Cycling

Cycling, Expedition Denali, Madison, River Restoration, The Adventure Gap / 06.09.2018

In 2014, Mary Ann Thomas bicycled solo across the US and Canada. In 2017, She peddled across India with a travel partner and connected with local bike communities in cities across the nation. Accessing these cycling havens in India provided examples of community that she, a brown queer daughter of Indian immigrants, had only rarely seen in the US bike world. On September 15, 2018 her remarkable experience is the subject of a most compelling evening of community story sharing in Madison, Wisconsin at Café Domestique and the...

Banff, Climbing, Cycling, Deserts, Film Festival, Film Review / 05.12.2014

Audiences at the 2014 Banff Mountain Film Festival cheered loudest for a short feature that was nothing short of painful. SufferFest 2: Desert Alpine starring climbers Cedar Wright and Alex Honnold pulled off a stunning victory to win the Radical Reels People’s Choice Award. By pegging the needle on the ol’ Applause-o-Meter they earned another coveted spot on BMFF World Tour and the enthusiastic delight of an inspired crowd. SufferFest 2 is now available for download at Vimeo-on-Demand. The second in a series of hilarious adventure films produced and...

Adventure Activism, Adventure Media Review, Africa, Bikes, Cycling, Film Review / 02.12.2013

I had the pleasure of meeting director T.C. Johnstone back in October at the Adventure Film Festival in Boulder Colorado. He was among several speakers who presented the details of their most recent projects that focus on using athletics and international travel as vehicles for social change. Squarely in line with several of the Joy Trip Project’s primary mission parameters I was eager to see his incredible film that demonstrates the recovery and reconciliation of the 1994 Rwandan genocide through the power of bicycles. Rising From Ashes is a...

Adventure Activism, Adventure Media Review, Afghanistan, Cycling, Film preview / 19.11.2013

Set to premiere during the 2014 adventure film season the much anticipated documentary Afghan Cycles posted its trailer today on Vimeo. A movie that tells the story of the first women’s bicycle team in Afghanistan this much anticipated flick aims to demonstrate the power and courage of female athletes leading the way toward gender equality in Central Asia. A project spearheaded by social activist Shannon Galpin of Mountain 2 Mountain, a Colorado-based organization dedicated to issues of women’s empowerment, the film by Sarah Menzies of LET Media celebrates the...

Adventure Activism, Adventure Media Review, Afghanistan, Charitable Giving, Cycling, Film preview / 11.10.2013

  I first met Shannon Galpin in 2007, about a year after she created her non-profit Mountain 2 Mountain. Hoping to find a common bond between the alpine culture of her home community in Breckenridge Colorado and rugged the high altitude provinces of Afghanistan she works to create empowerment opportunities for women and girls to help them lead better lives through education, family planning and economic development. Shannon’s efforts throughout this often volatile conflict zone have done much to demonstrate the impact that one person can make to improve...

Africa, Bikes, Cycling, Life Out Loud, philanthropy, Sustainable Living / 07.08.2013

Trek Bicycle and World Bicycle Relief (WBR) raised a record monthly donation amount through the “Trek Match” initiative. In the month of July, Trek and WBR partnered for a dollar-for-dollar donation matching program that ignited a huge response. With unprecedented support, over $90,000 was raised in four weeks, which will be doubled by Trek’s matching donation. The money will be used to provide roughly 1,500 bikes for deserving students, healthcare workers, and entrepreneurs in Africa. “Trek’s outstanding support in July will make a deep and immediate impact on the...