Bummed that you missed out on registration for the Group Health STP? You’re in luck! Once again this year, ten registrations are up for auction on eBay — and most of them have not yet closed. Bid now, and you can forgo nail-biting in mid-June, when registration may or may not open up again to the public (see the STP webpage for more information).
All eBay auction winners will receive a coveted low bib number. Plus, any amount beyond the standard $105 online registration fee is a tax-deductible donation to the Cascade Bicycle Club Education Foundation, so you can feel good about spending a few extra bucks. And not only that! We’re throwing in free food and beverages at the Finish Line Festival in Portland.
Get excited because the 2012 Cascade events are scheduled to roll! We know the registration process was a problem in January, and we do not want to repeat that experience. In order to offer smooth service to event riders, we’ve made some improvements to the event registration process for the 2012 season.
Seattle Bike Swap
A bike bargain hunter’s paradise!
Feb. 12, 2012
Chilly Hilly Join us on Bainbridge Island for the first event of the 2011 season!
Feb. 26, 2012
Seattle Bicycle Expo Be one of the 8,000 attendees to enjoy more than 300 exhibits and an array of presentations on all aspects of the sport.
March 10 – 11, 2012
Group Health Commute Challenge One of the largest bike commuting events in the nation!
May 1 – 31, 2012
Vulcan Bike to Work Breakfast Come join us! We promise good food, great conversation, networking, and an insight into why bike commuting makes sense for you, your business, and our community.
May 4, 2012
F5 Bike to Work Day A huge hit in Seattle! Celebrate bicycle commuting as thousands of your friends, neighbors and co-workers take to the streets by bike.
May 18, 2012
Flying Wheels Summer Century Washington state’s largest century. This event also offers shorter distances for full-on fun, no matter what your speed. Held in Redmond.
June 9, 2012
Group Health Seattle to Portland Bicycle Classic Cascade’s cornerstone event, offering riders a one- or two-day double century. The largest multi-day event in the Northwest.
July 14 – 15, 2012
Cyclefest & BikeMania The biggest Tour de France party on the West Coast! Enjoy kids’ games and activities, a BMX stunt show, and a free showing of Stage 19 of the Tour on a 20 ft wide inflatable screen
TBA: July 2012
RAW – Ride Around Washington On our multi-day tour held in August.
Aug. 4 – 11, 2012
RSVP – Ride from Seattle to Vancouver (B.C.) and Party! The name says it all!Aug. 17 – 18, 2012
RSVP2 We’ve sold the first event out for long enough. We’re adding another!
Aug. 18 – 19, 2012
HPC – High Pass Challenge A challenging 114 mile 7,500 foot elevation gain event through the pristine Gifford Pinchot Wilderness Area (not for novice riders)
Sept. 9, 2012
Kitsap Color Classic Pedal into autumn with a lovely ride around the Kitsap Peninsula.Sept. 30, 2012
The Major Taylor Project is made possible through the support of people like John — and you!
If you’d like to join John in making a tax-deductible donation for every Major Taylor kid who makes it to Portland (we expect 25 this year), please send me an email: tarrell.wright@cascadebicycleclub.org. Put “MTP STP pledge” in the subject line and enter the amount you’d like to pledge per kid in the body of the email. After the STP we’ll send you a pledge reminder with the number of kids who crossed the finish line.
One of the most rewarding moments of the Group Health Seattle to Portland Bicycle Classic is crossing the finish line. You’ve made it, all 200+ miles on your own two wheels, and there’s a huge crowd waiting to cheer you on for your accomplishment!
The Finish Line Festival in Holladay Park is also an attraction in its own right, featuring music, food and beverage service, exhibitor and sponsor booths, a massage tent, showers and first aid. We’ll also have a New Belgium Beer Garden and ton of giveaways. Even if you’re not riding the STP, if you’re in Portland for the weekend it’s worth checking out.
On April 2, 2009 I had a heart attack. After recovering form my heart attack I talked to my doctor about bike riding and he agreed it was a great idea.
About a year later a friend and I were talking about his bi/triathlon training. I mentioned STP as one thing I’ve always wanted to do. He suggested that we do it together. I didn’t have a road bike to train on and ride the STP in, so he loaned me his old Peugeot road bike. (Since he had bought a new bike for his training a year earlier.)
Riding through the countryside is a “relaxing” exercise that has helped me become physically fit and healthier. I’ve also found it to be a great stress reliever. Since I’ve started training for the STP I’ve ridden over 2,000 miles and I’ve lost 20 pounds, with a few more still to lose.
On July 10 I will achieve one of my “bucket lists events” by completing the STP and I plan on doing the one-day STP next year.
The best part of doing the STP is the amazing people that I’ve meet along the way. There is also a freedom that I can’t explain when riding a bike and only a bike rider knows what I mean. Bike riding will be a part of my future.
We had 90 incredible entries into the contest. To read more great stories of why people ride, check out Raleigh’s new webpage, MyCyclingEvent.com
Twenty-five teenagers from Seattle Urban Academy/Union Gospel Mission, Chief Sealth High School, Evergreen Campus and Global Connections High School, along with teachers, program leaders and volunteers, will bicycle 200 miles from Seattle to Portland on July 9 and 10. For many of the teens, this will be their first trip out of state and the longest bike ride of their lives. Their journey to Portland started long before the Group Health Seattle to Portland start line.
Anu Ani’s family emigrated from Nigeria in 2008 so that his father could attend school. Ani, 18 and a senior at Evergreen in White Center, has embraced cycling, saying it has offered him an opportunity to see his city in a new way. This will be his third STP.
“Riding bikes is in my blood. I love it for exercise,” Ani said. “I like to talk about what we did, where we went, what we saw. Riding STP is fun, and I don’t want to miss it because I meet a lot of people, see other people riding bikes and hear their stories. I like to hear other people’s stories. I am most excited about riding with my friends. It’s like two-day vacation.”
In early 2009, the Cascade Bicycle Club Education Foundation launched the Major Taylor Project to reach teens in underserved communities and provide access to the many benefits of cycling. Several students have never owned a bike, much less a bike with gears. Most have never explored their communities and know only their commute from home to school.
To prepare and train for the big event, the teens have ridden many miles around their communities, including the Flying Wheels Summer Century in east King County, Vashon Island, and the south end of Lake Washington loop.
Moises Torres, 17 and a senior at Global Connection High School Des Moines, is also back for a third STP. He says he initially got involved because his teachers and mentors were involved with cycling.
“It’s good for community and environment,” Torres said. “It’s different on a bike than in a car. Things slow down, and you get to see what’s going on around you instead of zooming by in a car. It gives me better perspective of what’s going on around me.”
Growing up in Seattle, Torres has long been interested in aviation and aerospace. After this school year, Torres is headed for the Air Force Academy.
Riding the STP exemplifies what is possible through the Major Taylor Project. The program empowers youth through bicycling by helping them establish a goal and by providing the tools and support to achieve it. The experience has a lasting impact.
Linda Ba, age 18 and salutatorian of Evergreen’s Health Sciences and Human Services High School graduating class this year, is no stranger to hard work. But cycling brought something new to her life. “I tell people that I cycle, and they’re like, ‘You do what? What is that?’ I can show it off,” Ba said. “Racing the boys is fun. It’s the same on a bike. The bikes are an equalizer, and everyone’s the same… no boys vs. the girls.”
Ba is riding in her third STP, but this year, her 15-year-old sister ZaZa is joining her for the first time.
“I feel like I need to take care of her, educate her,” she said. “I feel more responsible and I want her to have fun. I’m excited to share it with her.”
Being involved with the Major Taylor Project and bicycling has broadened Ba’s horizons. She is looking forward to college at the University of Hawaii at Manoa in the fall. Still, she has a deep connection to her community.
“Every kid in White Center is talented and worth investing in,” she said.
How would she make an impact if money were no object? “I’d bring coaches, leaders, businesses that teach kids skills, invest in the arts, athletics, the high school, and the middle schools especially.”
She added: “There’s so much to do in White Center.”
About Cascade Bicycle Club
Founded in 1970, Cascade Bicycle Club is a 14,000+ member, nonprofit organization based in Seattle, Washington, serving more than half a million cyclists in the Puget Sound community. The club is operated by a volunteer Board of Directors, 28 professional staff and thousands of volunteers. More information about Cascade Bicycle Club’s advocacy, commute, education and riding programs is available online at www.cascade.org or by calling (206) 522-3222.
The Major Taylor Project was started by Cascade Bicycle Club in 2009, with initial support from King County Metro and Group Health. Named after Marshall “Major” Taylor, the turn-of-the-last-century African-American U.S. and world bicycle sprint champion, the project is focused on introducing young people from diverse communities to the sport of cycling and creating an inclusive culture of bicycling that will continue to future generations. Full program information can be found online at: http://cbcef.org/youth-major-taylor.html
INTERVIEW OPPORTUNITIES:
Tuesday, July 5, 9:30 a.m., Lincoln Park before Vashon Island Ride
Friday, July 8, 6:30 p.m., Cascade Bicycle Club, Magnuson Park
Saturday, July 9 6 a.m., STP start line
MEDIA CONTACT:
M.J. Kelly
Cascade Bicycle Club
Director of Communications and Marketing m.j.kelly@cascadebicycleclub.org
m: (206) 853-2188
In the time that I’ve been at Cascade, I’ve heard some pretty great stories about people riding the Group Health STP:
Cascade legend Jerry Baker, now 69, has been doing it every year since it started. Paul Wantzelius, who passed away this year, was the only other person able to claim this achievement.
Some of the Major Taylor teens I rode it with last year had never ridden more than 10 miles at a time a couple months before the ride, and a number of them had never been outside Seattle. For them the ride was a life changing achievement.
And Cascade member Mandy Williams, who was badly injured a couple years ago when she was hit by a drunk driver, has been training like crazy (even with bronchitis this past month!) to ride it as a fundraiser for Homeboy Industries.
With 10,000 riders, I’m sure there are thousands of other great stories out there. If you have one you’d like to share, send it to me for a chance to win a Raleigh Revenio 4.0 ($1600 value).
Raleigh has recently launched a new website, MyCyclingEvent.com, full of stories, events, and resources for cyclists. A number of the stories will be highlighted on their “Why I Ride” page, and one lucky storyteller will win the bike on July 1, just in time to get it all set up for STP.
To enter, submit your story (250 words or fewer) to annat@cascadebicycleclub.org by noon on Tuesday, June 28th. Good luck, and happy riding!
Cascade Bicycle Club is a non-profit organization creating more livable communities by promoting health & recreation through bicycle activities, advocacy, & education.
Bummed that you missed out on registration for the Group Health STP? You’re in luck! Once again this year, ten registrations are up for auction on eBay — and most of them have not yet closed. Bid now, and you can forgo nail-biting in mid-June, when registration may or may not open up again to the public (see the STP webpage for more information).
