About Us

The History of Cycle Oregon

Jim Beaver, an innkeeper at the Chanticleer Inn in Ashland, Oregon, conceived Cycle Oregon in 1987. Beaver contacted Jonathan Nicholas, a columnist at The Oregonian, and initiated the idea of a sister-city coast ride from Astoria to Ashland. After the local Chamber of Commerce voiced its enthusiastic support, a variation of this route was mapped out and Cycle Oregon was born. Generous support came from the Oregon Department of Tourism, which assumed coordinating responsibilities for the event with the goal of increasing tourism and generating income for Oregon's rural communities.

The inaugural event took place in September 1988, with 1,006 cyclists from 20 states. The ride covered 320 miles from Salem to Brookings and generated more than $360,000 for participating communities. In 2005, Cycle Oregon 18 included 1,500 participants from 39 states and 6 foreign countries.

Cycle Oregon Mission Statement

Cycle Oregon is a non-profit organization dedicated to bicycling enjoyment, safety and education. All proceeds from the ride go to the Cycle Oregon Fund at the Oregon Community Foundation which helps preserve and protect the special places of Oregon and supports community development projects in the regions through which we ride.

Cycle Oregon Fund: Keeping Oregon's Communities Vital

Cycle Oregon doesn't just expose you to a richly diverse group of smaller Oregon communities. It also provides much-needed financial support to those same communities. From the very first Cycle Oregon, all the proceeds from the ride have been placed in the Cycle Oregon Fund, which provides funding for projects in communities and parks along our routes. With more than $1 million currently in the fund, Cycle Oregon disburses approximately $100,000 in grants every year, for projects that might not get the spotlight of statewide attention but mean everything to the people in these small towns.

So, thanks to the Cycle Oregon Fund and thousands of riders like you, towns across Oregon now enjoy things like lighted football fields, better running tracks, a new roof on the community health clinic, a dishwasher at the Grange Hall and numerous new park facilities and equipment.

It's important to have a connection to the causes you support, and Cycle Oregon provides you with a direct connection to the good you do: The towns you ride through or stop at for a meal or stay in overnight—the towns where you meet the people who live there, because they're the ones serving your meal or providing entertainment or manning the aid station—those are the towns that the Cycle Oregon Fund supports. Ride Cycle Oregon or make a donation and you'll feel good and do good—at the same time.

Examples of some of the grants awarded from The Cycle Oregon Fund include the following:

2005 Grants

• $50,000 to Halfway to help them purchase their fairgrounds property
• $1,200 to Independence for a Bike Safety Fair and bike helmets
• $3,000 to Rooster Rock State Park
• $5,000 to Champoeg State Park
• $5,000 to the Oregon State Police
• $2,350 to the Rural Development Initiatives for scholarships to their annual conference

Sample of Past Grants

• $10,000 to Baker City School District for renovation of their track
• $10,000 to Sustainable Northwest for projects in Wallowa County
• $2,500 to Mitchell for a sound system and stage for their community center
• $1,000 to Union County Museum for a photography project
• $2,500 to Halfway for a library beautification project
• $3,500 to Josephine County Parks for upgrades at Lake Selmac and Wolf Creek Park
• $5,000 to Oregon State Parks for projects at Joseph Stewart State Park
• $5,000 to the Community Cycling Center for their holiday bike drive
• $15,000 to the Community Cycling Center to support their youth bicycle programs
• $20,000 to the Bicycle Transportation Alliance to support their bicycle advocacy work in Oregon
• $30,000 (in partnership with The Nike Foundation) to the County of Grant
  to build an 8-lane running track in John Day that is used by every high school in Grant County
• $15,000 to the City of Haines for bicycle paths in the community
• $10,000 to the Central Oregon Partnership for developing bicycle trails in and around the community of Sisters
• $5,000 to the Friends of Kam Wah Chung Museum to help preserve this wonderful museum in the heart of John Day
• $5,000 to the City of Burns for a downtown beautification project
• $28,000 (in partnership with The Nike Foundation) to the City of Dufur for lights for the community's athletic field
• $10,000 to the City of Wallowa to help purchase a 160-acre site for the development of a Nez Perce Interpretive Center
• $10,000 to the Oregon State Parks for preservation of the Pete French Round Barn
• $10,000 to Smith Rock State Park to help preserve the surrounding area
  Cycle Oregon also provides approximately $120,000 annually to the communities that host us in September. These people assist greatly in planning our event and provide hundreds of volunteers whose passion and dedication make our tour a success.