Each year since 2016, we made it a tradition to celebrate the first days of spring by sharing the plans for Bikeout’s annual bike camping trips.

The timing made sense for this adventurous community, whether you had already braved the late winter chill for a sunny weekend ride, or if you needed something extra exciting to look forward to.

That’s part of what makes today’s announcement so special. We’re following that tradition, looking forward to warmer days ahead after the quiet years of a pandemic.

Today, we’re excited to share that the Pennsylvania Environmental Council has taken on Bikeout’s operations, including our signature event programming and our new digital trip guide offerings, with an updated plan for impact.

The statewide nonprofit has been a driving force behind the development of Greater Philadelphia’s Circuit Trails network and has a 50-year history working on environmental conservation across PA, including a focus on issues related to trails, recreation, climate, and energy. With PEC’s stewardship, Bikeout programming will have a renewed focus on making Pennsylvania’s multi-use trails more welcoming and inclusive by increasing awareness of trails, developing more trail leaders, and encouraging collaboration among Circuit Trail Coalition members and local partners. Leading the effort at PEC is Emilia Crotty, a senior trails and recreation manager who has worked in active transportation organizing and advocacy for two decades, and Patrick Starr, an executive vice president who coordinates the organization’s statewide programs from its office in Philadelphia.

What does this mean for you, our dear rider? Most importantly, Bikeout’s flagship event, our overnight bike camping adventure, will return in a new form in 2023, aligned with PEC’s mission to improve access to multi-use trails for all. And while we work through this transition in 2022, our curated digital trip guides will be available for free, giving us the chance to work on new experiences, and giving you the chance to explore the rich, curated guides that we’ve already created.

For those of you wondering about the original Bikeout team, Amanda Crawford-Staub and Brian James Kirk have moved on to new professional endeavors, but are working closely with PEC on this transition. In February 2020, Amanda and Brian announced plans to expand Bikeout and explore bike travel with thousands of people across the country with new curated trips, but the urgent global impact of Covid-19 had other intentions. What happened since would be a long tale to tell, so we’ll keep it simple by asking you to continue to meaningfully support local entrepreneurs and travel industry workers.

We’re proud to have hosted more than 1,000 riders in our six years of operation and we’re grateful to the community of attendees and partners, including a special thanks to the farm managers at Sankanac CSA, Eliza Killo and Jasper Williams, who hosted the evening programming for Bikeout's Schuylkill River Trail ride. Every person who attended or partnered with us contributed so thoughtfully to Bikeout experiences. You all made Bikeout possible. We’ll never forget those rides and relationships.

We’re truly excited about this change, because it means that new relationships can grow. With PEC’s mission and expertise, its operational capacity and a refined focus on Pennsylvania, we can’t wait to see what happens next.

We encourage you to sign-up for Bikeout’s email newsletters for future announcements. You can sign up by scrolling down this page to the pink "Let's keep in touch" section. Until then, check out Bikeout’s digital trip guides focused on Pennsylvania’s beautiful and historic D&L Trail, reach out to bikeout@pecpa.org for any questions moving forward, and feel free to email Brian and Amanda personally if you have any other questions.