August 2025 Top Talk

More THANK YOUs (following the Pioneer Century® Thank Yous last month) to all our club members, friends, and relatives who joined us at the Seattle to Portland Finish Line on July 11-14. Buses were filled. Bikes were loaded. Fencing set up. Bike Corral assembled and secured. Answers stood by for questions to be asked at the Information Booth. T-shirts awaited their volunteers. Traveling bags and overnight bags, large and small, rested on the floor ready for tired, sweaty riders to collect them. Finishers were safely guided through the last few yards of a 206-mile cycling adventure while being welcomed and congratulated by a detached voice. Bubbles.

All good. It was encouraging to know that all of you were doing your best and were willing to do more if the need arose. We were a team working together to make the 6,000 participants feel welcome at Holladay Park and help them transition to whatever was next. That list seemed frequently to be: Water. Bathroom. Food. No surprises there!  ✎

Team leaders will be meeting to debrief. We’ll talk about what worked and what could use a tweak. I think at least 98% worked. We can always look for ways to do better. Sometimes it’s staffing – less or more. Some things are not really under our control. This is Cascade Bicycle Club’s event, after all.  I know some of the volunteers at the Info Booth/Volunteer Check-in had ideas and shared their opinions.

This event is a huge undertaking. But what a wonderful experience to help fellow cyclists as they complete such an ambitious goal. It was very gratifying to me, and hopefully for every one of you, to see our wonderful bicycle club in action, working together, doing our assigned jobs, and sharing it all with one another.

Thank you again for volunteering and doing what you could. And congratulations to our club members who pedaled the STP!

Whew!  Let’s ride!

Ann Morrow, President

To read the Quick Releases newsletter associated with the August 2025 Top Talk, go to Table of Contents.