Starting Point

Most individuals owned a bicycle at an early point in their life, and when people come back to the bike at a later time, it’s often as a cheap way to transport themselves from A to B or as an answer to the growing number of reasons people seem to find discontent in their life.

For the first group, those travelling on the cheap, we distribute a freely-available print edition of BICYCLIST magazine at a local bike shop near you (maybe). Will Decker, the founding publisher had the idea that anyone wandering into a bike shop should find a reliable, tangible and credible source of information to make the most of their time in the saddle. And he believed it should be free. Not so much as a gesture of charity, but more of accessibility.

For solving the discontents of the second group, travel by bicycle provides an answer for improving the condition of near any quandary, crisis, ailment, or frustration, mental or physical, a human may come upon. And the benefit to society would be enormous if the bicycle was looked upon as a salve, rather the pharmaceutical, pseudo-science cocktails, and snake-oil cures presently pedaled to the masses.

A one-hour bicycle ride with a group of like-minded individuals will provide more delight and value than most any other activity. A one-day bike tour with only the winds at your back can improve your life permanently – a discovery of self-reliance, mental fortitude and endurance. What bicyclists around the world have discovered is not the bike, but the mind of the bicyclist, a palace of strength, solace, discipline, and even-headedness.

We believe this power to be nothing short of divine and feel obligated to share this message.

And who are we? A pair of young people ( Chris Reynolds and Kelley O’Toole ) who found themselves as stewards of this humble empire when the fore-mentioned publisher Will Decker turned 83 and decided it was time to stop writing, and start riding again.

Since that transition in 2014, we’ve grown the BICYCLIST universe, expanded the reach and goals of Mr. Decker’s original mission and added to the team of individuals dedicated to increasing the enthusiasm for travel by bike through a panoply of formats and mediums.

But to continue our work, and expand the constituency of people who are sympathetic to a life of transport by bike, we need your help.

We understand that asking people who ride bikes to part with money, can be to some like asking a fish to give up its legs. But we guarantee you will receive a level of commensurate value that beats any helmet (Yes, even with MIPS), apparel atrocity, or most bikes for sale.

If you’re saving for your first bike, your money is better spend getting in the game. But once that bike is yours, your money is well spent joining along with the BAT. Does n=2 or 3? It will be money well spent, exchanged for information and experiential guidance for use in making the most of your time in the saddle.

Support by our patrons allow us to program researching bicyclist-friendly routes and tours, producing guides and maps, and the media millions of people around the world have used to make the most of their time in the saddle: