Annual memorial bike ride to raise funds for VFDs on Saturday, Oct. 21
The seventh annual Sloan Everett Pure Country Pedal Memorial Bike Ride is scheduled for Saturday, Oct. 21, in the Breckenridge City Park, offering five routes, from the 4-mile family route to a challenging 59-mile route.
For the past four years, the organizers of the bike ride have donated all of the net proceeds to the Caddo, Hubbard Creek and Wayland volunteer fire departments of Stephens County. Last year, the bike ride raised more than $35,000 and donated almost $12,000 each to the three volunteer fire departments.
The bike ride was organized in 2017, just a few months after Sloan Everett died saving cattle from a wildfire on a ranch in the Texas Panhandle. Everett graduated from Breckenridge High School in 2000 and was involved in a variety of local activities, including serving on the Stephens Memorial Hospital Board, serving First Baptist Church of Breckenridge through the youth ministry, and bike riding around the area. The annual bike ride gives his family and the Breckenridge community an opportunity to commemorate his life and help the area volunteer fire departments. Click here to read the Breckenridge Texan’s 2022 article about Everett and the family’s dedication to the annual event.
On-site registration will begin at 8 a.m. Saturday, Oct. 21, and the welcome ceremony is scheduled for 8:30 a.m. The ride will begin at 9 a.m.
All riders must be registered for the ride. The registration fee is $40 for all riders age 18 and older and $25 for riders age 17 and younger, and that includes a t-shirt and brunch. Click here to register online.
Returning to the event again this year to provide entertainment will be Kyle Fambro and the Urban Pioneers, the “hillbilly swing” band with Breckenridge connections. Fambro is scheduled to perform at 9:30 a.m., and the Urban Pioneers will perform at 10:30 a.m.
For those who would like to support the fundraiser but who do not plan to participate in the bike ride, brunch tickets are available for $10 each. Also, commemorative t-shirts are available to order for $20. Brunch tickets and t-shirts may be ordered through the registration link listed above.
This year’s event will include five routes for riders to choose from:
- Greenhorn – 4.22 miles
- Pony Express – 7.79 miles
- Buckin’ Bronc — 18.73 miles
- Top Hand – 31.62 miles
- Sloan’s Route – 59.07 miles
This year’s fundraiser will include three food trucks, as well as a couple of bounce houses for the kids.
Each year, the Everett family works to secure sponsors for various aspects of the fundraiser, from routes and rest stops to brunch and entertainment and more. For more information about the businesses and individuals who are sponsoring this year’s Sloan Everett Pure Country Pedal Memorial Bike Ride, click here to visit the event’s Facebook page.
For more information about the bike ride, visit the official website, https://purecountrypedal.com/.
Cutline, top photo: Riders in the 2022 Sloan Everett Pure Country Pedal Memorial Bike Ride take off from the start line in the Breckenridge City Park. This year’s event is scheduled for Saturday, Oct. 21. (Photo by Tony Pilkington/Breckenridge Texan)