KIDS ON BIKES…DOES IT GET ANY BETTER THAN THAT?
Introduce kids to the joy of an active life by leading your own bicycle adventure. You’ll be able to give them an experience that will empower them, engage them, and lead them to a healthy lifestyle. We’ve got a bunch of resources available to help you encourage kids to ride their bikes.

Pedal Pioneers: A Guide to Bicycle Travel with Kids is designed to help teachers, youth group leaders, and other bicyclists organize their own youth tours. It will help you along every step of the way; from creating a trip proposal to choosing meals. You do not need to be a seasoned leader or an accomplished rider to organize a trip — you just need a passion for kids and bicycling, and the time and energy to make it happen. Get more information and order a Guide.

In 2009, Adventure Cycling will also be offering a leadership course for adults who want to take groups of kids on overnight bicycle adventures. The Pedal Pioneers Training Course distills decades’ worth of experience organizing and leading bicycle tours and wraps it into a three-day package that will impart a wealth of knowledge and know-how on and off the bike. We will be offering continuing education credits, to boot. Online registration available soon, for more information contact outreach or call 1-800-755-2453.

There are a lot of details that go into organizing a youth bicycle trip. Our Frequently Asked Questions page attempts to answer some of these mysteries.

If you’ve got some questions or ideas that you want to share with others, hop onto our Youth Bicycle Forum. Here you’ll have the opportunity to ask questions and learn from others. You can also record your ride at our Rider Registry. You’ll be able to share information about your ride and have it written into history.

Sign up for our quarterly Pedal Pioneers E-News for information on inspirational bike trips, helpful resources from Adventure Cycling and beyond, and to connect with others who inspired to get kids on bikes. Contact our to get on the list.

In all of the research that we have done for Pedal Pioneers, we have found many great information sources including youth bicycle travel programs, bike safety programs, and general bicycle resources. Check out our list of national youth bicycle resources on the right hand navigation bar for more details.  

And if you want to read an account of a real-life cross-country youth trip, pick up the book “Hey Mom, Can I Ride My Bike Across America? Five Kids Meet Their Country” by John Seigel Boettner at our online store.

Now that you are feeling truly inspired to help us encourage more kids to travel by bike, we’ve got a list of things that you can do to get involved.

If you have any questions about the Pedal Pioneers program, email

Let’s get America’s children back on bikes!

This project was made possible with the support of The Henry Family Foundation and Adventure Cycling Association members.