Holiday Campaign 2011

**Post Campaign Update:

We received 854 donations for a total of $137,841 raised.

• 577 donations were 25% or greater than the donor's last gift
• 225 donations were from new donors
• 200 donations were from donors who hadn't made gifts in the last 2 years but returned to us

Thank you all for your amazing support. Your generous donations have helped us to surpass even our most optimistic goals for the campaign. With your support, it is clear that – despite the uncertain future of bicycle funding in the United States – the future of Adventure Cycling is in good hands.

“Traveling by bike is a defining life experience.”

-Noah Lansner, member and donor

Throughout the course of the bicycle-travel season, many cyclists visit our headquarters in Missoula while crossing the country using one of our established routes, like the TransAm, Lewis and Clark, or Northern Tier. It never fails that at least one visiting cyclists says they have dreamed of riding their bike across America since they were a child. The cyclist tells us that he or she never knew it could actually be done or that anyone else had performed such a feat…until they found Adventure Cycling. They share with us their current bicycle adventures and how they discovered that, as member and donor Noah Lansner has so eloquently stated: “Traveling by bike is a defining life experience.” And we couldn’t agree more — not just life-defining but life-changing as well.

This holiday season, your support will help us continue to change lives by inspiring people to get on their bikes and ride. It will help us show others what great things can be experienced from behind handlebars, atop two wheels, fueled by sweat, climbing mountain passes, and descending with wind in your face and bugs in your teeth.

To read stories from people whose lives you have helped to change with your donation visit our blog (http://blog.adventurecycling.org/) starting Tuesday, November 22nd, and every Tuesday through December 27th. Here, you’ll see tales that range from recapturing the childlike delight of riding a bike, to regaining one’s fitness and beating diabetes, to putting doubt to rest by pedaling to self-assurance.

Without the tools and encouragement provided by Adventure Cycling, many would-be bicycle travelers would never be able to make their dreams into a reality. Only with your support can we continue to map new routes like Bicycle Route 66, develop new online resources like BikeOvernights.org, and expand our advocacy efforts for better bike-travel conditions such as our work with the Federal Highway Administration on safe rumble strip placement. You can read about all our programs at www.AdventureCycling.org. Ultimately we hope that our efforts will connect a large community of people passionate about bicycle travel and a world where it’s safe to do so. We know that we can’t do it without your help.

Update: In addition to our two anonymous donors, we have had a group of donors come together to offer an additional $18,000 match challenge. Our Holiday Trailblazers are: Anonymous, Anonymous, The Crunchy Frog Fund, Jon Spallino, Dr. Thomas Blanck, and Richard Goldman.