Guide to bike travel with youth groups

With winter in the home stretch and summer on the horizon, I wanted to share with you a new guide we put together at Adventure Cycling to get more young people into bicycling -- in this case, bike travel. I know there has been a lot of focus on Safe Routes to School (and rightfully so), but bike travel is increasingly becoming a way to reach out to youth groups, such as the Boy Scouts, who actually have merit badges for biking.

The guide is called Pedal Pioneers: A Guide to Bicycle Travel with Kids, and it is, to our knowledge, a first-of-its kind, A-Z guide on how to organize overnight youth bike trips for fitness, fun, and self-discovery. It was created with the help of over fifty bicycle experts from around the country.

In five step-by-step sections and a major resource directory, Pedal Pioneers walks leaders through each stage of organizing a multi-day bicycle trip for kids who can bicycle independently. You can view a Table of Contents and other parts of the Guide by visiting www.adventurecycling.org/pedalpioneersguide. The Guide is $10.05 for members, and $15.05 for non-members plus shipping and handling. If you can t afford either of those prices, we have set aside a limited number of free copies for groups that want to get into youth bike travel.

FYI, in addition to the Guide, we have updated our website to include a Youth Bicycle Travel Forum, FAQ s, Testimonials, and links to other national groups with bicycling resources. Learn more about the Pedal Pioneers program at www.adventurecycling.org/pedalpioneers.

MoBikeFed President Joe Torrisi--one of the founders of the Compton Drew Middle School Dolphin Bicycle Club--was one of the contributors to the book.

If you want a copy, I suggest ordering very soon. The first printing of this book sold out in very short order.