On a warm July morning at Three Stage mountain bike area, the trails are already alive with sound. A dozen kids freewheel down a cedar-lined singletrack, their whoops alternating between exhilaration and disbelief. The pack wheels into the Petun Conservation area, where a clubhouse and a field of fun rollers and pump tracks await them. This is Rad Adventures, a mountain biking summer camp, set up and run by Laura Gallagher.

Gallagher is the owner of Rad Adventures, which has quietly become one of the most influential youth-outdoor outfits in the region. While other camps promise screen-free days and fresh air, Rad Adventures delivers something more elemental: confidence through movement, bravery through practice, joy through mud. Gallagher takes pride in saying it plainly. “Kids shine when they join Rad Adventures,” she says. “They meet new friends. They learn how to take risks safely. And of course—kids and bikes: it’s magic.”

“They meet new friends. They learn how to take risks safely. And of course—kids and bikes: it’s magic.”

Magic is one word for it. Watching a 7-year-old roll a rock garden for the first time, or a 12-year-old who was once afraid of speed suddenly feathering the brakes and trusting the bike—it feels alchemical. But talk to Gallagher for more than a few minutes and you learn there’s nothing accidental about the magic. Rad Adventures is built on a philosophy that risk isn’t something to fear; it’s something to teach.

“Safe risk-taking is a life skill,” Gallagher says. “Mountain biking is just the arena. But what kids learn out here—their ability to read terrain, stay calm, and commit—that sticks with them long after the ride ends.”

Rad Adventures started as a side project in 2017—just a handful of after-school sessions with local families who wanted their kids to learn to ride confidently. By the next year, Rad had waiting lists. Now Rad offers summer camps, after-school programs, weekend pump track clinics as well as MTB programs, and private/groups/camps. Rad has recently started offering one-on-one Learn 2 Ride programs. Gallagher’s team of coaches includes certified instructors, bike mechanics and former racers.

Each summer, Rad hosts a small but dedicated group of high school volunteers, most of whom have completed the Leadership in Training camp and have been participating in the program since childhood. Rad tries to promote the volunteers to junior coaches as positions become available.

Ask any of them what sets Rad Adventures apart, and the answer comes back fast: Gallagher sees kids differently. She sees what they can do long before they believe it themselves.

On a recent Monday, a Rad Coach demonstrates cornering techniques to a group of 9-year-olds. He draws arcs in the dirt with his shoe, tracing imaginary lines. “Look where you want to go,” he tells them, making sure each helmeted head is level with her own. “The bike follows your eyes.” The kids nod, somewhere between earnest and impatient, and one by one they push off. First wide and wobbly, then tighter, smoother, faster. Every time a rider makes a clean turn, the coach cheers like he is watching an Olympic finish.

Confidence, he explains later, grows in increments. “People think confidence is this big personality trait you either have or don’t have. But really—it comes from tiny wins. You earn it pedal stroke by pedal stroke.”

Parents often report seeing changes within a week. Kids who were previously anxious about climbing suddenly want to tackle more challenging loops. Kids who were shy at school bloom socially on group rides. Gallagher has heard every version of it. “A mom told me once that Rad Adventures taught her son how to believe in himself,” she says. “What do you even say to that? It’s humbling.”

The social element is no accident either. Riding with peers—encouraging each other up climbs, celebrating clean features, embracing the occasional wipeout—creates a camaraderie that Gallagher believes is essential. “It’s simple,” she says. “Kids meet new friends here. They learn what community feels like.”

During the fall after-school sessions, when the maples flame red and the air smells like cold earth and pine, the kids ride until their fingers are numb. Coaches cap each lesson with a debrief mindful circle, asking what kids learned, what scared them and what they want to try next. The answers range from practical (“I finally got my front wheel up!”) to profound (“I didn’t think I could do the big hill, but I did.”). Gallagher tries to inspire these moments with staff and young riders.

“Kids meet new friends here. They learn what community feels like.”

“That’s the stuff that lasts,” she says. “Not the perfect berm or the fancy trick. It’s the feeling of doing something you thought you couldn’t.” As the program grows, Gallagher is dreaming bigger. But even as Rad Adventures expands, its ethos remains unchanged. “Bikes give kids freedom,” she says. “Our job is to help them feel capable enough to use it.”

Late in the afternoon of a summer camp session, parents load bikes back onto the tailgates. With muddy knees, dusty grins and helmets askew, the kids look exhausted in the best possible way. One rider, no older than 10, tugs on Gallagher’s sleeve. “Laura,” he says, “can we do the rocky trail again next time?” Gallagher laughs. “Absolutely.”

More about Rad Adventures here.