Another Successful Cycle Oregon
By Patrick Loftus; Event Coordinator This September, a team of four staff and 14 volunteers from the Community Cycling Center joined Cycle Oregon for another year. Thanks to the efforts of our hard working volunteers and support from Cycle Oregon riders we raised over $27,000 to support our programs, namely our upcoming Holiday Bike Drive, where over 400 children will earn their first bikes. With unpredictable weather and wildfires, this Cycle Oregon proved to be one the most challenging yet. Wildfires led to a road closure mid week which forced a re-route. Cycle Oregon staffers still managed to find fun roads and great camping spots for 2,300+ people in less than two days. They pulled it off wonderfully! Thank you, Cycle Oregon! Despite nature’s best attempts to spoil the week, morale stayed high and we had a blast. While our volunteers get to ride two of the days at Cycle Oregon, they must commit to eight days on the road. It’s a challenging week that’s a lot of fun and often referred to by our volunteers as “adult summer camp.” This year the crew meticulously cleaned, lubed, and polished 96 bikes using over 2,000 cotton swabs (when we say “clean” we really mean it). They charged thousands of electronic devices, sometimes with over 400 devices going at once. By the time we returned to Portland, we endured a near 100 degree high, near freezing lows, thick wildfire smoke, and torrential downpour.
A big thanks to all of the host communities for welcoming us and to Cycle Oregon for pulling off another amazing ride. Thank you to all of the riders who supported us though donations, booking our services, or even just cheering on our volunteers. It was great to see familiar faces and make new friends, including Carl “The Drone Guy”. He shot some amazing footage throughout the week. Check it out!
Thank you Zipcar and Penske Truck for helping our crew travel safely in style. Thank you Finish Line for donating all of the cleaning supplies that make 96 details possible.
