At 13, Amy Kahn set out on a two-week bike tour from Maple City, Michigan, through Wisconsin and up to Copper Harbor in the Upper Peninsula. Her bike was a Schwinn Continental loaded with 25 pounds of gear, and her cycling wardrobe was cut-offs and a fishing cap. “I still cannot believe I did that ride,” she says, looking back.
Amy has been on two wheels ever since. She’s toured the Yorkshire Dales, ridden the Israel Ride, and become the first woman president of the North Florida Bicycle Club. Along the way she found BRAG, and today she heads up the local volunteer effort for Winter Ride Lux on Amelia Island.
Here’s road that led her there.
Adventures Near and Far
In 2016 Amy rode the Israel Ride, a route that has carried more than 1,800 cyclists nearly 600,000 miles across the country since 2003. “If you think the hills are steep in Georgia, try climbing some of the hills in Israel,” she says. “There is nothing like finishing this ride and holding your bike high over your head in the Red Sea.”
Off the bike, Amy is an artist. She holds both an MFA and a BFA in Fine Art Photography and taught photography at the college level for ten years. She spent most of her career in Human Resources, in learning and development, teaching leadership and sales skills for companies like Kodak and RaceTrac. After being laid off twice in “downsizing,” she decided to end her career where it began, as a photographer.
Waiting for BRAG
Amy first heard about BRAG when she moved to Atlanta in 1998, from a chiropractor who rode it every year. “I knew, just knew, that I would ride BRAG someday.” Someday had to wait until she was retired and had time to train without worrying about missing a week of work.
In the meantime, she took a part-time job at Performance Bicycle in Atlanta to earn a little extra money. When Performance closed, she moved to Bicycles South in Decatur. When that closed, she landed at Outback Bikes in Little 5 Points. At Performance she met Roz Moore, whom Amy calls “the best BRAGGER ever.” Through Roz she met another BRAG regular, Vicki Thompson. Between the two of them, she says, “I just knew I finally had to fit a BRAG ride into my schedule.”
Her first BRAG was Spring Tune-Up in April 2019, ridden alongside Vicki and Roz. A few months later she rode the Chattanooga-to-Atlanta fall ride on USBR 21.
Amy remembers Roz with great affection. “She just loved BRAG and loved getting people involved in cycling,” Amy says. Amy is just one of the many riders Roz welcomed in.
Pedaling into Leadership
In 2021, Amy and her wife, Ilene, moved to Yulee, Florida, near Amelia Island. One of the first things Amy did was join the North Florida Bicycle Club. By 2022 she was the club’s Vice President. The next year she became its first woman President.
She also served as Event Director for the club’s Endless Summer Watermelon Ride from 2022 through 2025. The ride is held on the second Sunday of September on Amelia Island, draws about 620 riders, and offers five routes of 100, 72, 56, 30 and 11 miles. The 11-mile route is a family fun ride. “If you’ve never done the ESWR, add it to your ride schedule,” Amy says.
“Why Are They Here?”
One day, while riding with the club, Amy saw the BRAG bus parked in downtown Amelia Island. “WOW, why are they here?” she remembers thinking.
She found out that BRAG visits the island every winter for Winter Ride Lux. She didn’t wait to be asked. She reached out to Franklin and offered to help the next time the tour came to town. “As they say, the rest is history.”
Each winter since 2022, Amy has been part of the tour, and today she heads up the area volunteer effort. Last year she added something new to the schedule: “Lunch with Amy at Safe Harbor in Mayport.” She leads riders to the Mayport Ferry, then a short five-minute ride to Safe Harbor for lunch. She says she loves it.
For a rider who has found her BRAG family far from home, being the local who shows people around may be the best fit of all. “I keep coming back to BRAG because I feel like you all are family now!” she says.
Lessons from the Road
In 2019, on the Chattanooga-to-Atlanta ride, she became dehydrated on a very hot day on the Silver Comet Trail, about six miles outside Cedartown. “I was ready to STOP,” she says. A SAG driver told her to rest, drink plenty of water, and keep going, because the finish was just around the corner. She made it, “thanks to some outstanding support.” Her advice now is to take a drink of water every ten minutes on those super hot days. And start hydrating the day before!
For newcomers, she keeps her advice simple. “Time in the saddle” is the foundation, she says, along with a month of slow, steady buildup before the ride. She builds up to four or five 40-mile rides, mixes in weight training for her arms and back, and takes a couple of days off before the big event so she starts with fresh legs. She also says to put your bike in good working order. “Spend the money on a new chain and have a tune-up done before the ride.”
Her must-haves are a camera, of course, and her Garmin with Ride with GPS, which she calls “the best thing since sliced bread.”
Daisy and the Night-Before Ritual
Amy’s BRAG day begins the night before. She reviews the route and notes any extra stops where she might want to see the sights. She lays out her kit: bibs, jersey, heart monitor, base layer and socks. “Most importantly,” she says, “I make sure all the colors match!” Then she gets her bike ready, which means airing up the tires and charging Daisy, her beloved bright yellow BMC road e-bike.
What she loves most about riding BRAG, she says, is that it reminds her how good it feels to go from point A to point B under your own energy. “There’s something wonderful about joining a large ride and there always being somebody to ride with. I never felt unsafe because I knew there was always somebody right behind me.”
Trilith, Madison, and Waffle House
The most memorable stop of Big BRAG 2026, for Amy, was Day Five at Trilith. “It was indeed the most unique stop,” she says. The studio tour fascinated her, and the staff were welcoming. The next morning came a surprise send-off from Dan Cathy of Chick-fil-A.
Her favorite Georgia discovery came at Spring Tune-Up in 2025. She rode it with her brother-in-law, Michael, and the two of them fell in love with Madison. Locals told them about the town’s history, and they went into town for dinner every night. She also introduced Michael to Waffle House for the first time, “a true Georgia tradition.”
The Road Ahead
Amy’s Big BRAG wish is short: “Big BRAG ending in Savannah!! PLEASE.”
Her theme song is Queen’s “Bicycle Race,” the same pick as Vicki Thompson, though she also still loves “On the Road Again.” To Amy, you know you’re a real BRAGger when “you cannot wait to see what the Big BRAG routes will be for the next year.”
From a Schwinn and a fishing cap to a yellow e-bike named Daisy, Amy’s lifetime on two wheels has taken her from the Upper Peninsula to the Red Sea to the Georgia coast. Her family is happy to let her take her adventures on her own, so she brings her camera and her wit. If you’re on Amelia Island this winter, look for her. She’ll point you toward the ferry and lunch.
