Blog
It's September...finally.
We love this time of year. After a long hot summer, we are ready for the change of season! Temps are cool, dirt is damp and tacky, sweaters are getting unpacked, and the riding is as good as it gets!
The Evergreen team enjoyed a full summer of trail work, camps, education programs, campouts, and rides going on all over the state. During the ride, or afterward hanging out with our friends, we often found ourselves reflecting on how good mountain bikers have it here in Washington, and how much work that takes.
Fall is also the time where we reach out to the riders of Washington to ask for their support and to become a member of the Evergreen Mountain Bike Alliance. We tell stories about how your support leads directly to great trails for you to ride. But rather than we tell you, we're going to leave it to Evergreen member Scott Edison. Scot has been a member since 2005, with over 140 personal contributions to Evergreen. It's an amazing level of dedication and support that we appreciate so much.
Scott's story offers a great perspective of how our sport, the riding, the equipment, and the capability of Evergreen have improved over the last 30 years, and how valuable your membership is. Although Scot's story applies specifically to his local riding area, Tiger Mountain, the same can be said about your local riding area. We've seen the same thing play out in every chapter and on so many trails around the state, including yours.
It's a story that we love to hear, we think you'll enjoy it too.
Did you sleep through "Coffee with Yvonne"?
Not to worry! In this post, we're hitting you with a brief recap, and the recorded sessions - so you can get up to speed!
There is so much going on behind the scenes at Evergreen, and it's important! Every day that our trail team is out there digging on the trails our admin staff is working on advocacy, access, and trail planning challenges. Yvonne Kraus, our Executive Director, took some time to fill members in on the hot topics of the summer: eBike Access, Wilderness, and Tribal Relations. Over 150 participants joined us in June, July, and August to learn about and discuss these issues.
During each update, Yvonne delivered a synopsis of Evergreen's work and opened the floor for questions. We want to thank those of you who took the time to join us, and participate in the conversation - we are looking forward to continued collaboration and growth in these areas.
This past month I took advantage of loosening COVID restrictions and scheduled my first in-person meetings and site visits in over a year. On the road for two weeks, I experienced a wealth of project site visits, reconnected with chapter members and volunteers, and attended complex, yet rewarding advocacy meetings.
While the work we are doing across the state is challenging and diverse, I am continually blown away by what our small group of enthusiastic athletes achieves when we come together.
We'd like to introduce you to some of our member All-Stars.
Evergreen is #RiderPowered by thousands of members all across Washington. Every one of our chapters has a number of all-stars who always show up, Give Big, and go the extra mile to build and maintain the great trails we all ride. If it wasn't for the members of Evergreen we'd all still be riding fire roads! Thank you to all of you out there!
We are incredibly grateful to be a part of a collaborative, and supportive community of riders and businesses!
Evergreen supporters come in many shapes, sizes, and even flavors, and we love them all! Thanks to our Colab partners we are able to share their stoke of great trails with a great deal for you!
In addition to your ability to get a special offer on an all-around awesome group of products, each of our Colabs is generating revenue for Evergreen! That means that your purchase not only gets you a sick beer, bag of coffee, pair of shorts, or 1st Aid Kit - but, your trails will get some love too!
Read on to learn more!
Is your business interested in a partnership?
It’s been over a year since individuals and organizations were propelled into action to play an active role in combating social injustice. Like other organizations, Evergreen set out to face the inequities and injustices within our own community and the outdoor industry. Yvonne, our Executive Director, wrote a personal statement where she highlighted the importance of inclusivity and diversity in the outdoors, and vowed that Evergreen would shift its priorities to better serve ALL of our community.
The 2021 Dirty Dozen
Twelve Washington trails that should be on your short list for this year's ride season.
It's a great time to ride and a great time to build more #Riderpowered trails!
Every spring since 2015 we have asked you to Give Big for trails. In just the past five years Give Big donors have opened up more than 100 miles of #Riderpowered new trail and 2 entirely new ride areas in (or near) Wenatchee, the Methow Valley, Ellensburg, Roslyn, Battle Ground, Port Gamble, Issaquah/North Bend, Skykomish, Leavenworth, and Spokane. It's time to do it again and you can #BeTheBuilder with a donation today.
We need $125,000 in our Trails Fund to make it happen. Our Trails Fund needs replenishing, and your help supports miles of projects that are ready to go! A strong Trails Fund allow us to complete urgent maintenance tasks and keep our Trail Crew going all year.
Every other year, when our State lawmakers develop a new budget for the next biennium, Evergreen hosts a Legislative Rally Day for our members and other riders at the Capitol in Olympia to meet with lawmakers, share information about mountain biking, and push for robust and sustainable recreation funding. This year looked a little different than what you see above...