Rachel Ozler Makes Sure All Bikes are Welcome
By Katelyn Allen on Monday, October 28, 2024
Rachel Ozler is the founder of the popular mountain biking event in Northwest Arkansas, Grit MTB Festival, a three-day biking event in Fayetteville that is tailored to welcome everyone. This festival serves as a fundraiser event for All Bikes Welcome, a nonprofit organization with a mission to bring racial and gender equality and diversity to the state of Arkansas. In 2022, Olzer was hired as the organization’s executive director and was tasked with making the Grit MTB Festival bigger and better than ever before.
Before joining the team at All Bikes Welcome, Rachel had already established her career in advocacy with Pedal 2 the People, her online Instagram account with the mission to connect cyclists of color. At 31 years old, Rachel has not only laid the groundwork for cyclists of color and the LGBTQ+ community but she’s earned her PhD in ecology at the University of Minnesota.
“I’ve had the most winding path,” Rachel said. “My best advice is to take the opportunities that excite you and put your all into it. That’s all I’ve done – I’m not afraid to follow what excites me in the moment and do what feels worthwhile at the moment, and then just do it to the best of my ability! People see that. Whatever you’re doing, people will notice your ethics and the hard work you put into it!”
