization app made by Kimico to show all the items, and you can see what is available and what is already checked out. You can go to https://www.pjcvt.org/library, search by “category: library of things” and see all of the RAR items listed there. Members of the public can stop by the PJC anytime during their open hours, or email the director to borrow things.
The items are still associated with RAR, but anyone in the Burlington area is able to borrow them. This is mutually beneficial for us and the PJC – we can both help promote each other’s organizations and what they have to offer. Partnering with a value-aligned organization with similar intent to share resources and tools with the public has been a great way to increase visibility and access, and build our community in Burlington and beyond. In addition to the gear library being open to the public, we’ll also continue to utilize it for overnights we host. In the past we’ve hosted shop nights ahead of an overnight trip, where riders can get bikes fixed, and grab a bag or anything else they need from the gear library, and get help figuring out what would work well on their bike – so we also imagine continuing to do that in the future as well.
What is the most fulfilling part about running a bikepacking gear library?
Spreading the joy and freedom of exploring by bike!
What are the biggest challenges you face in running a gear library?
The first big challenge was figuring out where to host it without creating a whole new system and requiring someone to be available for gear pickups on a regular basis. Co-hosting with the PJC has been the perfect solution for that and we are so grateful! The next challenge is spreading the word so more people know about it!
Find out more about the RAR Champlain Valley Gear Library at https://www.pjcvt.org/library/ (if you search by “category: library of things” all of the RAR items are listed here) and follow along their adventures at @rar.champlainvalley.
