This Adventure Cyclist Turned Her Love of Bikes Into a Career
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Name: Sarah Swallow
Age: 36
Hometown: Tucson, Arizona
Occupation: Professional adventure cyclist
Time Cycling: 19 years
Reason for Cycling: I use the bicycle as a tool for my well-being, sense of freedom, and inspiration, as well as for connecting with my community, other cultures, and natural landscapes around the world.
I first started cycling when I was 18 years old, after graduating from high school. Without the need to train for field hockey or lacrosse, my dad (a former marathon runner), who had recently transitioned to cycling due to knee issues, invited me on a road bike ride. I was immediately attracted to the low-impact workout that cycling provided, as well as the freedom it offered to explore places in southwest Ohio I didn’t know existed.
Once I started cycling, I dove head-first into all aspects of the sport. I began with sprint triathlons, then trained for my first century ride. I explored mountain biking, raced cyclocross, and ventured into gravel riding and bikepacking eventually.
However, I was around bikes long before I started riding. I began working with bicycles at the age of 12 at Loveland Bike and Skate Rental in Loveland, Ohio. It was there that I first witnessed the joy cycling brought to others.
Through my teens and early 20s, I immersed myself in the world of cycling before transitioning to another job at the local bike shop in town. When that shop closed, I took the leap and opened my own bike shop, Swallow Bicycle Works, in 2011.
Through Swallow Bicycle Works, we catered to the greater Cincinnati cycling community, offering repairs, custom builds for all budgets, and outfitting services. I fostered community spaces at cyclocross events, and by hosting gravel rides.
My training philosophy has always been to keep it fun with a lot of variety and ride in ways that I enjoy to maintain sustainability. I’m not a competitive cyclist; I approach events as opportunities to challenge myself and connect with the cycling community.
In 2015, I secured a sponsorship contract with Specialized Bicycles, which led me to close my bike shop and embark on a 5,000-mile journey from east to west across the United States on dirt roads. For the past nine years, I have worked as a non-competitive adventure ambassador, living my dream and feeling incredibly grateful for the opportunity to do what I love for a living.
I am also one of the c0-founders of Radical Adventure Riders (RAR). RAR is a movement toward gender inclusivity and racial equity in cycling and the outdoors.
RAR began as a series of bikepacking rides around the country, leading up to a three-day educational summit. We did that for two years, before transitioning to the chapter-based network that RAR is today.
Since I stepped down from RAR in 2020 to allow space for fresh leadership and diversity within the organization, I have been focused on planning Ruta del Jefe, which is a binational festival celebrating adventure, education, community, and advocacy in the United States and Mexico borderlands.
In addition to Ruta del Jefe, I maintain the Sky Islands Odyssey Bikepacking Route Project and host the Sky Islands Adventure Ride Series in Southern Arizona. These initiatives aim to bring the community together in the beautiful Sky Islands landscape, and on its diverse network of roads.
When I’m not on a major ride or exploring a new place, I enjoy commuting and riding mountain bikes, mixed terrain, and bike paths from my home in Tucson, Arizona.
Before I found cycling, I didn’t feel like I had a direction or purpose in life. Cycling has helped build my self-confidence and community, providing me with a career and experiences I never thought possible.
Adventure is not an escape, but an embracing of reality that always leads me to a newfound appreciation of life and the world around me. Cycling continually draws me back for the transformative experiences, new perspectives on life, and has expanded my global perspective.
These tips have made my cycling journey a success:
1. Switch up your rides
If you have the ability, ride different bikes on different terrain and in different places to keep cycling fun. To keep my motivation, I love exploring new places, or just switching between my gravel and mountain bike.
2. Be self-sufficient
A lot of my success has come from being fully self-sufficient on the bike rather than depending on others in the group. Bring the spare tube, repair kit, layers, and extra snacks. More importantly, navigate for yourself and have a thorough understanding of the route you’re riding. When you can navigate a route and carry everything you need, your mentality can switch from being dependent and insecure to confident and independent.
3. Share your experience and get involved
Cycling can provide some of the most life-changing, unique, and inspiring experiences. However, it can also be an extremely isolating and individualistic activity. Find a way to share your incredible experiences with others, like through photos, videos, or stories. You can even organize a community event, mentor a new cyclist, or volunteer with a local organization. Use your experiences to give back to the community and encourage more people to ride.
Sarah’s Must-Have Gear
→ Ombraz Armless Sunglasses: Ombraz Armless Sunglasses are polarized and come in a bunch of cool shapes and sizes with a unique design. They have no side arms, but rather a nylon cord with a minimalist adjusting system to secure the sunglasses on your face or around your neck. Before discovering Ombraz, I would often lose glasses, or the arms would be too tight on my temples, resulting in headaches.
→ Fjällräven Expandable Hip Pack: This is a versatile and indispensable piece of gear for both local rides and bike tours. Its seamless transition from a fanny pack to a lightweight backpack makes it perfect for storing essentials like an extra layer, water bladder, or snacks during rides. Plus, its ability to expand into backpack mode comes in handy for unexpected stops at the grocery store on the way home. During bike tours, I rely on the hip pack while riding, and switch to backpack mode for use as a carry-on during travel or for transporting extra supplies from town to camp.
→ Peak Designs Out Front Bike Mount: I love having my phone visible and accessible on my handlebars for navigation and entertainment while riding. The Peak Designs Out Front Bike Mount is hands down the best solution, both in terms of functionality and aesthetics. No more struggling with clunky phone mounts—the magnet system and button release make it effortless to secure and remove your phone.
→ Premium Subscription for Ride with GPS: I’m passionate about developing and navigating routes, and Ride with GPS stands out as a great cycling route-making software. It’s website offers a comprehensive range of features, including global and personal heatmaps, various base maps, points of interest (POIs), and advanced route-building and editing tools. After creating and researching routes on the website, I utilize their smartphone application to download the route for offline use, ensuring I can reference it during my rides without relying on an internet connection.
→ Otso Fenrir: I’m an advocate for versatile bikes that will last a lifetime, and the Otso Fenrir perfectly embodies this ethos. Whether you’re into gravel riding, mountain biking, or bikepacking, the Fenrir can do all three. It is available in stainless steel or titanium, and adaptable to both drop bars and flat bars.
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