Celebrating a Year of Biking in Bend

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Bend Bikes capped off a great year of advocacy with the most successful Holiday Lights Ride yet. 200+ supporters joined the Bend Bikes board to celebrate accomplishments, enjoy food and beverages in good company, and raffle off some sweet prize baskets.

This year’s event featured two out-and-back bike routes from the Bend Senior Center down the Larkspur Trail: a long ride that went to Pilot Butte State Park and a shorter, family-friendly 1.5 mile jaunt. Riders lit up the night with their colorful holiday lights as they cruised down the off-street trail.

After the ride, participants were treated to an absolutely amazing spread of pies, cookies, veggie and meat platters courtesy of Whole Food Market in Bend. Attendees also enjoyed free libations from Metolius Tea, Bellatazza Coffee, Cascade Lakes Brewery, and Compassion Kombucha.

This year’s velo sprints (head-to-head stationary bike races) saw Bend Bikes board members face off in much anticipated grudge matches that helped settle old scores and maybe created a few new ones 😉 The crowd also saw repeat duels as kids, parents, and other family members squared off.

Thanks to all who donated

This year’s event costs (room rental at the Bend Senior Center and event insurance) were almost half covered before the event even started thanks to many generous pre-event donations. The remainder of the night’s proceeds from raffle sales not only covered the balance of our costs, but helped make the 2018 HLR our most successful fundraiser ever. Many thanks to all who donated! Not only do donations allow us to hold events like these, but they support Bend Bike’s mission of getting more people on bicycles for everyday riding.

Thanks sponsors

The engine behind our fundraising was the raffle, which was made possible through the amazing donations of our business sponsors. It’s not overstating things to say we could NOT have had a financially successful event without them and for that they get a large serving of our gratitude.

We look forward to seeing you at our events in 2019. In the meantime, keep the rubber side down and happy riding!

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