The RAR Philadelphia Chapter came into creation out of a lot of shared excitement. Philadelphia is a diverse city, full of grit and enthusiasm.
We are fortunate to be close by to many gravel events, bike races, bike trails, camping, etc.
We hope to knit together an already existing group of folks interested in adventure rides, and also work to inspire others who may be new to/curious about bikes.
CORE GROUP
Ruby Gertz
Ruby (she/her) started riding her bike as a commuter and has turned into an adventure cyclist over the past decade. Ruby rides her bike all over the city, whether for errands, transportation, or just plain fun. In 2015, with her best friend they did a cross-country bicycle tour from San Francisco to Boston. Since then, she has done several shorter bicycle tours. Ruby has also recently taken an interest in trail riding on her mountain bike. Her favorite thing about biking is riding alongside new and old friends!
Sandra Guillory
Sandra (she/her) has been backpacking for the past decade. Last year, she decided to try bikepacking and really enjoyed it. Mostly, she has ridden in PA’s state forests and rail trails and is looking forward to adding more overnight adventures in the near future. She has lived in South Philly for the past 12 years and is moving to Germantown in June 2021. She is excited to discover new nearby trails.
Ronnie
Ronnie (they/them), shortly after moving to Philadelphia 11 years ago decided to sell their car with the intention of solely using their bike to get around. Somewhere between doing long road rides with friends and beginning to work at Fairmount bicycles, they fell in love with riding on dirt and getting carried away on their mountain bike. Their bikepacking history is a pretty good mix of road/dirt and supported/solo riding. They are looking forward to connecting with other packing nerds about what goes where and why!
Malisa Kheuangthirath
Malisa (she/her) is originally from Amish country but has called Philly home for the past ~15 years. She started as a bike commuter but has grown to love longer rides and recently bikepacking and gravel biking. She enjoys party pace rides that ends with a snack or a fun destination. Her favorite bike snack is either a hoagie or pizza. She hopes to continue finding fun routes to share and bring accessibility in adventure riding for BIPOC and FTWNB folks. She loves the expanding community she’s found in RAR and excited to see how it grows.
Flo
Flo (she/they) grew up in central Pennsylvania but has been living in Philly since 2009. They rode bikes as a kid and then to commute but never really found a home in cycling. That changed after they started riding bikes after having a stroke due to an adverse medical event. Bikes helped her heal physically and emotionally, and she fell more in love with bikes than ever expected – with lots of gratitude to the RAR Philly chapter for that! Starting with rides through South Philly, Flo now loves meandering road rides, bikepacking, gravel, and mountain biking. They are excited to now be a part of the Philly chapter’s core team to help others find their community through bikes, too.
Andrea
Andrea (she/her/ella) started bike commuting in Philly a couple of years ago when she had to sell her car to pay rent, started working with the local Bicycle Coalition and got hooked on long-ish rides. Her cycling interests include bike-packing, local and self-supported rides making friends and discovering new places, and dreams of doing a cross country trip one day. Outside of the bike world, Andrea now has an office job as an urban planner, where she spends her time looking at maps and day-dreaming of fun places to bike to. She has two dogs and in her free time, she enjoys sleeping in and having breakfast in bed.
RAR Chapters will advocate, support, and uplift BIPOC and FTWN-B cyclists in their local communities! Find a RAR Chapter in your area and learn more about each group.
Latest Chapter News
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RAR Northeast Autumn Retreat
Have you heard? RAR Northeast Chapters are collaborating to create an autumn retreat in Topsham, VT, from Sept 13 to 16, 2024! WHAT IS RAR NAR? The first-ever Radical Adventure Riders Northeast Autumn Retreat is a long weekend full of workshops, group rides, shared meals, bonfire stories, community building, bike skills, and joy! The theme for the……
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New RAR Chapters!
Give a warm welcome to the eleven new RAR Chapters! We had over twenty applications from BIPOC and FTWN-B organizers nationwide and beyond. We mainly sought groups in different regions who had a solid core group to build out their community efforts. THANK YOU to everyone who took the time to apply. Twenty-one RAR Chapters will advocate, support, and uplift BIPOC and……
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RAR Raffle for Chapters Fundraiser
Donate to win prizes and help us raise $40k to grow RAR Chapters to 20 locations! Donate to the RAR Chapters Fundraiser to win sweet prizes from Salsa, Revelate Designs, Velocity Wheels, Teravail, Bags x Bird, and Simworks. A total of five prizes will be given away: To enter, please donate $25 to the RAR……