SJ Brooks Scholarship

Radical Adventure Riders honors and passes on SJ Brooks’ legacy to future radical adventure riders through an annual scholarship.

With the SJ Brooks Scholarship, RAR seeks to increase access to cycling opportunities by providing financial, gear, and bicycle support for BIPOC cyclists who are trans, non-binary, genderqueer, two-spirit, femme, and/or women.

2021 Scholarship

In 2021, we offered 20 scholarships for BIPOC TWIG cyclists. Recipients received $666-$2k cash stipends, 3 new e-bikes from Specialized Bikes, 1 gravel bike with bikepacking bags from Corvid Cycles, 1 gravel bike from Crust Bikes, and 10 gear packages valued at $800 each.

Learn more about the 2021 scholarship, the companies who supported it, and the twenty recipients.

2020 Scholarship

For the 2020 SJ Brooks Scholarship, we received 200 applications, and the reality is that there were more qualified applicants than we had scholarships to give. We provided sixteen scholarships with $1k-$2k cash stipends, 4 bikes provided by Specialized Bikes, 2 bikes from Kona Bikes, 2 bikes from Surly Bicycles, 1 e-bike from Bosch eBike Systems, and 10 gear packages valued at $3k each.

Learn more about the 2020 scholarship, the companies who supported it, and the sixteen recipients.

Past Scholarship Recipients

In 2018 and 2019, RAR provided a total of ten scholarships for BIPOC and FTWN-B folks to attend the WTF BX Summits. Recipients also received financial stipends, gear packages, and bikes based on need. Learn more about the past recipients!

Who was SJ Brooks?

A community organizer, experienced cyclist, and beloved by many, SJ was the founder of the Seattle chapter of Friends on Bikes, a social cycling group for BIPOC who are women, trans, femme, or non-binary. In August of 2018, SJ was scheduled to speak about FOB– as part of the queer people of color panel– at the RAR Summit. On May 19, 2018, SJ was fatally attacked by a cougar while biking in the wilderness with a friend outside of Seattle. SJ’s death was a massive loss to the cycling community. They were a positive light who worked tirelessly to create change.

Each year, the community and sponsors will support recipients who need funding, gear, and/or a bike for their radical adventure that carries on SJ Brooks’ legacy. A direct effort to bridge the gap between industry/companies and BIPOC cyclists is to reduce some of the financial and material barriers required to pedal to new horizons.

2021 Scholarship Supporters

Thank you to the generous companies for supporting the SJ Brooks Scholarship with gear and funding. If your company would like to get involved, please email us at radicaladventureriders@gmail.com.

GOLD PRIMARY SPONSORS
SILVER SECONDARY SPONSORS
BRONZE TERTIARY SPONSORS