Ringing cowbells and playing kazoos for riders finishing the 2014 Cycle Oregon tour on Sept. 13 are, left to right, Saint Mary’s students Audra Dosier, Giselle Browning and Isabella Brennan. The 12-year-old classmates were among those who decorated the balloon arch over the finish line seen in the background.
Ringing cowbells and playing kazoos for riders finishing the 2014 Cycle Oregon tour on Sept. 13 are, left to right, Saint Mary’s students Audra Dosier, Giselle Browning and Isabella Brennan. The 12-year-old classmates were among those who decorated the balloon arch over the finish line seen in the background.
St. Mary’s Academy students and staff took an active role in supporting Cycle Oregon volunteer efforts this year.
A prime-time event that attracts around 2,000 cyclists each summer, Cycle Oregon relies on volunteers’ commitment in helping the entire campaign run smoothly.
Kim Koch, principal of St. Mary’s Academy, said the school has been preparing for this year’s Cycle Oregon ride since last spring.
“We made the handprints last spring, which we used to decorate the signs that counted down the last five miles as riders rolled in towards the finish line,” Koch said. “We designed them to be kind of ‘last leg of the journey’ motivators. Like, ‘Good job!’, Just a little bit farther!’, Keep going!’, You made it!’”
The week before, the school organized an adult volunteer force that helped register over 1,800 riders for Cycle Oregon.
“We did packet pick-up and made sure everyone got the information they needed before starting out,” Koch said.
St. Mary’s was also asked to host the Finish Line festivities from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 13.
Around 80 students and their families helped usher in the returning cyclists as their 500-mile ride came to an end at Riverfront Park in The Dalles.
Standing near a balloon arch made by volunteers and armed with kazoos, cowbells and noisemakers, students greeted weary riders with a cacophony of noise to help celebrate their big achievement.
“The point was to be there and make some noise to let them know we saw them and recognized them and that they’d been able to make it so far,” Koch said.
The principal said St. Mary’s Academy will receive $7,000 for their volunteer contributions.
Commented
Sorry, there are no recent results for popular commented articles.