Bill Anholt (not on a bike), a volunteer with Lewis County Community Trails, gathers Fat Tire bike riders on the shoulder of Highway 6 as they wait for traffic to stop during the June 2016 bike ride.
A bicyclist in the Willapa Hills Fat Tire Bike Ride pedals past a series of signs erected by event organizers in June 2016.
Following a moderately successful first year on the Willapa Hills Trail in 2016, organizers have rebranded an event and changed the operation up a bit in hopes of pulling in more pedal enthusiasts to West Lewis County.
Last year, the two-day bike ride event was known as the Fat Tire Ride. This year, the event has been dubbed Ride the Willapa, and it is is scheduled for June 24-25.
“Last year, the name was a mouthful. We called it the Willapa Hills Trail Fat Tire Ride and Festival, and after saying that a million times, it was like, ‘this is ridiculous!’” said event representative Harry Bhagwandin.
The long-winded nature of the name was not the only issue that arose from the official title. Bhagwandin said the designation of a “fat tire” ride confused many riders who did not know if their bikes would be able to handle the event. He noted that one person took exception to the name when they assumed that the “family ride” had been sponsored by Fat Tire Beer.
While Bhagwandin noted that he would love to land the well-heeled beer brewers as an official sponsor, there has never been an affiliation between the event and the company. Additionally, most bikes aside from city or touring bikes are suitable to the Ride the Willapa. Mountain bikes are particularly adept at handling the path terrain, which is mostly paved between the starting point in Chehalis and the turnaround junction in Pe Ell.
“We just figured, hey, Ride the Willapa is easy. It does promote the trail, but still nobody knows where the Willapa Trail is,” said Bhagwandin with a laugh.
The self-paced ride will cover 22 miles of the trail, which used to be a railroad line. Riders will start in Chehalis on Saturday and trek to Pe Ell before turning around and covering the same 22 miles back to the Mint City on Sunday. Camping options will be available both in Pe Ell and at Rainbow Falls State Park. During the ride, organizers will have aid and comfort stations set up every 5 miles along the trail in order to provide medical service, water and snacks.
Camping at Rainbow Falls State Park is a new option for riders this year. That scene will include acoustic music, campfires, games and a barbecue.
“I just see that growing over time,” said Bhagwandin, who noted that a portion of the camping fees paid to the state park will return to Lewis County through the lodging tax, which in turn helps to fund the bike ride.
Another option for overnight riders is to camp on the football field in Pe Ell. Organizers there have beefed up their entertainment efforts this year by hosting what is being called the Pe Ell Village Festival.
“Last year we had no idea because we’d never done this before and it’s hard to get people in a small town to get ready for a big thing that’s going to happen,” said Pe Ell Village Festival coordinator and Ride the Willapa board member Rebecca Ambrose.
Last year, Ambrose remembers riders saying, “Everything on the ride was great except they got to Pe Ell and there wasn’t much to do.”
Ambrose is on a mission to make sure nobody leaves Pe Ell this year with that same complaint.
“Really, Pe Ell is this wonderful hamlet type village out in the middle of nowhere. Everybody knows everybody,” said Ambrose. “We’re encouraging people to take a step back in time.”
Ambrose noted that the regularly scheduled Pe Ell Farmers Market will take place from 8 a.m. until noon before the town turns into a rest and relaxation haven for sightseeing bicyclists. Daytime activities will include a quilt show at the United Methodist Church, a self-guided walking tour of the town, a horseshoe tournament, an ice cream social in the park and gold panning. From 6-10 p.m., the Bruce Maier Band will play a concert at Memorial Park, and a stargazing party hosted by the Tacoma Astronomical Society will begin at 10:30 p.m.
Ambrose noted that it is not too late for additional vendors to get in on the action.
“We’d love to hear from people as long as it keeps with our old fashioned theme,” she said.
In addition to the Pe Ell Village Festival and the Ride the Willapa, organizers have again scheduled a Tour de Farms that follows roughly along the bike route. This year, Organic Valley milk producers co-op has even joined on as an official sponsor.
“They are a cool partner,” said Bhagwandin.
Last week, Organic Valley’s west coast marketing specialist, Melissa Collman, visited Rosecrest Farm in Adna in order to start making preparations.
“Any time our farmers are doing something in the community we want to try to support them,” said Collman.
Last year, Organic Valley pitched in as well, albeit in the more limited capacity of providing snacks and product samples along the riding route. This year, Organic Valley has donated $800 and will have a presence both on the paths and on the Tour de Farms scene.
“We were always planning on coming back and supporting them. This event in particular is hitting a little bit more of a metropolitan market, and so we wanted to be here,” explained Collman, who also runs her own dairy outside of Portland. “I think it’s important. The average consumer is about two generations removed from agriculture. Nowadays, most people don’t really know what we do on farms, and I think it’s really important for consumers to get out on farms to see what things look like and how the animals are treated.”
Bhagwandin said that the Ride the Willapa hopes to add more corporate sponsors like Organic Valley in the future.
“We’ve got to be self sustainable,” said Bhagwandin, who noted that the Port of Chehalis and Sierra Pacific are both on board as sponsors for the Ride the Willapa and Tour de Farms this year. “We’re trying to look for ways to be responsible and sustainable because the ticket sales is not going to do it, and the whole point of the ride is to put money back into fixing the trail.”
Bhagwandin said the trail has a capacity for about 1,200 riders at a time and that the organizational board is hoping to increase participation from about 250 riders last year to about 800 this year. So far, registration is outpacing last year with about 40 people already signed up.
