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.

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.

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.

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.