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Testimonials from the 6/20/09 Tour de Blast! (Click here for 2007 Tour de Blast or 2008 Tour de Blast Testimonials) Thank you to all of the riders who participated in the 2009 Tour de Blast. This was the best year ever! All your support, and wonderful comments have not gone unnoticed. Thank you from the entire 2009 Tour de Blast Committee. See you next year! * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * I just had to send you a note and I hope you can post it where all your Tour de Blast 2009 volunteers can see it. My fiancee and I rode the Tour de Blast for the first time this year. The most important reason for writing to you is to thank your volunteers. This is one of the most organized events of any kind I've ever done. There were a great number of friendly and helpful volunteers at the start, rest areas and at the end. The food at the stops was plentiful and tasty. In fact, a big part of our story is how I didn't touch any of the energy bars or gels I loaded up on at REI before the ride - I was fueled only by turkey sandwiches and chocolate brownies for the entire ride and felt awesome! :) The end feed was great, too - plenty of good food and friendly people. The package pick-up was insanely easy and each rest stop was well organized and even the line-ups for the loos weren't too long! I hope all the riders treated your volunteers with respect and we tried to thank each one we saw. Again - very well organized and we had a great day. We made a long weekend of it and had a wonderful time. Thank you so much! We hope you found the day a success and were able to raise some money for your organization. Sincerely, * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * I rode the full route on Saturday, and had a blast! Thank you so much for the organization, the great food, the friendly volunteers, the signage, the whole package. My son and daughter-in-law and I will never forget the event. Mark A. Hanson * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * This was my first time riding tour de blast and I wanted to say thanks for a great ride. Everything was well organized and I can't wait to do it again. My only request for next year is that you turn up the heat a little on the down hills. Thanks again, * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * My husband and I rode in the Tour this year for the first time. We just wanted to thank you for coordinating such a great event. Plenty of support staff from the time we parked to the spaghetti dinner. Everyone was very friendly and helpful. Thank you, Joe & Michele Chacon * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * This was my first year riding Tour de Blast and I will definitely be back next year. The support was outstanding, probably the best of any ride I have done in years. Overall, this event is definitely one of the top rides in the Portland/Seattle area! * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Thank you for your hard work and efforts to make this event so popular. Again, thank you for your dedication to keep this tradition year after year. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * 2009 was my first ride in the area. My goal was to make it to Elk Rock, but I decided to go for the gusto when I reached that point.
THIS YEAR WAS MY HUSBAND'S FIRST RIDE AND MY 3RD. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Please let everyone know involved I had a great time and appreciated the great sandwiches and cookies…they were very good! Keep up the good work. Jon Breiling * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Thanks for the great experience this year. The road was clean, course well monitored, and no sleet! I registered by mail this year and picked up my number at the start. I quickly packed the paper items, met up with friends and did the ride. This year I opted to turn-around at Coldwater. It's too bad that that building needed to close. I guess that you can't promote it as an official turn, as it isn't supported. But that's a nice element to this course - you can turn around wherever you choose. No mapwork needed. Looking forward to this challenging event in 2010. Liz Labadie * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * That support was the best I've ever experienced. The sandwiches were yummy. The spaghetti was hot, the brownies were orgasmic, and all staff were very friendly. But what I REALLY liked was that fire pit to sit around with fellow riders at one of the rest stops.... a touch of decadence! * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * While this is fresh in my mind, I want to thank you all for a really great ride event! This was my first time at TDB, and, even though the weather was not the best, it was a lot of fun. The event had great support, the volunteers were great, the food was great, and the high school a perfect location to start/end. I am hoping to ride it again next year, but this time talk my husband into it so we can ride the tandem, come the night before, start early, and take time to tour the visitor centers. I hadn’t realized the visitor center admission was included in registration – now I know, I want to take advantage of it on the next ride. Thank you so much for a wonderful ride experience! Kathleen Robertson * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Thank you so much for putting on such a great event @ Tour de Blast 2009. This was my first time participating in the Tour, and I'm very glad to have done so. Also, I plan to make this an annual event and I'll bring friends next year. I was very pleased with the level of volunteer support. The food was perfect and well-timed, your people were courteous and helpful, and in particular I want to thank your volunteers at Elk Rock for two things: 1) the bonfire which thawed my frozen feet before my descent, and 2) the supply of plastic food-service-worker gloves which I helped myself to in order to protect both my hands AND my feet during the chilly descent. I was under-prepared for the cold (I didn't expect 46 degrees at 3800 feet this time of year!), and those cheap little throwaway gloves saved me. Big time. So, thanks -- and congratulations on such a great job well done! I hope you reached your fundraising goals. Sincerely, Max Booher * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Wow! What a ride! This is my first year biking outside and this is the first time I've tackled anything this challenging. With sheer determination my boyfriend and I made it all the way up to Johnson Ridge! The climb from the first rest stop to Elk Rock was a non-stop incline and very challenging! I had to talk myself through it. Then the downhill after the Elk Rock rest stop was a much needed rest but as I got to the bottom, I realized I would have to go back up that 7 mile stretch on the way back! It was at this point I started singing all the nursery rimes I had been taught over the years to get my mind of the climb! (smile) The weather was a bit cold, especially on the decent. All in all, the support on the the ride was wonderful. I felt very safe riding the roads and bridges with the amount of volunteers constantly driving the roads to be sure everyone was OK. Especially liked the Espresso Cookie Bars! Great job guys! Now Bill and I can officially say "We biked Mt. St. Helens"! Joanne LaFord and Bill McGinnis * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * My 1st Tour de Blast, and I made it at age of 52 with my other 2 brothers, Terry and Doug! Terry came in at 2:10pm , Doug at 3:15pm, and I came in at 3:38pm....it was an awesome ride and would like to thank everyone who helped put on this ride. The food was excellent and everyone was friendly and will recommend this to anyone who is looking for a real challenge and to help you meet your 2,500 goal of riders next year! Thank You also for having this ride! Ken * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * I look forward to this ride every year and love it. Thanks to all of the many volunteers, etc. for putting up with us riders and the * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * I have been participating in bike events since 1987 and this is one of the best events I have ever done. The entry fee was reasonable, parking was a breeze, the registration was quick with no line, the bathroom lines were short, the start area was clearly marked, the support on the course was superb, the food and snacks at the rest stops was delicious, the post race feast was fit for a king and the cold shower woke me up for my drive home. This is the first event I have ever done where free showers were available on site after the ride. I sincerely hope you made a lot of money for your organization. I plan to do this ride again and will tell all of my cycling friends who have not had the pleasure of doing this ride, that they need to do it. Sincerely,
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