Safe Kids/Group Health Tulip Pedal
The 2010 Tulip Pedal is history
The 2010 Tulip Pedal is history and we made history.
802 riders – our largest turnout ever – came to support the 29th Safe Kids Skagit County/Group Health Tulip Pedal on April 17 at La Conner Middle School. This is nearly 200 more than 2009’s 608 total.
Money raised from the event will support our continued effort to eliminate unintentional injuries in children in Skagit County by purchasing car seats, bike helmets and raising awareness about other injury-related issues to keep kids safe.
Thanks to the following people, organizations and businesses for making this year’s event possible: Group Health, Janice Watson (whose help was instrumental in handling many crucial details), Jim Lippert, Erica Work, Michelle Brisson, Lenka Kaliban, Julee and Aaron Bradshaw, the spring Skagit EMS 2010 EMT class, Erick King, Linda Wright, Kris Atkins, Jean Jenkins, Edison Fire Department firefighters, Crystal Springs Water Company, Bicycling Magazine, Road ID, Adventures NW magazine, Andy and Pauline Anderson, Mary Borges, Costco, Wal-Mart, Calico Cupboard in La Conner, McLean Road Fire Department, Fir-Conway Lutheran Church, Edison Café, Conway Pub and Eatery, Washington Bulb Company, Lance Ford, Joe Gibson, La Conner Middle School, Ernest Tutt, John and Carrie Huffer, Brittany Hutchinson, Krista Sunday, Elizabeth Craig, Rosalinda Guadamuz, Amber Holly, Liyu Rubio, Kathie Mawhinney, Jeramy and Haley Harstad, Clarissa Boyer, Stacey Cheairs, Bruce Kadar, Kurt Dunbar, Linda Brauneis, Angela Kawai Chan, Ken and April Durland, Debra Whitney, Kayla Upham, Melissa Penn and Sarah Peterson.
Next year’s 30th edition will be the biggest event ever and we look forward to it. The ride either will take place the first or third Saturday in April. Watch for updates as we get them.
Bill Craig
Tulip Pedal Director
Did You Know…?
- Tulip Pedal began as a benefit ride for Skagit Hospice. The first Tulip Pedal took place at 10:30 a.m., April 18, 1982, in La Conner. Cost was $7. Riders rode near the tulip fields on a 25-mile loop. “The money that we make from this event is going to a cause that touches us all at some point in our lives, and when it does all the other issues become secondary,” said Tulip Pedal Coordinator Paul Murray, Skagit Hospice, in the April 8, 1982, edition of the Skagit Valley Herald. Available information to date doesn’t reveal how many cyclists attended that first Tulip Pedal, but the following year had event coordinators expecting more than 500 cyclists. Were you there? Let us know.
- The town of La Conner was named such after settler J.S. Conner renamed the three-year old settlement of Swinomish in 1870 after his wife Louisa Ann, hence the article “La”.
Be sure to check out future Group Health-sponsored bicycling events. Go to www.ghc.org and check out the schedule.
This is Safe Kids Skagit County’s premier fundraiser. Every dollar from this ride goes toward injury prevention efforts in Skagit County, with emphasis placed on preventing head injuries in children who ride their bikes in our area.
2010 Tulip Pedal Photos
(© Linda Wright)
2009 Tulip Pedal Photos
(© Linda Wright)
Tulip Pedal Details
Tulip Pedal offers three rides – a 20-mile course around the tulip fields between Mount Vernon and La Conner, and a 40-mile course that begins and ends near the tulip fields, and also takes cyclists past breathtaking views of Samish and Padilla bays, Mount Baker and the Cascade foothills. The 60-mile course incorporate elements of the 20 and 40-mile rides, but offers a swing around Fir Island, too! All rides begin and end at the La Conner Middle/High School complex.
Missed a shirt or want one from previous Tulip Pedals? We have a limited number of past years’ shirts. Contact us about getting yours.
