WMBC & Cycle Oregon

CYCLE OREGON VISIT A SUCCESS

The riders from Cycle Oregon hit Wallowa County on September 10 and spent the next two days enjoying our gravel and back roads.  Over 400 riders from 24 states and British Columbia took part in the Rally, in addition to a large contingency of Cycle Oregon support staff.  The Wallowa County Chamber of Commerce spearheaded soliciting a significant number of local volunteers to make this a success for the County and Cycle Oregon.

WMBC volunteers staffed two aid stations during their visit.  On September 10, under beautiful weather conditions, the WMBC worked with CO support staff to set up and run the Lostine aid station.  The volunteers were great ambassadors for the county and the club, and they had fun greeting the riders, answering their questions, and learning more about them as they came into the county.  There were riders of all abilities, including disabled riders from Oregon Adaptive Sports.  Special thanks to Ali Garrett and Moonlight Graphics, who developed special tee shirts for the occasion as a WMBC fundraiser and almost sold them out at the aid station.

The WMBC was invited to give a welcome presentation to the riders on the evening of September 10.  Eric Makela provided an overview of the gravel riding opportunities in the County and also talked about bike safety, drawing on recommendations from the Safe Riding in Wallowa County initiative.  On September 12, WMBC volunteers worked with CO to set up and run the aid station at Salt Creek Summit.  Riders could either ride gravel on the Canal Road or ride the pavement route out the Imnaha Hwy and up FR 39.  Unfortunately, the weather was in the 40’s F for the ride, and SCS was in a cloud most of the morning and into the afternoon.  Fortunately, the maintenance building was open, and the volunteers were able to light a fire in the woodstove and, with wood provided by CO, keep the fire going to warm up and dry out cyclists.

The CO visit was a great way to get the word out to the outside cycling community about WMBC’s involvement in the cycling community and also served as a large fundraiser for the club.  With the CO donation of $700 per aid station, Ali Garrett’s generous contribution of $450 for the sale of the tee shirts, and cash donations of $60, the club made $1,910. 

This could not have happened without the help from our volunteers and the following should be thanked:  Mary Chlopek, Lora Tennant, Marcy Hamilton, Gina Barstad, Missy Britt, Ali Garret, John Pollard, Rowan Cypher, and Eric Makela.