Trip report – Canadian Rockies
This club like to ride bikes and do some socializing as well. So this summer we will have our First…our very first pool party is Sunday, July 27, hosted by one of our members in Moraga. There is also a hot tub, basketball pad, etc…so even if you do not want to swim, come for the fun. The Board will be serving hamburgers, hot dogs and all the fix-ins. Drinks provided. !
Second .. after the Saturday ride on Aug 23, a group of members will be going to a Ballers game to support our local baseball team.
Third, we have arranged a joint ride with the folks at/members of Bike East Bay on Sunday, September 28th
Route and time to be announced.
Finally, plans are underway for our Holiday Party – an event not to be missed!
On Saturday May 17, Twelve VeloRaptors participated in the BORP Revolution Ride, taking in the beautiful scenery of Marin County along a 40 mile loop that started and ended at the Mill Valley Community Center, and included a climb up the Marin Headlands as well as a loop around Tiburon.
While these riders pedaled their way around Marin, many other VeloRaptors actively supported the BORP campaign and in all we raised over $20,000.
This year we rode in honor of Steve Goldenberg, an avid BORP supporter for many years and who passed away way too soon in January of this year.
Here are a few pics of the VeloRaptors at the ride taken by the official ride photographer, Scot Goodman at Scot Goodman Photography.
On Presidents’ Day we ventured over the Richmond Bridge to the Cataract Falls Trail on Mount Tamalpais. This trail is spectacular after rain, and the weather obliged – plenty of water in the stream, but not too much mud. We started at the top at the Rock Spring Trailhead, made our way down the trail to Lake Alpine, where we enjoyed a well-deserved lunch, then climbed back to the cars, taking time to catch our breath/admire the cataracts on the way back up the hill.
The VeloRaptors are long-time supporters of Bike East Bay, and this year we mounted a campaign to raise money for Bike East Bay to use as a ‘Matching Gift.’ The results of the campaign were quite successful as noted in the letter below from Rebecca Saltzman the Bike East Bay Development Director.
Jan 6, 2025
VeloRaptors: Thanks so much to members of the VeloRaptors Cycling Club of Oakland. The contributions of your members formed a matching gift $20,118.60!
I’m happy to report that in just 4 days, from December 27-31, Bike East Bay raised $24,532 online from 152 donors, exceeding our matching gift goal by more than $4,000! With the match amount, we raised a total of $44,650.60 for Bike East Bay through the VeloRaptors campaign.
The generosity of VeloRaptors members inspired so many people to give additional gifts and/or give more generously. This was the second year that members of the VeloRaptors joined together to provide a year end match for Bike East Bay, and the joint effort again was so impactful.
Your gifts and all of the funds we raised helps us mobilize by bike to build communities that are joyful, safe, and inclusive.Thanks and happy new year!
– Rebecca
Rebecca Saltzman (she/her)
Development Director
Bike East Bay
The Metric Century for March will be on Wednesday, March 19 at 9:30AM, and we will be riding in Marin, from the Marinwood Community Center at Lucas Valley Road and Miller Creek Road. The tentative route is attached, and I’ll send out more details closer to the date. LMK if you’re planning to come.
— Rob
P.S. Here is the route.
On Labor Day twenty VeloRaptors and guests took a break from biking and embarked on a 7 mile hike in Redwood Park. Thanks to Fiona D. for mapping out a fun route and leading the hike. Stay tuned for announcement of the monthly cross-training hike in October.
On Sunday, May 12 the VeloRaptors again participated in the BORP Revolution ride in Santa Rosa, making this the 18th straight year of participation and fund raising.
BORP provides recreation and competition opportunities for disabled children and adults, including adaptive bicycling, wheelchair basketball, and soccer, etc. VeloRaptor participation started in 2006 when the board of the VeloRaptors learned that thieves had stolen specially adapted bikes and trikes from the BORP facility.
Since then, VeloRaptors have participated in every Revolution ride and this year the club’s fundraising total was the third highest amongst the participating teams. We raised nearly $21,000 through 83 contributions. This included funds raised by our Annual Bike Wash event on May 4 hosted by Pauline Fox, as well as registrations from 5 riders, and pledges made to individual riders. Moreover, Steve Goldenberg was the second highest individual fund raiser for the Revolution. Overall, our contribution to the Revolution ride formed a significant portion of the total amount ($240,000) raised by the event.
Riders this year were L-R, Steve Goldenberg, Steve Blair, Pauline Fox, Paul Lettieri, Fred Morse.
The letter below illustrates the appreciation the BORP organization has for the VeloRaptors.
May 29, 2024
Dear (VeloRaptor):
Thank you so much for being part of this year’s Revolution Ride Roll and Stroll. We raised $80,000 more than last year! A huge factor was some stellar fundraising from teams, with two teams, Special Need for Speed and the VeloRaptors leading the way.
Although Special Need for Speed currently holds the lead at $26,459.19, that was with 28 members. In terms of per team member fundraising, the VeloRaptors soared! You all are true champions raising $20,718.72 through 83 donations, which combined with the team’s registration fees, brought in $20,918.72 in support of BORP.
The REV is our most important fundraiser of the year, supporting 20+ weekly programs across 10 adaptive sports and rec activities. Your fundraising keeps BORP going strong.
Once the pledges and sponsorships are fulfilled, we will have raised more than $240,000 — more the 20% over our goal. That makes a huge difference as we plan for our next fiscal year.
We hope you had a great time and are looking forward to next year. Stay tuned for an announcement about the date and location.
On behalf of the entire BORP community, thank you for all you have done to make the 22nd Annual Revolution Ride, Roll & Stroll a huge success!
In community,
Emily Seelenfreud
Executive Director
BORP Adaptive Sports and Recreation
3075 Adeline st., Suite 200
Berkeley, CA 94703
BORP (BAY AREA OUTREACH & RECREATION PROGRAM) • 3075 ADELINE STREET, SUITE 200 • BERKELEY, CA 94703
Tel: (510) 849-4663 Fax: (510) 849-4616 • Web: www.borp.org Email: info@borp.org Twitter: @borp.org
We recently took a Wednesday outlier ride on Palomares Road, and sixteen riders showed up to to enjoy springtime in the East Bay Hills. We actually saw water in the creek and several areas of damage to the road, giving evidence of the recent storms.
Krish: I did it! My goal for a few years, realized before it is too late. Proudly wore my Velo shirt. Climbed 4300 ft, brutal. Harder than Mt Hamilton!
