Key details for 2026 registration

December 3, 2026

Topics in this newsletter:

  • NEW: 2026 jerseys unveiled
  • NEW: Walla Walla event name change
  • Registration dates and times (early and general)
  • 2026 website refresh: Live, with new videos!
  • NEW: “How It Works” website page for Walla Walla
  • “Need to Know” page for OR 26 and WA 26
  • Reminder: Newsletter archive page
  • NEW: Family discount for two generations!
  • BRNW Retail page: For everything after rider registration
  • Review: Cancellation policy
  • Waitlist procedures
  • Update: Lodging shuttle service
  • Airport shuttle service
  • Reminder: Rental tents and air mattresses
  • Raffle tickets for Community Grants: Win prizes, help towns!
  • E-bike update
  • Rider gifts: Your choices
  • A farewell to Garde Wells

2026 Registration
and Website Update

It’s that time: Each year we give you a drink from a fire hose of information as registration time approaches.

We’re covering a very wide variety of topics here; there’s so much to convey! It’s best to read it all, of course, but you should at least look at the topic list below and scroll to all the ones that impact you.

If you’re interested in a 2026 tour, we promise this newsletter will contain lots of pertinent details, and answer questions you’ll probably have, now or later.

2026 jerseys: As always, fresh and fun
It’s not exactly Fashion Week, but it’s still hotly anticipated each year: What will the jerseys look like? Working with our brilliant designer, Sarah Craig, we always try to come up with something interesting. This year we got to do three!

The Oregon 2026 jersey concept came to us on the preride, as we kept turning off onto the alternate roads. For Washington 2026, we were struck by the route transitioning from sea level to mountaintop, and everything that was in between. And for our newest event, we wanted to embody all the best elements of Walla Walla: wine, wheat, riding, food, and Native history and culture. The arrowleaf balsamroot (aka Oregon sunflower) is an important symbol of the region’s Tribes, and is the central image of Bike Camp Walla Walla.

There will also be T-shirts available for each event, and we may add other items later as well. Your best move is to order apparel ahead; we’ll have a few extras for sale at the event, but there’s no guarantee your size will be available then. You can order your apparel on the Retail page, anytime from when registration opens until the ordering deadline of April 25.

Name change for Walla Walla
Perceptive readers may have already picked up on this: The name of the new event has changed. It’s now Bike Camp Walla Walla, to avoid confusion with a car rally called Wheelin' Walla Walla that’s been held in town for 20 years. The bike-camp connotation was part of our branding discussions from the jump, so it was an easy choice to shift to.

Registration dates and times
As a reminder, general registration opens Wednesday, Dec. 10, at 6 pm Pacific time. Early registration for our loyalty program members begins Tuesday, Dec. 9 at 6 pm Pacific. Those who are eligible for early registration have already been notified. If you’re on that list, you’ll get an email with your access code in the next day or two.

Then registration for Bike Camp Walla Walla opens Friday, Dec. 12, also at 6:00 pm Pacific.

Everyone can connect to our registration page on BikeReg.com from the BRNW website Register page, where the link to BikeReg will be live when registration opens. (From Tuesday at 6 pm to Wednesday at 6 pm, the OR 26 and WA 26 registration categories will be password-protected; the Bike Camp Walla Walla registration options won’t appear on Bike Reg until Friday at 6 pm.)

We’re setting aside a maximum of 150 spots for each ride for early registration, as well as a maximum of 25 Tent & Porter spots, so everyone has a good chance to get into a ride and get T&P.

2026 website refresh
The BRNW website is refreshed and ready for the new riding year! See the new route videos (Oregon 2026, Washington 2026 and Bike Camp Walla Walla 2026), as well as daily route descriptions and elevation profiles, and more.

NEW: Bike Camp Walla Walla “How it Works” page
We got a lot of great questions about the new event on our Zoom forum last month (it was fun; we may have more). So we put together a special page to explain how it all works – sleeping, eating, bringing a non-riding partner, and much more – on one page. If you’re considering signing up, read the basics on the event's own Tours page, and then get the additional info you may need on the How it Works page.

Reminder: BRNW “Need-to-Know” page
We also explain all the elements of the two “regular” tours on one page on the website. This page is where you’ll find the answers to most of the questions you might have. It’s divided into sections, and you should make it your go-to page. Consider bookmarking it…

Reminder: Past email newsletters available in one place
Just one of the many suggestions we’ve gleaned from our amazing riders: We put all the email newsletters for each year in one place. No more searching your inbox (or trash) for information we sent you months before. On this page we have a link to all the newsletters, with a topic list shown for each one so it’s easier to find the info you need.

NEW: Two-generation family discount
We’re always looking for ways to bring in new and younger riders – we know it’s essential for our long-term health as an organization. (You’ll see more on this topic in future newsletters.) One of the ways we’re encouraging this is by offering a discount if you bring two generations of your family on a tour. You’ll each get a hefty $300 off your registration. We’ve seen so many parent-child combos having an absolute blast on our tours, and we want to encourage more of that. So bring along a son, daughter, niece, nephew… grandchild – whatever works!

BikeReg vs. BRNW Retail page – important!
Just as in previous years, everything except ride registration will be on the BRNW Retail page. This includes Tent & Porter, rental mattresses, apparel, Community Grant raffle tickets, e-bike fees, and rental chairs and tents. For Bike Camp Walla Walla, it includes your meal plan, sleeping accommodations, donations and more.

(Note: We’re just finishing up building the 2026 Retail page; it’ll be live by the time registration opens.)

As activities that require reservations and/or tickets are added to each event, they’ll be available on the Retail page as well.

The main thing to know here is that you should sign up for the ride(s) you want on BikeReg, then go to the Retail page on our website for everything else.

(Note #2: When the Retail page goes live, you’ll be able to see products, but you won’t be able to complete any transactions until registration opens.)

Review: Same cancellation policy
Last year’s adjustments to our cancellation policy… worked well! So this year we’re not changing anything.

Here’s a broad summary of the policy.

  • If we have a waitlist for an event, you cancel at any time and we’ll refund your full registration fee minus transaction fees and a transfer fee.

  • If there’s not a waitlist, we’ll refund a percentage of your fee (75% or 50% minus the fees), depending on how many days’ notice you give (+/- 60 days).

Read more details of the policy on our Register page (scroll down to the accordion).

Waitlists
We manage our registration process so that we end up with 300 riders, our event limit. That means we’ll take 330 registrations initially for each tour, knowing there will be cancellations between December and next summer.

Important: If we reach 330 signups for a tour, the BikeReg page will only show you the option to sign up for the waitlist. If you sign up for a waitlist, there’s no commitment – you don’t pay anything unless you agree to take a spot that opens up later. We’ll email everyone on the waitlist regularly to let them know where they are on the list.

Update: Lodging baggage/shuttle service
We know a lot of you prefer staying in a lodging room rather than a tent, so we continue to work on a good solution. Our lodging shuttle pilot project in 2025 had mixed results – we didn’t have enough people sign up on Oregon, and Idaho was a bit messy with all the different properties. But the core idea was good, so we're evolving.

Here’s our adjustment: This year we’re going to partner with one property for each overnight site. This will streamline the process for everyone. We’ll choose a mid-level property for each site that’s reliably clean and not overly expensive. In some cases there isn’t any lodging in the town we’re staying in, so we’ll choose the nearest good lodging option.

If you book lodging at the partner properties, you can pay a $100 shuttle fee for the week (get this on our Retail page). This fee pays for an extra crew driver, vehicle, gas, etc., for the week. We’ll pick up your bags at the “start property” on Sunday, and then deliver your bags to each new property before you arrive in that town. We’ll pick up your bags there on the morning we leave town. If a property is not within easy walking distance, we’ll run scheduled passenger shuttles so you can get to your lodging after you get to camp, come back for dinner/activities, and get back for your overnight.

Two important things:

  1. We can only offer baggage and shuttle service to the selected properties. If you book anywhere else – this includes Airbnbs and any other lodging – you’re responsible for getting to/from your lodging. You can take a small overnight bag and ride there and back while we keep your bigger luggage in our truck overnight.

  2. We likely won’t have the ability to transport bikes back and forth to lodging. We suggest you leave your bike in camp overnight, or ride it to your lodging when you arrive in town, then back to camp in the morning.

Airport shuttles
Here's the plan: We'll offer shuttle buses from Portland (PDX) for Oregon 2026 and from Seattle (SEA) for Washington 2026. We'll have van service from Walla Walla Airport (ALW) for Bike Camp Walla Walla (we're also considering bus service from Tri-Cities or Spokane if there's enough demand). All bus shuttles will be based on demand - we have to split the cost of the bus across the riders using it, so it takes quite a few people to make it financially reasonable. We'll send information to registered riders after the start of the new year.

Reminder: Rental tents and air mattresses
You can rent a tent for the week (which you set up and take down yourself). You can also rent a high-end air mattress (for your own tent or a rental tent). Find them on the Retail page.

Prize raffle for Community Grants
Every year we raffle off BRNW-related prizes to help fund our Community Grant program for the week-long tours. You can purchase as many $25 raffle tickets as you want; each one increases your chances of winning – and helps our host communities that much more. The tickets are available on our Retail page, so we hope you’ll contribute to this cool program that has contributed tens of thousands of dollars to our host towns.

And you could win big! We’ll do a random drawing from ticket buyers, giving out three prizes for each ride:

  • Top prize: A free Tent & Porter spot (we’ll save one for this)

  • Second prize: Three free 30-minute massages, a free acupuncture session and a free bike detailing

  • Third prize: A free event jersey and T-shirt

We’ve been able to support food banks, community projects, school trips and more with our grants. Every ticket you buy gets you a separate chance to win, so don’t hold back!

E-bike policy
As we noted in a recent email, we’re embracing the trend toward more e-bikes. There won’t be a limit on the number of spots available. The only restrictions: 1) you still need to let us know you’re bringing one – e-mail us; 2) Your bike has to be a reasonable size and weight – we may ask for a photo or specs – and not throttle-powered.

If you’re a regular BRNW rider, you’re good to go with those two caveats. If you’re new to our rides, we’ll want to talk with you about your bike and your riding experience – we have to make sure it’ll be safe for everyone riding.

Rider gifts – your choices
In case you’re new: We offer everyone who registers three different gift options, and all of them are optional choices when you complete your BikeReg registration:

  • Insulated metal water bottle: This is a Kleen Kanteen metal insulated bottle (very high-quality) that you’ll use for as many different beverages as possible, so we can quit wasting so many cups. If you don’t have one, order one – but if you’re a returner or have one of your own already, bring yours with you.

  • Lightweight backpack: We offer everyone a BRNW-branded lightweight backpack. These are to use for gear drop on the route, and any other use you can think of. They’re not year-specific, so if you got one last year, bring it again!

  • Socks: We design event-specific socks for each tour, but some people have enough socks. It’s your decision if you want a pair or not – only get a pair if you’ll use them.

The idea is that once you have a bottle and a backpack, you can bring them back each year; this cuts down on over-consumption. If you can re-use something you already have, please don’t order another one.

RIP, Garde
It’s sad and shocking to announce that Garde Wells, who had led the massage team on BRNW for many years, died recently. He suffered a medical emergency while alone, and by the time he received medical care it could not save him.

Garde was a fixture on our rides – and if you met him, you remembered him. He was a champion runner in high school, and he moved to Oregon for the running culture – and stayed for all the rest. He was down-to-earth, he was both funny and serious, and he was as caring and nurturing as his choice of profession would suggest. Garde was very determined to live his life the best way possible, and he impacted countless others along the way. To say he’ll be missed is a huge understatement.

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That’s it for now. We’ll send out any other/updated information we have available before registration opens.

We hope to see you on a 2026 tour (or tours),

Jim

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