SEQUIM – Some bikers didn’t have to ride as far as in past years to support the Boys & Girls Club during the annual Olympic Peninsula Bike Adventure.
Organizers this year added the 10- and 25-mile rides in addition to the long-standing 50 mile trek benefit for the Boys & Girls Clubs of the Olympic Peninsula.
Up from last year’s approximately 125 riders, about 165 people showed up on Sunday to take one of the three rides, said Tom Baermann, president of the Boys & Girls Clubs of the Olympic Peninsula Foundation.
The foundation generated about $10,000 through the event, which will go to the Port Angeles Park and Recreation department for scholarships and to the foundation to benefit the Boys & Girls Clubs, Baermann said.
“Eventually, we would like to have a weekend ride from Port Townsend to Neah Bay,” Baermann said.
“But that is depending on the development of the Olympic Discovery Trail.”
The riders began Sunday morning and took a stop at the club’s building in Sequim for lunch.
A raffle drawing was held during lunch with prizes ranging from bike tool kits to tire pumps or picture frames which were provided from Peninsula bike shops and other sponsors.
“I’ve done the bike ride every year,” Jennifer Johnson of Sequim, who was doing the 50-mile ride, said.
“I love riding bikes and I’m a big supporter of the Boys & Girls Club.”
Patti Anderson of Port Angeles is a newcomer to the race. She signed up for the 50-mile ride, but said she wasn’t sure if she’d go all the way.
“I might stop after about 35 miles,” she said during her lunch break.
“This is something I wanted to do to support the local community.”
The cost for riders to participate was $40 apiece, and $25 for those 12 and younger.
Participants were encouraged to get sponsors who would add some extra dollars to the foundation’s fund.
The 50-mile ride started at City Pier in Port Angeles, took a stop at the club for lunch, went on to Johnson Creek Trestle and then returned to Port Angles.
The 25-mile ride also began at City Pier and went to the Boys & Girls Club, then participants were shuttled back to Port Angeles.
The 10-mile ride began at Robin Hill Farm County Park between Sequim and Port Angeles, went to the club and then returned to the park.
For more information, phone 360-417-4557 or visit www.olympicdiscoverybike.com.
