Walter S

I want to support cycling in general. But I find it frustrating that the ACA routes don't go close to where I live in Atlanta Ga. Am I just paying salaries at Adventure Cycling? If not how much of my money is making a positive contribution that will somehow improve my personal life? Frankly I don't get a lot from the magazine. But I thought I'd ask for info from others before just dropping my membership.

Caretaker

I gave up membership of the British Cyclists Touring Club (CTC) for similar reasons.

Nothing to do with what I'd consider 'impact on personal life' though. I'm still cycle touring.

juggleaddict

I have a membership because I was going to buy the transamerica maps, but then found them on here for sale for cheap. . . I don't think it was wasted.

Most touring I've done, I've had to travel to the starting point first. I'm also in the Atlanta area. There are plenty of routes you can make your way onto within a couple of days, then you can use the route system to get wherever you want. Routes have to go through some places, it's a network, but roads are a sparse network. In fact, I would be disappointed if a route went through Atlanta, because I know what it's like to ride here, and I know there is NO bike route from outside the perimeter to the interior. If you really want to start from here, I would leave on the silver comet route, go all the way into Alabama, and make my way from there.

I went to Missoula this summer, and I can tell you the money is going to a great cause. It'd be a good trip to make, they will certainly give you a warm welcome.

Bicycle365

ACA is a wonderful organization doing good for ALL cyclist even if they don't tour. An analogy to me would be I don't see NASA or the scientists at McMurdo Station impacting my life directly, but I believe in what they are doing and believe they should continue getting government funding to continue. ACA is a bargain at any price to me.

B. Carfree

If you want bike tour routes that go through your area, get out and map some. If they are truly worth riding, someone at ACA would probably love to see what you come up with.

Meanwhile, I generally ignore their maps since I tend to find routes that are more to my liking on my own. That's not to say my routes would be preferred by anyone else.

Bicycle365

Walter , B.Carfree has a great suggestion there, contact ACA, they have a huge number of routes in development already (i.e. Bicycle Route 66). They may have a partial route or route segment in your area that just needs some "eyes on the ground". Here is a link to their National Corridor Plan

The "someone at ACA who would love to see what you come up with" is Jenn Milyko. Don't have her specific email but you can find her on Twitter as (at)ACAROUTES

Quoted from ACA...."The National Corridor Plan identifies 50-mile wide corridors both prioritized (numbered) and un-prioritized (faint brown lines), where a route might exist or be developed as a U.S. Bicycle Route. Based upon state opportunities and interests, the plan can change by adding new corridors or realigning existing corridors."

Lacumo

I'm an ACA member for about 10 years now, but I don't look to them to provide routes close to where I live. I already know my area (150 mile radius) well enough that I can design my own tours using a generic state roadmap along with MapMyRide. As a map source, I look to ACA to provide me map sets for the long-distance tour routes through areas that I have no knowledge of. I will however agree about not getting much from the magazine and I really lament ACA discontinuing the annual Cyclist's Yellow Pages. The CYP was the single best bicycle touring product, resource and service directory that I ever found and it was the single best and most important service that ACA provided. ACA's discontinuation of the CYP was a tragic mistake. Other than those two gripes, I suspect that the $$ I ship to ACA is going for a good cause.

20_700c

I was an ACA member and left because I found little to no useful benefit as far as my daily cycling and tour planing went. Same with League of American Wheelmen. ACA's big draws are the maps and their tours as far as I'm concerned. Realistically, you can find the maps used for 50-75% off on their forums, CGOAB, eBay, BROL, etc. Updates are available on the website, so no need for actually buying the latest and greatest as far as I'm concerned. I was and am never going to pay to join one of their tours, so that was of no benefit to me. Their "online catalog of parts and supplies" is overpriced, sometimes even more than what I found as MSRPs for a few items. Just not worth my time/money - even though my membership was initially free.

I know three people who toured with them. All three were happy with their tours BUT said the groups were no more and no less enjoyable than similar tours with other groups/companies. It's not a case of you get what you pay for - on their unsupported tours, you're paying for people to ride "with" and sometimes a pre-arranged campsite for a night. In my opinion, that's not worth the amount of money they charge. But that's just my opinion; 2 of my 3 friends thought they got their money's worth and that it was a reasonable deal.

The final straw for me that caused me to drop my ACA membership was I got 2-4 "activity alerts" or somesuch name in my email. They were alerting me to legislation and wanted me to join them in political activism - something that is an anathema to me. So, I called them, got myself taken off their mailing list successfully and have lived happier ever since.

YMMV

axolotl

I've been an ACA member for many years. I've done a lot of touring but I have no interest in using ACA maps because I enjoy mapping my own routes. For the record, I happen to like the magazine. But the main reason I maintain my membership is that ACA is the only national organization which exists to support and promote bike touring, and I consider that worthy.

I find the remark "how much of my money is making a positive contribution that will somehow improve my personal life" remarkably selfish. If everyone felt the same way, non-profit and non-governmental organizations of all types which do a great amount of good throughout the world would cease to exist.

PlanoFuji

Beyond their maps, what does the ACA actually do to promote cycling? Do they spend any of their money received from memberships on construction/maintenance of any of their routes?

Non-profits should always have their potential contributors ask such questions. All too many 'non-profits' seem to be run as a way to provide exorbitant salaries to their administrators while doing little actual 'good'. Not saying that is (or isn't) the case with ACA, but those are questions that should be routinely asked with expectations of non-BS answers.

Piratebike

I am a member and it is all for my dream. I have had the touring bike for two years now but have yet to do anything but ride locally and commute on it. I read the mag so I can dream of one day finding the time to see some of America from a bike. Until last year I had never been on an airplane, I am 52. I had never been further west that Birmingham AL or further north than Nashville TN. I want to see some of this country but not from a 1000 feet up. My membership serves as my dream for the time being.

Cougrrcj

Try Rails-to-Trails.org Lots or rail-trails in every State, some paved, some crushed stone. I've been a member since they founded over 25 years ago, and have yet to go on a rail-trail! I just support their cause!

tarwheel 

I've been an on-again, off-again member of Adventure Cycling. I renewed this summer because I wanted to support the organization and I like their magazine and website. Not sure if I will ever do one of their tours or buy their maps, but I would like to someday. If you want to belong to an organization that supports touring but don't want to pay membership fees, I would suggest the Crazy Guy on a Bike website (although he gladly accepts donations).

Realistically, you can't expect ACA to have a tour or tours that go right through your city unless you happen to live in a tourist destination or convenient to one of their routes. However, you should be able to find plenty of tours and routes that are within an easy day's drive.

Another issue that may or may not be important to you is lobbying and/or involvement in the political process. Groups ACA, LAW and Rails-2-Trails track state and federal laws and often alert members to legislative attempts to restrict cycling. They also educate and lobby politicians on such issues and help build support for bike trails. It is very common for politicians to propose restrictions on cycling, efforts to ban cyclists from riding on highways.

gpsblake

One good resource is to check out their 990 filings with the IRS. Here is Adventure Cycling's

https://nccsdataweb.urban.org/orgs/pr...427629?popup=1

Seems to be pretty good, only one salary over $100,000 a year, and 30 percent of their money going toward salaries.

Adventure Cycling seems to have their focus on the USBR routes now cooperating with state governments.

20_700c

Another reason for me to never re-join.... Just sayin'....

SparkyGA

I rode some the ACA routes this year (bits and parts here and there) and after seeing the work they do, I would like to support their organization. It's a heck of a lot more than what we have in Canada and anywhere else I've toured.

Doesn't bother me that the org pays out salaries. People don't work for free.

PlanoFuji

A quick check of the Census information for Missoula, MT indicates that a salary of $100,000 is in the 52nd percentile for that area for family income. In other words 48 out of a 100 families of Missoula make more than that. The average (mean) family income for that area is $100,500 per year. It would be interesting how many members of the organization are in the same family, and what the resulting 'family' income is. It doesn't take much more income to put the 'family' income level toward the upper end for the area. For instance if one other family member of the Executive Director was receiving a ACA salary of just $25,000. That would put their 'family income at the 80th percentile. If that family member received a salary of just $50,000 that would put their family income level at the 91st percentile.

On its own a salary of $100,000 for an Executive director of a national non-profit of that magnitude ($4-$5 million annually) isn't really unusual. Of greater concern is the frequency such non-profits salaries have a tendency to be spent incestuously (on family and friends).

20_700c

As they say, YMMV. But for me, that is an exorbitant amount of money to pay someone to direct what is essentially a political lobbyist organization at its core. If you don't see it that way, continue sending them your money. I'll continnue NOT doing so and happily use Google to prepare for my tours. Their lobbying doesn't help me on a daily basis - something the OP specifically asked about in the original post.

jeneralist 

Their lobbying does help me. I'm a physician, and anything that makes it easier for people to get up and get moving instead of turning into couch potatoes makes my job easier. My patients don't like the idea of "exercise" -- they picture driving their cars to the gym for that -- but are generally receptive, at least, to the idea of building "activity" into their lives. Bicycle advocacy helps with that, whether we're looking at the city level (more bike paths in my town) or on a national scale.

YMMV.

PlanoFuji

Then it is unlikely that you would be willing to donate to any non-profit, since as I said that salary is on par with what such positions in organization that size get paid. The average is $98,789 according to https://www.blueavocado.org/content/h...utive-director The gentleman is managing an organization with about $4.5 million in annual revenue. If he was doing that in the private sector for a similar sized business he would be earning close to twice that amount.

Personally I haven't donated anything to ACA, though I am a member because I was given membership for purchasing several Arkel panniers. I probably will not renew that membership, though I enjoy the magazine.

jamawani 

They've done the legwork for touring cyclists for almost forty years now.
I'm not convinced on certain of their routes - but they have mapped an entire network.
And although I tend not to agree with certain salary levels - that's the trend.
Virtual is fine and dandy - but sometimes it helps to have a physical presence, as well.

biking nurse

If you ride a bike on public roads I do not see how you can say that lobbying does not impact you. What about your
rights to the road? Who will speak up for cyclist? Do you think that bike lanes, bike paths and positive cycling laws
just happen? No they came about because of lobbying.

axolotl

The ACA is not "essentially a political lobbyist organization at its core". You are entitled to your own opinion, but not your own facts.

The following is what the ACA wrote on their form 990. Please excuse the all-caps; that's how it appears on the form.

THE MISSION OF ADVENTURE CYCLING ASSOCIATION IS TO INSPIRE PEOPLE OF ALL AGES TO TRAVEL BY BICYCLE. WE HELP CYCLISTS EXPLORE THE LANDSCAPES AND HISTORY OF AMERICA FOR FITNESS, FUN, AND SELF-DISCOVERY. WE ENVISION A FUTURE IN WHICH WE ARE THE PREMIER RESOURCE FOR BICYCLE TRAVEL, OUR ROUTE NETWORK IS THE BACKBONE OF A NATIONWIDE SYSTEM OF BICYCLE ROUTES, AND BARRIERS TO BICYCLE TRAVEL ARE ELIMINATED

venturi95

Do you have AAA car insurance? They are huge, I was told they lobby against anything like bike paths and pedestrian safe infrastructre, they want to pave the planet and keep folks driving! I won't be joining ACA soon, but I hope that they get as political as possible.

tarwheel 

Like others said, the salary for the ACA director is not out of line for someone heading a non-profit. I worked for a non-profit for a number of years, and running one of these organizations is a lot more work than you might imagine. Trust me, if they had to replace their director, they would probably have to pay his/her replacement just as much or more money. A person at that level has to manage a staff, do a lot of fund-raising, maintain a budget, and manage overall operations.