Stuck for a last-minute gift for a fellow bicycling enthusiast? Socks are always nice, but you can only have so many pairs of gloves, rear blinkers and water bottles.
My recommendation is that people give memberships to national bicycling associations or local bicycle clubs this year. These are the folks who do all the heavy lifting when it comes to creating bike routes, building trails or advocating on our part in the halls of Congress or down at City Hall.
And since they have a nonprofit status, a portion of those memberships are tax deductible; always a consideration at the end of the year.
Here are what I'd consider the four best memberships you could give:
Adventure Cycling Association: Founded as Bikecentennial, this group has created maps of thousands of miles of bike routes criss-crossing the country, including the TransAmerica, Lewis & Clark and Underground Railroad bike routes. It's offering a discounted holiday gift membership before Dec. 31. In addition to supporting their mission, members get discounts on maps, 9 issues of Adventure Cyclist magazine, catalogs, cycling yellow pages, access to specially organized tours and affiliation memberships. They also offer exhaustive resources for people wanting to tour by bicycle. Membership details.
League of American Bicyclists: Forming in 1880 as the League of American Wheelmen, its first battle was to get old, muddy roads paved so that new-fangled machine, the bicycle, had somewhere to go. The battle continues to make those roads safe. LAB provides safety training and bike advocacy on local, state and national levels, as well as sponsoring the Bike Friendly Communities program and National Bike Month. Members get the LAB magazine as well as Bicycling magazine, discounts for bike shipping, almanacs, mileage logs and other benefits. Membership details.
Rails to Trails Conservancy: Since 1986, the RTC has worked with local communities to preserve unused rail corridors for use as biking and biking trails. Its success in defending the railbanking provision of federal law and grassroots trail work has helped to create nearly 14,000 miles of bike-hike trails from abandoned railroad rights-of-way. Among other things, the RTC is currently preparing maps for about 70 rail-trails in California. Members receive a quarterly magazine and discounts on clothing and equipment. Membership details.
Thunderhead Alliance: Actually, any club associated with the Thunderhead Alliance. The coalition of more than 125 state and local bicycle and pedestrian advocacy organizations in 49 states and Canada works to break down barriers to safe biking and walking. Becoming a member of one of its affiliates helps to support its many activities, such as Complete the Streets, 50 States/50 Cities, Affordable Transportation for Affordable Housing. Follow this link to Thunderhead's member organizations to find one in your city or state, then join to help support the many bicycle advocacy programs they're doing on your behalf. You'll also get to participate in that bike club's other activities.
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