Michael McCoy, Adventure Cyclist
Name: Michael McCoy
Occupation: Media specialist at Adventure Cycling Association; magazine editor
Place of Residence: Victor, Idaho
Background and Personal History: While pedaling through Missoula, Mt., on a cross-country tour in 1974, Michael McCoy learned of a grassroots movement called Bikecentennial. One thing led to another, and he’s been working for the organization since 1976. Among his many titles: tours coordinator, routes and mapping director, assistant director, and national coordinator of the Great Divide Mountain Bike Route. He wrote Cycling the Great Divide, considered the Great Divide route rider’s bible.
Today, Michael works from his home office in the Tetons, helping to inspire would-be and veteran bicycle travelers through BikeOvernights.org, the Bike Bits e-newsletter, and more. In the non-Adventure Cycling part of his work life, he is a magazine editor and freelance writer — author of, among other titles, Insiders’ Guide to Glacier National Park (Globe Pequot Press).
Current Projects: Michael recently traveled to New York for the New York Times Travel Show on behalf of Adventure Cycling Association (he shared a booth with BikeToursDirect.com).
Other Fun Facts: Michael has also worked as a field archaeologist in Mexico and the western U.S. as a ranger at Devils Tower National Monument, and as a wildlife researcher in northwest Montana’s Kootenai National Forest. There, his duties ranged from the prosaic, such as counting piles of elk droppings, to the far more exciting—such as helping to relocate orphaned grizzly bear cubs from Glacier National Park.
More Places to Find Michael on the Web: