Staff Report
Registration is open for People Helping People’s ninth annual Wine Country Bike Trek on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, June 14-16, to raise money for PHP services including a food program, homelessness prevention, services to seniors, and youth mentoring programs.
The Bike Trek event, with its home base again at Midland School in Los Olivos, includes a fully supported “ride at your own pace” 30- or 50-mile circuit on each of its three days. Participants can choose to ride on one, two or three days and can also choose the length of their ride each day.
Registration is available at www.winecountrybiketrek.com, which also has additional information about the ride, meals, lodging, training and volunteering, and suggestions for obtaining voluntary pledges to support the work of PHP for people of limited means or in a financial crisis.
According to Ride Coordinator Erica Valdés, the ride appeals to cyclists, including children, at every skill level. It covers both flat terrain and rolling hills, is well marked, and includes fully supported food and rest stops every 10 miles. Roving support vehicles help ensure rider safety.
The three-day ride begins in Solvang on Friday, ends at Midland School in Los Olivos, and includes the option of camping at Midland School on Friday and Saturday nights.
“We even deliver the three-day riders’ camping gear to the Midland School campsite,” Valdés added.
On Saturday and Sunday, rides start at Midland School. Each morning begins with a complimentary continental breakfast. All riders receive T-shirts and swag bags and are entertained with live music each night.
Dinners are provided on Friday and Saturday evenings, including beer and wine. There is also a farewell lunch barbecue on Sunday prepared by the Rotary Club of Buellton at Rancho de Maria in Buellton, where the Sunday ride ends.
The nonprofit PHP’s mission is to “improve the lives of men, women, and children in the Santa Ynez Valley, Los Alamos, and surrounding communities by addressing emergency and basic needs, furnishing comprehensive integrated family and individual support services, and activing as a catalyst for positive community change.”
For more information about the ride, visit www.winecountrybiketrek.com or call 805-686-0295. For more information about PHP and the programs that Bike Trek riders support, log onto www.syvphp.org.
