The Outdoor Inclusion Coalition (OIC) is an organization based in Pittsburgh, PA focused on supporting the outdoor exploration of underrepresented community members through free and minimal-cost resources, activities, and events such as skiing, snowboarding, climbing, and camping. They’ve partnered with local bike shops to facilitate community rides on the Great Allegheny Passage, experiencing a growing interest in multi day rides and multi activity trips like riding the GAP to Ohiopyle, camping, and climbing before returning to Pittsburgh. They’d like to support the community in this effort while adding the bike-packing gear to a gear library for community members to utilize at their will and expand the offerings we can provide to public schools and community bike groups.
In addition to the utilization with the immediate Pittsburgh community, the OIC is partnering with Boyz N the Wood to host a black men’s retreat for 12 participants, September 16-22 featuring a GAP and C&O Canal trail ride to Washington, DC, with a group of men, utilizing bike-packing as a restorative space for black men to heal and forge connections with other black men, nature, and themselves.