Safe Kids/Group Health Tulip Pedal

Thank you to the nearly 671 riders who came out for the 30th Annual Tulip Pedal! We appreciate your support for Safe Kids Skagit County.

We still have a limited number of jerseys available for $10. You will not want to go without one. The jerseys, as well as the beanies, were very popular this year. We also have some shirts from previous Tulip Pedals.

Since 1982, the Tulip Pedal has drawn thousands of cyclists from all over North America to raise money for various causes in Skagit County. Since 2003, Skagit County Medic One has used the proceeds from the ride for preventing unintentional injuries in children, focusing on wheeled sports and child passenger safety. Since 2009, the ride has been the sole fundraiser for Safe Kids Skagit County.

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

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(© Linda Wright)

2009 Tulip Pedal Photos

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(© 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 at La Conner Middle School in beautiful La Conner, WA. The courses take riders near our famous 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.

Questions? Comments? E-mail Bill at billc@skagitems.com, or call (360) 428-3236.