A toast to the wind

When I first met my husband, he hadn’t been on a bike in years. Determined to change that, I invited him out on a Valentine’s Day bike ride. We’d do a flat-and-easy, three-mile loop and then warm up with Asian food.

The reality was not how I had envisioned it. The night was icy and cold. We were underdressed, and I had underestimated how hard it would be to navigate traffic on the way to the flat-and-easy three-mile loop. But we forged ahead. On the loop, the road was closed just as I remembered, and we relaxed a bit. We rode a mile and a half down the loop remarkably quickly, and stopped to take pictures. Then, we turned...directly into a fierce, cold, unrelenting wind. I’m not a small woman, and it is still the only time in my life I worried I would actually be blown off my bike.

But we persevered, and in addition to finishing that ride, my husband now owns two bikes himself and has ridden 1,500 miles on his family bike since we bought it last January, up Seattle hills and into the wind.

The staff I work with at Cascade, the team that works with our members and volunteers to create the best bicycle club and advocacy group in the United States, if not the world, is like the first part of that Valentine’s Day ride. They are the easy pedaling. And, when a key member of our staff leaves, the wind suddenly feels just a bit colder, and we all feel each pedal stroke a bit more.

Peter Verbrugge, a Cascade staff member, leader and visionary for the past 11 years, has taken another job. The good people at Cycle the WAVE were lucky enough to hire him away, and we are so glad that we already collaborate with them and know the relationship will only improve as Peter takes the reins there. At the same time, the loss of Peter–his good cheer, can-do and loving attitude, amazing spirit and relentlessly positive outlook–creates great sadness for many of us at Cascade. His smile has powered us over many obstacles in the past decade. While we are sad to see him go, I have no doubt that his wonderful replacement, Stacey Nakagawa, will fill his shoes with style and energy.

As you enjoy your own rides around the Puget Sound region this (hopefully sunny) February, raise a glass to Peter and to all the Cascade staff, volunteers and members that have worked over the last 45 years to build this club to be the biggest, best, strongest club in the nation. We toast them on their journeys, and look forward to seeing them on the trail. Here’s to you!