Ride raises more than $30,000 for PAFE

SANDPOINT — With the cooperation of practically perfect sunny weather, the Sandpoint-based 2010 CHaFE 150 bike ride was nearly flawless on Saturday, June 12 on the way to breaking records for ridership and fundraising.

In only its third season, the CHaFE has nearly doubled its ridership each year. This year there were 197 registered riders, of which 10 failed to show and 187 were on the road.

“At this rate of growth we think we’re in reach of our rider cap of 300 riders for next year,” said ride director Geraldine Lewis. “Things went so well this year, and rider comments were so positive. The ride looks set to become one of the region’s biggest.”

The CHaFE ride followed a 150-mile route from Sandpoint north to Bonners Ferry, then east into Montana’s Bull River valley before returning to Sandpoint along the shores of Lake Pend Oreille. There was also an 80-mile “1/2 CHaFE” ride that started midway.

The ride is a fundraiser for the Panhandle Alliance for Education’s early childhood education program, “Ready! For Kindergarten.” This year riders embraced the cause of providing a good start in life for young children, bringing in a new record of more than $22,000 in donations. With other money raised by rider fees and underwriting, the event overall raised more than $30,000.

The route’s beauty, the surpassing ride support and the camaraderie of volunteers and participants brought a plethora of praise from riders.

“Great event — it is great to see the people who are supporting an event be truly passionate about its cause,” commented Johnny Ukich of Hayden. “Not only were people very helpful and kind, they went out of their way to make your day fantastic because they were genuinely thankful for the support of those who were riding.”

Echoed Susan Baxter of Spokane, “The ride was unbelievably well organized and supported.”

“The day was beautiful, the scenery spectacular, the support was constantly available,” said Terese Luikens of Sandpoint.

Of the registered riders, 118 signed on for the full 150 miles, while 88 undertook the 1/2 CHaFE. There were 111 male and 86 female riders; the youngest riders were a 15 year-old who rode the 1/2 CHaFE, and a 17 year-old who pedaled the whole 150. Oldest riders were a 72 year-old for the half, and a 71 year-old for the full.

The riders were geographically diverse, too; 120 riders were Idahoans, with 37 from Washington, 25 from Montana and the rest from several states including Illinois, Arizona, Minnesota and Colorado, as well as British Columbia.

The CHaFE’s a ride, not a race, but with a 6:30 a.m. departure, the first cyclists in the full 150-mile ride ride made it back to the finish at 2:16 p.m. For the 80-mile 1/2 CHaFE, with a 9:35 departure from the start in Troy, Mont., the first rider came in at 2:09.

For more information on the ride, including photos, go to: www.chafe150.org.