BRAG Dream Team to celebrate 30th anniversary with East Coast Greenway Youth Bike Tour

Building upon a long-standing partnership with the East Coast Greenway Alliance, the BRAG (Bike Ride Across Georgia) Dream Team will celebrate its 30th anniversary this summer with its longest ride to date - more than 2,300 miles on the East Coast Greenway from Florida to Maine.

Beginning Monday, June 17, in Miami Beach, Florida, a group of 15 BRAG Dream Team alumni youth cyclists and experienced adult coaches, led by Alliance Vice Chair Atiba Mbiwan, will ride north for five weeks with an expected finish in Bangor, Maine, on July 20. Along the way, at least 25 BRAG Dream Team alumni and coaches will join the East Coast Greenway Youth Bike Tour for various segments.

Created in 1994 by the Bicycle Ride Across Georgia (BRAG) to offer Atlanta Public School students the opportunity to get fit by cycling across the state of Georgia, the BRAG Dream Team aims "to provide extraordinary cycling experiences for youth to dream beyond their circumstances and grow greater by the mile."

The BRAG Dream Team’s East Coast Greenway Youth Bike Tour aims to raise awareness and support for the BRAG Dream Team and the East Coast Greenway Alliance. After hiring its first staff member in 2023, the BRAG Dream Team hopes to continue to grow its capacity. The Alliance remains focused on its continued efforts to develop a safe, traffic-free Maine-to-Florida route for cyclists and pedestrians.  

Visit greenway.org/dreamteam to learn more and support both organizations as they create safe places for young and old to enjoy trails and the great outdoors.

“The East Coast Greenway is honored to host the 30th anniversary of such a remarkable organization, which connects greenways and trails to rising generations. Our organizations agree that everyone deserves the joy and empowerment of biking and the outdoors. This summer, we will celebrate progress and dig down to achieve more in the years to come,” East Coast Greenway Alliance Executive Director Dennis Markatos-Soriano said. 

“For 29 years I have volunteered with the BRAG Dream Team because I believe that this youth development experience is an extraordinary way to help middle and high school age youth to grow physically, mentally, emotionally, socially and spiritually,” Mbiwan said. “The adult volunteer coaches also grow in many ways by sharing the long-distance ride experience with the next generation. Our success is directly related to collaboration with individual cyclists, aligned businesses and other nonprofit organizations like the East Coast Greenway Alliance.”

Local cyclists are welcome to join the tour as it passes through their community to promote trails like the East Coast Greenway, safe cycling and youth development.

The East Coast Greenway’s current route is an in-development, work-in-progress that connects 1,100 miles of completed, traffic-free segments of the Greenway. To date, more than 60% of the Greenway’s interim route remains on roadways. Whenever possible, the interim route is located on low-traffic roadways; however, high-stress segments do exist.

For SAG support, the ride will be aided by a cargo van and 15-passenger bus, as needed. The group will camp most nights with occasional stays at hotels and short-term rentals. The East Coast Greenway Alliance staff provided route planning assistance for the tour.

The BRAG Dream Team first partnered with the East Coast Greenway Alliance in 2015 for its two-week Gullah Geechee Youth Bike Tour from North Carolina to Florida, which also included the North Carolina youth cycling group Spoke’n Revolution.