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The Be Good Foundation | Nonprofit Cycling Foundation

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The Be Good Foundation enriches communities by using the bicycle as a catalyst for healing, empowerment and evolution. #BeGood @rebeccarusch

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If your bike was tuned at Rebecca's Private Idaho (now @biglostidaho) in 2026, it was probably the handiwork of a woman.

And maybe you didn't know it at the time, but you were witnessing a real phenomenon.

Let's talk female bike mechanics. Specifically, the fact that less than 10% of mechanics nationwide are women. That statistic means that you can head into any bike shop across the country and nine times out of ten, you'll hand your bike to someone who isn't a woman.

But at Rebecca's Private Idaho this year, that number was closer to 80%. That's something we're really proud of.

It can be intimidating to learn the craft of bike maintenance when there isn't anyone in the space who looks like you. Whether professionally or recreationally, we think women should be empowered to pick up the tools, tinker, and trust themselves when mechanicals happen. Because they do.

When women feel capable of fixing their own bikes, that confidence ripples across the whole riding and racing space.

📸: Lisa Slagle, @lisa_by_design by @begoodfoundation

We came here to ride dirt and level the playing field in women's sports... and we’re fresh out of dirt.

2026 was the first year of our women’s Creative Mentorship Program. We welcomed three experienced women creative mentors and three up-and-coming mentees honing their craft, and everyone who witnessed it can attest: when they came together, they made both magic and history.

Only 32% of sports photographers are women, meaning women tell only 32% of the story. When we empower women in sports media, we empower women across the world of sport: from athletes, to mechanics, to brands, organizations, and products. It's a ripple effect.

Seeing Rebecca’s Private Idaho and our Mentorship Program through the lens of these brilliant creatives is something we’ll cherish forever. The grit, the determination, the joy, the connection: it’s all there.

Stay tuned as we continue to celebrate them and the photos they made.

📸: @rewikstrom by @begoodfoundation

As Rebecca’s Private Idaho continues on as @biglostidaho, the magic isn’t over. It’s only changing shape.

Read @rebeccarusch’s words on the future of the Be Good Foundation, and keep an eye out for what’s coming...

Because Be Good may be in your backyard next!

📸: Re Wikstrom, @rewikstrom by @begoodfoundation

Every story has a beginning. Ours started with two words in a letter home: “Be good.”

In February 1972, Capt. Stephen Rusch wrote those words home from the Vietnam War. Eighteen days later, his plane was shot down over Laos. His daughter, our founder @rebeccarusch, was three years old. She grew up knowing him through his letters, his music, and the stories her family shared.

In 2015, Rebecca rode her bike 1,200 miles along the Ho Chi Minh Trail to find the place where he went down, a journey captured in the Emmy-winning film Blood Road. She expected it to feel like an ending. Instead, standing under the tree where he was buried, it felt like meeting him for the first time.

She also saw what the war left behind. Laos is still the most heavily bombed country per capita, and unexploded bombs still injure and kill people every day, many of them children. Rebecca came home with a responsibility to help clear them, to tell this story, and to use her bike for something bigger than racing.

That’s how Be Good was born. Today, alongside Mines Advisory Group (MAG), we continue to support mine clearance in Laos. And since our origin, we’ve grown to use the bicycle as a catalyst for healing, empowerment, and evolution, through mentorship, scholarships, and grassroots partners.

His simple instruction is still our compass: Be good.

Watch the full story: stream Blood Road for free on Red Bull TV using the link in our bio! by @begoodfoundation

“Be Good.”

Two simple words my dad signed in every letter he sent home from the Vietnam War. I was only three when he died, but those words have stayed with me my entire life.

Years later, I rode the Ho Chi Minh Trail to the place where his plane was shot down. I went looking for a connection to the father I never got to know, but I came home with something much bigger.

That ride changed the way I looked at my career, my purpose, and what I could do with a bicycle.

I’d spent so much of my life chasing finish lines and standing on podiums. But I realized there were bigger podiums to chase. Ones that had nothing to do with winning races.

That’s where the Be Good Foundation began.

What started as a way to honor my dad has become a way to carry his words forward, using the power of bicycles to change lives and bring communities together.

It’s some of the most meaningful work I’ve ever done, and I know he’d be proud.

Now I’d love to hear from you. What does “Be Good” mean in your own life? What gives your work, your adventures, or your everyday actions a sense of purpose?

There’s always room for more good in the world, and I’d love for you to be part of this ride with us.

Be Good ❤️ by @begoodfoundation

Some partnerships come full circle. 🚲

World Bicycle Relief has been part of the Be Good story for years. They’ve been a Rebecca’s Private Idaho beneficiary and are a Be Good grantee, working to put bikes in the hands of girls and women across Africa. In 2016, our founder @rebeccarusch rode up (and down!) Kilimanjaro as a @worldbicyclerelief benefit, raising more than $20,000 to improve student access to bikes through WBR programs.

So this year, when we needed Race + Ride mentors for our Girls Mentorship Program mentees, the @worldbicyclerelief International Women’s Gravel Racing Team showed up for us. Each of these women are incredible athletes and community builders, and they’re exactly the kind of women we’re lucky to lean on as a cornerstone of our Ride + Race track.

Our ‘26 mentee Leila said of her WBR gravel team member mentor
“I think I want to be just like her when I grow up.”

Us too, Leila. Us too.

So much love and gratitude to @worldbicyclerelief for your continued partnership and commitment to changing the world through the bike 💛

📸: '26 creative mentee, @meganzabelholmes by @begoodfoundation

Joy in motion 🚴🏽‍♀️💛

Our mission is to use the bicycle as a catalyst for healing, empowerment, and evolution. At Rebecca’s Private Idaho in 2026, we saw that mission come to life through the eyes of our Creative Mentorship team, and we’ll let their work speak for us.

Smiles like these keep us pushing forward.

Thank you to our creatives for capturing it all so perfectly.

📸: @crawleysoftpen @megan_sevidal @meganzabelholmes by @begoodfoundation

Gravel for everyone has always been our thing here at the Be Good Foundation.

Since 2018, Rebecca's Private Idaho has included a dedicated para-cycling category. At that time, most major gravel events were not as accessible to adaptive riders who may require a little more on-course support to feel safe, perform their best, and have the opportunity to podium.

It's something we'd been helping work toward for years, guided by RPI's incredible para-cycling advisor and three-time Paralympian, Meg Fisher (@megfisher). And since that time, partners like Higher Ground (@higherground_usa) and the National Ability Center (@nationalabilitycenter) have shown up to support athletes racing in the para-cyclist category.

It hasn't always been simple. The Forest Service prohibits motorized vehicles on the Harriman Trail, where Stage 1 of the Queen Stage Race takes place. That rule has applied to OPDMDs (Other Power-Driven Mobility Devices), too. This year, thanks to a special exception, adaptive athletes using these devices raced Stage 1 for the first time.

RPI's para-cycling category has also helped us welcome more racers with adaptive needs into our fellowship program over the years.

Making gravel racing a more welcoming place for adaptive cyclists is a legacy we're proud of. More gravel for all!

📸: @adventurescoutmedia, @stellarmedia, @lindaguerrettephoto by @begoodfoundation

We're shouting out @live.momentous for keeping our mentees hydrated, dialed in, and performing at their best throughout race day and beyond.

We can't do this work without industry partners also committed to uplifting women in sports. Momentous' Change The Ratio initiative is working to close the gender gap in sports science by funding research that focuses exclusively on female physiology.

That's some Be Good energy!

Thanks to Momentous and each of our partners for believing in our mission.

📸: '26 RPI creative mentee, @meganzabelholmes by @begoodfoundation

People, Purpose, Place.

That’s what the 2026 annual Be Good Party was about.

What 3 words define Be Good to you?

📸: @rewikstrom, @crawleysoftpen, @stellarmedia by @begoodfoundation

Only 9 days until the Paradise Royale MTB Race, but I have to pause and give massive love to @rebeccarusch and the @begoodfoundation team!
🚲💥

Being a fellow and getting an inside look at how Rebecca, her Executive Director @aerahh, her mentor/mentee program, the staff, and the media team operate was a total masterclass. Watching them crush it at every level completely shifted how I think about our non-profit work at @mbttabikeclub and @humboldtskateparkcollective.

Our mission at MBTTA is so deeply aligned with the Be Good Foundation, and leaving this fellowship inspired by them—along with incredible supporters and partners like the @nationalabilitycenter and the @navajomtbfestival—has set a new bar for how we serve our community on bikes, outside, and healthy! 🧠💯💪

Here is to leading with purpose, building strong communities, and taking notes from the absolute best in the game. As @rebeccarusch says, "People, purpose and place". 🫡

#BeGoodFoundation #RebeccaRusch #MTBLife #Community #NonProfitLeadership by @begoodfoundation