Brian Richardson
Hi there! If you’re reading this, then I’ve managed to upload our first blog post for Bike Loud! 2025. Once the ride starts (on May 11th), we will update the blog daily with rotating posts from the four riders.
I was first introduced to the concept of bike touring when I was in Boy Scouts — every few summers, our troop would send a group of bikers across the US. In 2013, I got to meet that year’s cyclists along their route, which sparked an interest in me to attempt the trip one day.
Me (age 13) meeting the “Lucky 13” cross-country bikers from Boy Scout Troop 845.
In 2015, having reached the required minimum height, I joined 6 other kids from our troop to ride from Oregon to North Carolina. This was the first iteration of “Bike Loud!” — a bike trip fundraiser for the Be Loud! Sophie Foundation, which supports adolescent and young adult cancer patients and their families. In 2019, I set out again with two friends for round two of Bike Loud!, this time from Washington to Maine.
Me (age 15) arriving to Wrightsville Beach, NC after 3,900 miles of biking.
Me (age 19), along with fellow bikers Evan and Wes Malinchock, finishing the Bike Loud! 2019 ride in Bar Harbor, ME.
Six years later, I got the itch to spend another summer on the bike. I’ll be joining my younger brother Michael and two friends Jacob and Jacob (going by last names Friend and Usher), who are all graduating from NC State this weekend. Between final exams, we’ve been making final preparations for the trip.
Me (age 24) packing up my bike for Bike Loud! 2025.
We’ll spend ten weeks biking from Florence, Oregon to Bar Harbor, Maine—averaging around 450 miles per week and camping in town parks and campgrounds along the way. Our route weaves together four different Adventure Cycling Association routes: the Transamerica Trail; Parks, Peaks, and Prairies; the North Lakes Route; and the Northern Tier.
The route for Bike Loud! 2025. Some highlights include the Oregon Cascades, the Rockies of Idaho and Montana, Yellowstone, the Badlands and the Black Hills of South Dakota, the lakes of Minnesota and Wisconsin, Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, Niagara Falls, the Green and White Mountains of Vermont and New Hampshire, and Acadia National Park.
That’s all for now— we look forward to sharing more posts once the ride starts!