Reach the Beach success

The 22nd annual Reach the Beach ride, put on by the American Lung Association, was yet another success, as more than 2,700 riders came out. While the final donation amount hasn’t yet been tallied as of press time, around $500,000 has already been counted. The annual ride features four starting points in Oregon: Amity, Grande Ronde, Newberg and Portland. The Portland route is the longest at just over 100 miles with the other three ranging from 28 to 80 miles.

“Since the first ride—the ride started out very small—it has grown over time,” said Brian Mayo, director of development for the Oregon division of the American Lung Association. “Over the past few years we’ve had about 3,000 riders that have participated. We have maxed out, or nearly maxed, every year, and we limited its growth to 3,000.”

Those 3,000 riders vary in expertise, but with good weather and great organization Reach the Beach is enjoyable for all.

“I’m a baby boomer. I’m one of the somewhat older riders out there, but I certainly wasn’t alone in my generation,” rider Rich Bruer said. “But it looked like quite a broad diversity of people in terms of ages, shapes and sizes.”

Bruer and his wife have enjoyed Reach the Beach for about four years, but they have been involved in cycle touring for closer to a dozen. He said that Reach the Beach is a consistently well-run operation that is able to successfully handle its riders and make it an enjoyable atmosphere. This year, Bruer and his wife opted for the 55-mile ride, which he said was a comfortable amount of miles.

“If anybody is thinking about doing an organized bike ride, and wants to get themselves to the coast…this is one of the best,” Bruer said. “The food and refreshments stops are great. The route they picked is great. It doesn’t climb in elevation much. It’s relatively flat.”

Reach the Beach is the America Lung Association’s biggest fundraiser. The donations go into the general fund of the national organization, but the Oregon chapter has some great programs that will get a cut of the money, including Better Breathers Club, which focuses on both the physical and mental treatment of people with lung diseases.

“It’s obviously a great cause,” Bruer said. “Anytime that our good health can benefit someone else who might not be quite as healthy as me, it’s a win-win.”

Riders like Bruer and a volunteer staff make the event possible each year. “We’d like everyone to know that we appreciate their support and their participation, whether it was people riding or the volunteers donating their time,” Mayo said. “We appreciate the help. We are a small office working for a large national organization. We appreciate all that this community does.”

While Reach the Beach might be over for 2012, the American Lung Association offers other ways to get involved this summer. Their next event is the Ride Around the Sound ride in Washington on Sept. 15. Interested individuals can find out more information about this and other upcoming events hosted by the American Lung Association by going to www.lung.org.