Outride, originally The Specialized Foundation, is a non-profit dedicated to improving the lives of youth and mental health of our communities through the power of cycling.
Since 2014, Outride has partnered with over 225 schools and granted $1.5M+ to over 170 cycling programs, impacting over 50,000 youth annually. Through our three pillars: Research, school-based cycling programs (Riding for Focus), and matching community grants (Outride Fund), we harness the benefits of cycling for cognitive, socio-emotional, and community health.
Research has always been at the core of what we do at Outride – it’s what motivated the development of our middle school Riding for Focus programs and our investment in communities via the Outride Fund. Our research continues to be the driving force of what we do at Outride.
It all started when our Founder Mike Sinyard, who has ADHD, noticed he felt more focused and energized after a ride. He wondered if there was any scientific evidence to back up this feeling, and if so, how we could get kids around the country to experience the same phenomenon. In 2012, Specialized commissioned a study to examine how cycling affects the learning, health, and well-being of kids with ADHD. That study found that students who participated in a regular biking program had improvements in attention and mood, as well as in long-term cognitive performance, social relationships, and general emotional and physical health.
Since then, we’ve seen that the program can positively impact all kids — not just those with ADHD, and have continued to expand our programs across the US and Canada. We are starting to understand the impact of cycling not just on attention and focus, but also on the whole well-being of the students — their physical, mental, and socio-emotional health.
Over the coming weeks, we look forward to telling you more about the mission of Outride, and how your work as a Specialized employee directly impacts Outride’s mission. If you would like to get more involved with Outride or have questions, you can reach out to the team via Slack or e-mail – or tap them on the shoulder in the USA building. Be sure to follow @Outride on Instagram to stay up to date on all things Outride!
