Looking Forward

On behalf of the Cascade Cycling Classic / CCC Youth Foundation team, I want to say THANK YOU to the incredible field of racers & kids who participated, to this amazing community who came out to show overwhelming support, and to our sponsors, vendors, donors and volunteers who all came together to keep the Classic the longest running stage race in North America...going strong for nearly 40 years!

The success of this year’s CCC was special to me for one very important reason: Close to 2,000 people came together to celebrate cycling — whether as a spectator, a toddler trying a StriderBike for the first time, a kid going all out in the Kid’s Race, a teen trying a relay race, a family exploring the Haul Trail, or a seasoned road warrior participating in a group ride.

And, while Travis McCabe and Emma Grant may have won the overall CCC, the community was the biggest winner.

When you support the CCC Youth Foundation, you help to create even more winners. As we work to fund travel scholarships for juniors to attend CX National Championships, to develop mobile bike clinics for kids in rural and under-served areas, or to bring the joy of riding a StriderBike for the first time to kids across Central Oregon at one of many upcoming local bike events, we are continuing to create opportunities that lead to a love of adventure.

Count Me In!

Now, more than ever, getting kids outside and away from screens is crucial:

A 2018 study from the American Heart Association found kids and teens ages 8 to 18 averaged more than seven hours a day looking at screens. In addition to an established link between screen time and a significant uptick in sedentary behavior in children and teens, there is also mounting evidence that screen time is associated with obesity.

Between 2014 and 2018, the number of kids in the US between the ages 6 and 17 who rode bicycles regularly dropped by more than a million. (Sports & Fitness Industry Association, 2019 )

According to a recent University of Michigan poll, for kids who don’t ride bikes, more than 50 percent of parents cited their child’s lack of interest, 40 percent reported that their child did not know how to ride, and 22 percent said a lack of safe places nearby to ride was a barrier.

If, like me, you agree that a future generation of adults who are comfortable with, on, and around bikes will make the world a much better place, you can help.

When you sport your CCC jersey on a group ride, tip back your commemorative CCC HydroFlask around town, or make a donation of $50, $250 or $500, you are working right along side of us, giving more kids a compelling reason -- and more opportunities -- to stop looking down at their phones and start looking forward on a bike.

Together, we can build a better future for our kids.

Thank you for your support!

Bart Bowen

Executive Director