BY SABINA DANA PLASSE
Rebecca’s Private Idaho (RPI), one of the five most elite gravel races in the world, enters its 12th year offering professional and amateur cyclists an Idaho adventure in three of the state’s most coveted mountain ranges.
From Aug. 29 to September 1, cyclists will ride through the Boulder Mountains on the Harriman Trail, up Dollarhide Summit in the Smoky Mountains and against the backdrop of the Pioneer Mountains over Trail Creek Summit.
RPI and Be Good Foundation’s founder Rebecca Rusch is a professional endurance athlete, seven-time World Champion, author, entrepreneur, motivational speaker and Emmy Award winner for her film Blood Road, which premiered at the Sun Valley Film Festival. Rusch’s career has spanned the spectrum of adventure sports, including rock climbing, adventure racing, whitewater rafting, cross-country skiing, and, of course, mountain biking.
RPI is the Be Good™ Foundation’s largest fundraising event for the year. The four-day event, which has 1,500-plus attendees, allows everyone to learn and understand the Foundation’s purpose, including providing bikes to those who want to ride, especially for mental well-being.
Using a bike as a catalyst for change and doing good around the world, Rusch works on efforts to remove harmful mines and bombs, support land conservation, support veterans and improve access to cycling for people from all walks of life.
Rusch also established the RPI-Be Good Girls Mentorship Program for girls who like to cycle and desire to reach their potential and challenge themselves on bikes, build confidence, create friendships and learn what they are truly capable of in a safe and fun environment. In partnership with The Trailhead Bicycles in Hailey, Idaho, the Be Good™ Foundation will match 7th through 12th grade girls (12- to 18-year-olds) with mentors at Rebecca’s Private Idaho.
“Through scholarships, we help people get on bikes and ride,” said Rusch. “RPI is our biggest event of the year, and with new board members joining and year-round activations, we are spreading healing, love, and growth through cycling.”
This year, Megan LaBeth will bikepack across the U.S. from New York City to Ketchum, Idaho, to participate in RPI. As a 2023 Be Good Foundation bike-packing scholarship recipient, LeBeth pedals with a passion and purpose to raise awareness for the Foundation’s vital programs, including scholarships and grants that empower and uplift underrepresented cyclists.
Gravel biking, which Rusch likes to call adventure biking, is the fastest-growing segment of cycling for those who want to get off the road, explore and have an adventure.
“Even though I am a mountain biker, racer and athlete at heart, I launched one of the first gravel events in the U.S., as opposed to mountain biking, because it was an interesting way to explore and adventure outside your backyard and more people could come and discover gravel biking in Sun Valley,” said Rusch.
“RPI will push your mind and body further than you think you can. To do a collective group event like RPI, a collective effervescence happens, which is amazing and powerful energy. You meet new people and experience nature with a group, which is needed in our world. It is the best thing I know for physical, mental health and wellness.”
RPI has been staged every Labor Day weekend since 2013. All RPI expos are free and open to the public, and this year, on Sunday, Sept. 1, the Northern Shoshone Tribe will provide a sunrise ceremony to send riders with a blessing.
THE RPI 2024 SCHEDULE:
THURSDAY, Aug. 29
Queen’s Stage Race, Stage 1
Harriman Trail
9 a.m.
35 miles | 3,505’
A mix of technical single and double-track trails
FRIDAY, Aug. 30
Queen’s Stage Race, Stage 2
Dollarhide Summit Time Trial
8:30 a.m.
50 miles | 3, 057’
Features a short, 4.5-mile hill climb timed segment within a bigger 50-mile ride
Be Good™ Foundation Party and Fundraisers
6-8:30 p.m.
Limelight Hotel Ketchum
To learn more about the Be Good™ Foundation, visit thebegoodfoundation.org.
SATURDAY, Aug. 31
Welcome Party & Expo
Be Good Ride | 7:30 a.m.
Expo | 10 a.m.-5 p.m.
Atkinson Park | Ketchum
SUNDAY, Sept. 1
Baked Potato, French Fry, and Tater Tot Rides
From Ketchum to Trail Creek Summit to Cooper Basin and back
6:45 a.m.-4 p.m.
Rebecca’s Private Idaho Festival Day & Expo
10 a.m.-5 p.m.
Awards Ceremony
4 p.m.
Festival Meadow | Sun Valley
Riders in Rebecca Private Idaho move up Trail Creek Road on race day 2023. PHOTO: Stellar Media