Bikecentennial 76 Cycling Participants

Even though this page you are seeing is not my primary Bikecentennial page anymore, I am posting information about the Jubilee in the Desert event planned for January 9-12, 2026 organized by Adventure Cycling. The registration page is now LIVE. Please click the link below to learn all about the event celebrating the 50th anniversary of Bikecentennial 76 and Adventure Cycling.

https://www.adventurecycling.org/anniversary-events/jubilee/?fbclid=IwY2xjawMIcTpleHRuA2FlbQIxMQABHtRgcseEY_1gsLLIdKpFO1qTR03_j7F4ZkkXy59CgMGfqI5CxxlyrePfFi60_aem_tKUPJ70LPf3XYFToZM6plQ

Jubilee - Adventure Cycling Association Jubilee in the Desert The official 50th anniversary kickoff event Celebrate 50 Years of Adventure Cycling Jubilee is a 4-day event, full of rides, hikes, group meals, BBQs, and more. […]

The 2026 50th Anniversary Celebration of Bikecentennnial '76 and Adventure Cycling will be held in Tucson, AZ rather than in Missoula, MT.

If you are Adventure Cycling Association member, you have recently received the June Member Newsletter in your email. It was announced that rather than a large celebration event in Missoula, Montana in 2026, the organization, with the help of some incredible volunteers, is putting its efforts into planning and hosting an event in Tucson, AZ to kick off a year of festivities that will also include a new route release and group riding opportunities on its iconic routes.

As many people here may be disappointed that there will not be a multi-day event next year in Missoula, please understand that as a nationwide organization, Adventure Cycling is excited to branch out and explore a beautiful new area primed to facilitate all sorts of incredible riding with its world-class cycling infrastructure.

If you didn't catch the member newsletter, here is an excerpt:

"Tour leader and volunteer extraordinaire, Steve Powell, was recently in the Tucson area scouting for Jubilee in the Desert, our 50th Anniversary kickoff event in January. He met with Catalina State Park rangers and local members to discuss logistics, event day rides, the potential for a large group celebration party, and more.

Local volunteerism and collaboration are key to the success of this event, and Steve met with a few Tucson residents, including Kent Bauman who is head of the local cycling club, a Bikecentennial '76 rider, and a current Adventure Cycling member.

While I hoped that registration for the Jubilee would open mid-June, we need a little more time to finesse the details. I hope to launch registration and informative webpages in early July. Apologies for the delay.

Jubilee in the Desert will be our golden anniversary’s official in-place gathering, January 9-12, 2026. (I’m certainly stoked to swap January’s doldrums for some silly saguaros.) Adventure Cycling's Staff are not planning a gathering in Missoula like we did for the 40th anniversary, though we’re open to volunteers organizing regional events.

As a national organization, our goal is to encourage as many people as possible to celebrate the anniversary by riding bikes, whether at regional events or along our iconic routes. We have some fun announcements coming down the wire about routes and rides soon — stay tuned!"

I also met with Steve and Kent in Tucson to help organize this grand event, and we hope many of you can come and join the fun. I can certainly say the roads there are very nice for cycling, and even some gravel trails in the state park.

Again, as some may have hoped for a major event in Missoula, the decision to create regional events on a smaller scale was necessary, and staff and board are excited to see you there! Details will be here soon for the Jubilee event. Thank you for being an Adventure Cycling member and supporter!

Dreux DeMack
Adventure Cycling Volunteer

(Please note that this page is no longer my primary Bikecentennial and Adventure Cycling page. As many of you know, I created a new group as seen in the graphic below. I will also post the link to that page. If you are not a member of that group, please join today. I will still keep this page you are on up and LIVE, but it is no longer my primary page for new content.)

https://www.facebook.com/groups/974818537500393

BIG ANNOUNCEMENT!!!

SAVE THE DATE!!!!!

Jubilee in the Desert
50th Anniversary Kickoff Celebration of
the Adventure Cycling Association and Bikecentennial
January 9-12, 2026

Calling all current and past members of the Adventure Cycling Association and Bikecentennial (including the storied Bikecentennial ‘76 riders) along with local collaborating biking organizations: Bring your bikes, hiking shoes, and stories of cycling adventure to what is shaping up to be an epic gathering of people in love with bike travel!

You are cordially invited to a celebration of 50 years of bike travel. There will be bike rides (obviously), hikes and walks, opportunities to share small-group meals, BBQs, and social events that you can help arrange.

Come and enjoy the activities while renewing old friendships and making new ones at a location well known for over 130-miles of interconnected bike paths and fabulous off-road riding: Tucson, Arizona.

We will have tent and RV camping available at Catalina State Park, along with recommendations for additional camping and hotels in the area.

This event is organized by the Adventure Cycling Association tour leaders and staff (thank you, organizers!), volunteers, all in collaboration with local biking organizations El Grupo Tucson and the Tucson NW Spokes & Spirits.

⌚ When: January 9-12, 2026
🌵 Where: Catalina State Park, Tucson, Arizona
😍 Why: To celebrate our shared joy of bike travel
📢 How: RSVP will open mid-June
In June, current Adventure Cycling members and Bikecentennial alumni will receive an email with more information, a way to sign up for the event, and an FAQ webpage. (This information will also be posted here on this page created by and owned by Adventure Cycling volunteer Dreux DeMack, who is also involved with this event.)

Want to volunteer to help with this event, have suggestions or questions?

Contact: [email protected]

This will not be your only opportunity to celebrate; plans are underway for other rides and events in 2026, so stay tuned!

To anyone visiting this page after April 2025, I have migrated this focus on Bikecentennial to a new page found at the page shown below.

When I started this page you are on in 2013, I mistakenly set it up as a business group, which it is not a business.

I am leaving the page open so you can still browse through years of content about Bikecentennial, The Adventure Cycling Association and the Trans America Bike Route. I hope you will consider joining the new page which I created in April 2024, you can actually post on that page original content after answering three simple group questions.

Thank you for your interest in the Bikecentennial legacy!

**Copy and paste this in the search window to find the new page**

Bikecentennial 76 and Trans Am Bike Route Enthusiasts

Well, I just could not help myself and got started on the new GROUP so that everyone can post original content. Literally in the last 30 minutes as of Sunday morning, April 21 at 9:00am Mountain Time I created the group. Here is the link and you are all invited to join.

Bikecentennial 76 and Trans Am Bike Route Enthusiasts

PLEASE remember to answer the group rules questions so I can approve you joining the group!

I chose a simple name, Bikecentennial 76 and Trans Am Enthusiasts. Several people pitched some cool names but I think this encompasses what I want the page to be. It will be a work in progress and I'll leave this page up for now. Come and join!!

Bikecentennial 76 and Trans Am Enthusiasts

OK everyone, as the owner of this page I have made a decision based on some great ideas from several people here. I am going to work on creating a new GROUP page commemorating the Bikecentennial history and people who have ridden the Trans Am since 1976 or may just be an enthusiast of both. My mistake 11 years ago was creating this page as a Business page. (I was young and naive!)

Once I launch the new page, I will invite EVERYONE here so you can migrate to the new GROUP page, which will allow all of us to post content, pictures, links, etc. based on the group rules I establish. I hope to have this done soon, perhaps by the end of April. I will manage it just as I do this page, no spammers, fake profiles and off-topic posts...I want to focus on topic about Bikecentennial and almost anything attached to it. Perhaps at some point I will shut this page down to avoid confusion.

Now it's your homework time. I want suggestions on what to call the new GROUP page. Keep it simple and short but include the word Bikecentennial in your idea. Fun, huh? I think 4 words or less will work, like this page has.

Ready, set, GO!

One of our followers, Roger Dibrito, asked me to share this that he found. Pretty cool and Dan Burden continues to have a role with Adventure Cycling and the Bikecentennial community.

Thanks Roger!

As I continue to try and rebuild this page with fresh content, I had to add a link to some really awesome pictures from the 40th Anniversary of Bikecentennial held in Missoula in 2016. It's fitting because Adventure Cycling is working on the 50th Anniversary celebration with each day that passes by. This is a flickr album that ACA themselves posted and anyone who was there 8 years ago will enjoy seeing these memories in vivid detail. Now...who is EXCITED for the 50th celebration in 2 years? Count me in!!!

Dreux DeMack

40th Anniversary of Adventure Cycling- Montana Bicycle Celebration Montana Bicycle Celebration, Missoula, MT, July 14 - 17, 2016

For those of you who indeed rode Bikecentennial almost 48 years ago, I have a treat for you. And for those who learned about it years later, this is for you as well.

When I started this page 11 years ago, I wanted to bring together the memories of that incredible summer and all of the Trans Am experiences that others had over the years. Well, recently I found in a box my original Bikecentennial log that as a 17 year old, I typed up from my daily journals back in 1976. And now I want to share them with you.

Keep in mind this was done on an old-fashioned typewriter and from the mind of a 17-year-old, so the writing is goofy at times and there are many typos. Take your time reading it but I think many of those who rode the Trans Am at one point in their life will be able to relate. Enjoy and I look forward to your comments and questions!

My Boulder cycling buddy Ryan Van Duzer did a fun video last year talking all about my favorite cycling organization, the Adventure Cycling Association, based in Missoula, Montana. This is the association that created Bikecentennial 76 of course that I was part of at the age of 17, riding from Oregon to Colorado.
Anyway, take a peek at this 20 minute video and if you are not a member of Adventure Cycling, it's time! You can join here:
www.adventurecycling.org

And here is a link to Ryan's video and check out his incredible bike travel videos, you'll love them, on YouTube!

https://youtu.be/Q_lNz2kxh7U?si=IM9xK_2dIJfAl4FP

A Stunning Fall Day to Bike Around Boulder (and talk about the Adventure Cycling Association) The Adventure Cycling Association has been around for almost 50 years.Their mission is to get get more people on bikes while creating the best touring routes...

Happy New Year all of you Bikecentennial enthusiasts! This is my first real post as the admin and owner of the page since I regained access to the page. It's good to be able to share once again some Bikecentennial content with you. And the first thing I am excited to share is an announcement!

The Adventure Cycling Association in Missoula, Montana has announced (sort of!) that they will be holding a 50 year celebration of Bikecentennial in that town where their headquarters are. I was at the 40th anniversary in 2016 and it was absolutely amazing. There is no date set yet but it will likely be in June or July of 2026. (It is still very early in the planning stages.)

I have been offered an organizational voluntary role yet to be defined. So if you want to join the party in a couple of years, more information is coming and you can always join Adventure Cycling at www.adventurecycling.org

Your membership helps support this awesome cycling organization that promotes global bike touring and adventure.

I will also begin posting some newly discovered Bikecentennial materials I discovered this week in my boxes in storage. When I did the ride in June and July of 1976, I saved EVERYTHING they mailed to us as members, even my original application at the young age of 17! Now I want to share some things here because it shows how far Adventure Cycling has come when it started as Bikecentennial. So be looking for that soon.

Get on your bike soon, even if it's indoors. We are expecting 60s here on the Front Range of Colorado this coming week, woohoo!

(A footnote: I am still monitoring some fake comments and people here, so be assured I am trying to keep those baddies off my page!)

Discover What Awaits As a nonprofit organization, Adventure Cycling Association's mission is to inspire and empower people to travel by bicycle. Established in 1973 as Bikecentennial, we are the premier bicycle-travel organization in North Americ