Last June, I was sitting around with some friends from Gore Bike Wear™ and we were tossing out ideas for a project Terry and Gore could do together. In a serendipitous kind of way, we looked at each other and said "Blackwater!". Blackwater is a National Wildlife Refuge on the Eastern Shore of Maryland. Anyone who reads this blog knows I'm down there a lot to ride, to photograph products and scenery for our catalogs and to just relax. Our Gore friends often join us there. Easy for them, since they are based in Maryland.
Ideas started tumbling out. This would be a road ride for women. We would offer a variety of lengths. All the registration proceeds would go to the Friends of Blackwater. We would ask companies we work with to sponsor a goodie bag, rest stops and raffle items. Riders could try and buy Terry and Gore products and some of the profits from those sales could also go to the Friends. On and on it went. And so the Wild Goose Chase was born.
I knew for sure we were on to something when virtually every company we approached was thrilled to be associated with our event. To the tune of $30,000 in product donations for our riders, they made a commitment to help us preserve critical habitat and educate the public about the importance of Blackwater. As much fun as we intend to have riding, shopping and munching, this ride is about the importance of habitat. If we want open spaces in which we can ride, we need to preserve them. Of course, appreciation of habitat goes far beyond our needs as cyclists. Habitat is the essence of this precious biosphere that is our home. We are but one of the many species dependent upon it, something we all too often forget.
Come and ride with us! Our website has more information and a registration form.
Tailwinds,
Georgena
talktous@terrybicycles.com
www.terrybicycles.com
