Last month I was both honored and surprised to be named to the Escape Collective’s 50 Most Influential People in American Cycling. While it was quite the honor, as I read through the list of fellow honorees, I noticed that a number of folks who I expected to be on the list were missing.
As I dug deeper, I realized that this list was really just the brainchild of one man, who both readily admits this in the article and acknowledges that people would inevitably be left out. So I set out to make my own list of influential people that I think you should know in the bike world.
This list is in no particular order, and each person (or group) has given permission to be included in this list. I encourage you to support their work - follow their social media, amplify their messages, and dig in to the good work they’re doing. And let me know in the comments - who else would you want included?
monica garrison - Founder of Black Girls Do Bike
Monica Garrison is the Founder, Executive Director and Chief Storyteller at Black Girls Do Bike. She is tasked with fueling 100+ BGDB chapters worldwide and a network of 180+ lady leaders. She believes that the simple act of riding a bike can be a catalyst for wonderful, life-changing experiences for women of all ages. Growing and supporting a community of women who share a passion for cycling is her north star.
Monica Garrison at Thick Bikes in Pittsburg, PA. Photographer: Diana Hildebrand (@devahd cycling)
Clare Paniccia - growing gravel in oklahoma
Clare Paniccia is a freelance photographer, digital media creator, social media manager, event director, and professional stoke aficionado. Clare is deeply involved in gravel cycling in Oklahoma, as the Founder/Brains/Heart behind The Truffle Shuffle, the Director of Stuff for Tulsa Tough, and The Osage Passage.
Clare has a big heart for growing inclusion in gravel, currently working on launching The Gravel Alliance, which seeks to promote grassroots gravel cycling events that focus on diversity and inclusion.
Follow Clare here, and be sure to check out The Truffle Shuffle, Tulsa Tough, The Osage Passage event series, and her AI fueled-fever dream experiment, VeloDreams.
Clare Paniccia at Truffle Shuffle 2022. Photo by Joshua Strong (@_joshuawstrong)
Eliot Jackson - founder of GRow Cycling foundation
Did you know that the first pump track in Los Angeles just opened in 2023? Its true, and we can thank Eliot Jackson for making it happen.
Eliot Jackson is the Founder of Grow Cycling Foundation, a nonprofit working to grow cycling through Community, Access, Education, and Opportunity. You might also recognize Eliot Jackson from his storied career in cycling, which includes racing downhill at the World Cup level and commentating for Red Bull. Eliot is also an athlete for Santa Cruz bicycles, Rapha, and Maxxis Tires.
Eliot Jackson at the opening day of the Inglewood Pumptrack
Tom Fulcoloro
Tom Fucoloro is the Founder and Editor of Seattle Bike Blog. An independent journalist originally from St. Louis, Missouri, Tom sold his car to pay for his move to Seattle. He quickly learned to love biking while getting around this beautiful town. He believes in the power of independent journalism and that more people biking more places safely is a good thing for our society.
Seattle Met named Tom one of “The 15 People Who Should Really Run Seattle” in 2015.
Cascade Bicycle Club named Tom the recipient of the 2023 Doug Walker Award “for outstanding leadership in improving lives through bicycling.”
Tom is the author of “Biking Uphill in the Rain - The Story of Seattle from Behind the Handlebars” and is very responsible for my advocacy and activism.
annijke wade
Annijke (she/her) is an adaptive mountain biker and para off-road cyclist. In 2021, Annijke sustained a spinal cord injury in a horrible downhill mountain biking accident. Just three months after her accident, she was back on a mountain bike.
In 2023, Annijke founded DirtBound - a para off-road cycling initiaitve. Outside of loving mountain biking and being outdoors, Annijke also is passionate about making the outdoors and mountain biking a safe space for all.
Annijke Wade playing on her Bowhead adaptive bike
the roam collective
(Disclaimer - I tried to make this one Andy and Ash Zoltan of ROAM Fest, but they insisted on recognizing their entire crew, which I’m not mad about.)
The Roam Collective is a nonprofit organization with a mission is to celebrate and elevate representation in the mountain bike community by supporting inclusive programming and partnerships. The Roam Collective is a sister organization to Roam Fest, where nearly all of their initiatives are implemented. Their initiatives include providing financial support for riders, a BIPOC initiative, a para-adaptive program, a media core, and the Shred Talks panel (which I was honored to be part of in May 2022.)
Roam Fest is the world's first & largest femme mtb festival for everybody. They curate intentional (aka fun as hell) space for women, genderqueer femme folks, and non-traditional riders to build community while playing bikes in a world-class riding destination.
The Roam crew
susan cronin, cait dumas, & sally turner
Susan Cronin, Cait Dumas and Sally Turner are the powerhouse team behind Grounded Nebraska - a cycling event you need to put on your radar. Grounded Nebraska bills itself as “A community-centric bike race, ride and festival just outside of Lincoln bringing us all together for a summer camp weekend..but, with bikes.”
And after having attended Grounded Nebraska in June 2023, I wish I could send every event director to Nebraska for a weekend with this crew. Their commitment to inclusion runs deep through everything they do - from a compensated advisory board to equity-based podiums, Susan, Cait and Sally have thought of everything.
Each of these women is making a difference outside of Grounded Nebraska as well.
Cait Dumas-Hein (she/her) is the co-founder of Grounded Nebraska and the Associate Director of Bike Walk Nebraska, an active transportation non-profit. Cait self-labels as a community cultivator and has spent a decade creating spaces for underrepresented demographics in cycling. She loves snuggling with her dogs, binging historical dramas, and dancing when not in the bike world.
Susan Cronin (she/her) is co-founder of Grounded Nebraska and owner of Champion System USA. As a queen of operations, her attention to detail and expertise embodies the Gravel Mom vibe for the Grounded Nebraska community as she celebrates and welcomes all to the start line. Outside of the bike world, Susan sews and renovates her home.
Sally Turner (she/her) joined the Grounded Nebraska team in 2023 as the Queen of Stuff. A cycling event management veteran, Sally co-directs The Truffle Shuffle and is the co-conspirator of Gobble Cross. She is passionate about creating spaces for people to gather and exist as their most authentic selves and believes bicycles are a beautiful tool to facilitate community. Sally enjoys gardening, experimenting with gluten-free baking, and reading in her time off the bike.
Sally, Susan, and Cait
meg fisher
Meg Fisher is a Doctor of Physical Therapy, 2x Paralympian, 11x World Champion Cyclist, Motivational Speaker, Advocate, and incredible friend. She earned her doctorate at the University of Washington in 2014.
Meg continues to race bikes professionally, predominantly endurance gravel and mountain bike events. She also runs her own physical therapy clinic in Missoula, Montana. She loves to play outside on the trails with her dog Pax.
Meg has been a game changer for off-road paracgcling inclusion, influencing numerous events to include a para category. Meg was recently profiled by Bicycling Magazine as a 2023 Rider of the Year.
Meg Fisher