I have a lot of thoughts (and questions) around how trail communities – how any community – will recover from the pandemic. But in this moment, I simply want to acknowledge what a difficult time this has been for people.
Writing by Amy Camp
Getting Outside in a Time of Social Distancing
Life has changed pretty significantly over the last couple of weeks. I sense that we’re all doing the best we can to get by despite the very real hardships that so many of us face. One of the things that’s been on my mind, like many of you, is how safe is it to go […]
Are we Hungry for Thriving Communities?
In her memoir, Hunger, Roxane Gay writes of romantic relationships, “…it’s a shame that the measure is what is not so bad instead of what is thriving and good.” That insight caught my attention because it’s true for so many people. No doubt, we all have friends or family members who stay in relationships that […]
Indiana Trail Town Workshops: Introducing Trail Towns to Hoosier State Communities
The Greenways Foundation advocates for trails and greenways in Indiana. In 2019, the Foundation determined it was time to advocate for better trail-to-town connections as well. They hired Cycle Forward to host six interactive trail town workshops throughout the state. Many of the participants were learning about trail towns for the very first time.
PEI Placemaking Workshop: Prompting a Coastal Community to Consider Its Sense of Place
The Cavendish resort area on the North Shore of Prince Edward Island is known for its beaches, golf courses, and family-friendly vibe. And, most famously, the Anne of Green Gables novels were set in the area. Despite these impressive regional draws, one tiny harbour community still needed to establish itself as a worthy stop. In 2019, Cycle Forward was able to help.
Outdoor Adventures with Your Nervous Dog
Time in the car has a way of connecting us back to our grief. While traveling in Wisconsin recently, I was reminded that I really miss my dog. By this trip, it had been about nine weeks since he died. Quill, a fear-aggressive German Shorthaired Pointer, spent close to nine years hopping in and out […]
Trent-Severn Trail Towns: Leading the way with Canada’s First Trail Town Program
When a National Historic Site of Canada is in your region, you certainly want to find a way to elevate and connect to it. With this in mind, Kawarthas Northumberland (a region in Eastern Ontario) developed Canada’s first Trail Town program along the 386-kilometer Trent-Severn Waterway. Cycle Forward was involved from concept to launch. Dates: […]
Rolling Into Summer Retreat
This very moment is everything I noticed yesterday that I had “Rolling Into Summer?” (with a question mark at the end) on my calendar for June 1-2. That’s because when I first penciled it in, I wasn’t sure that I would go on to host my first overnight nature retreat. Truth be told, I didn’t […]
Cycling Through the Seasons
From maple festivals and everything pumpkin spice to Solstice celebrations and Seasonal Affective Disorder, our lives are very much influenced by the four seasons. Our moods can be impacted by shorter days or, say, by the rainiest year on record (hello, Pittsburgh in 2018). We feel free of winter’s clutches the first spring day we […]
Why we don’t have to be good
New Year’s reflections on gentleness and resolutions It’s 3 p.m. on New Year’s Day and I’m seated at my desk to repeat my semi-annual ritual of taking stock. Resolutions get a bad rap and I get why. I heard yesterday that just 4 in 10 people manage to keep theirs, and there have been many […]











