Project grows into successful annual bike ride

GEORGE - What began six years ago as a Quincy High School senior project has grown into a successful yearly bike ride.

It now raises thousands of dollars for the George Community Center and local causes.

Hundreds of people turned out on Saturday for the Rock and Ride Through George bike tour, which offered a choice of 10, 30, 70 and 100 mile rides for people of all ages and abilities.

The ride was started in 2006 by Vanessa Martinez and has been carried on by students ever since.

This year Quincy High School seniors Cai Yamamoto and Brandi O'Shea helped organize the event to satisfy their school's requirement that all graduates must complete 40 hours of community service in their final year.

They arranged a team of 15 volunteers to offer water, food and assistance at critical spots along the routes, including high-speed intersections and rest areas. Bike mechanics were employed to patrol the course in case of trouble and Quincy Valley Ambulance had emergency personnel standing by.

They started fundraising in January, raising more than $5,000 from sponsors including the Quincy Valley Chamber of Commerce, Quincy Foods, and Quincy Valley Medical Center, O'Shea said. The Washington State Potato Commission also provided a potato feed lunch after the ride.

"It was hard asking for money, but working with people I don't know kind of helped me open up," she said, adding that the experience will help her in her goal of becoming a cosmetologist. "I need to be able to talk to people."

Denise Vogel, with Quincy Foods, serves as a mentor for the student organizers. Over the years, the event has earned more than $10,000 for the George Community Center. It helped fund improvements such as a wheelchair ramp, paved parking lot and upgrades to the kitchen and bathrooms.

"A lot of families in this community use this hall," Vogel said. "It was kind of dirty and run down before."

In the past she said the bike ride also helped pay for a local student's much-needed surgery and will soon fund a new bike rack for the Quincy Library.

Last year's ride was held on a blustery day, which Vogel said hampered participation, but despite occasionally rainy weather people traveled from as far as Seattle and Olympia Saturday to take part.

The variable length of the courses allow people of every skill set to get involved, from a flat 10 mile ride for families with kids to a 100 mile stretch through gently rolling hills that attracts the more serious riders.

"We have two riders who ride their bikes over from Moses Lake, do the ride and then ride back afterward," Vogel said.