Thanks from Volunteer Coordinator Jess Willard Here’s to you MCBC Volunteers…

As Biketoberfest wraps up our 2017 MCBC Event Season and we begin to move into the season of giving thanks, I’d like to do just that –  thank all of the amazing people on the MCBC Volunteer Roster.

From Bike to Work Day in May to Biketoberfest in October, the “can-do” efforts and excellent attitudes of our volunteers make our events happen smoothly. They let you enjoy tasty goodies on your way to work in May, point the way and refresh you when riding the trails of the Marin Headlands, Mt. Tam or West Marin and let you enjoy the celebration festivities of fall at Biketoberfest.

Volunteers Make MCBC Events Great: 2017 Chronology

May marks the beginning of our event season with Bay Area Bike to Work Day! Volunteers start off with a bang – staffing 5 of the Energizer Stations spread throughout Marin. Each station has at least 5 volunteers to pass out goodies and words of encouragement to all those who commute to work. We also have a blast before the day-of by hanging posters around Marin and stuffing those goodie bags with all of the goodies. In total, BTWD racks up 38 volunteers and 129 hours.

Summer for MCBC means it time to ride on Marin’s ever-expanding trails off-road! We kicked off with the Solstice Fondo in July 15 and took advantage of the long summer days by riding trails and fire roads scattered throughout Fairfax, including the 680 Trail, Big Rock Trail and the world-class Tamarancho loop, with MCBC volunteers acting as course marshalls and ride sweeps. Once the riders made it back to the Marin Museum of Mountain Biking, more volunteers served up burgers, beer and smiles. This small, yet mighty event called on 32 volunteers who helped out before, during and after the ride. These volunteers clocked 26 hours out on the course keeping riders safe and on track and 66 hours before and after the ride.

The Marin Century is the next fun event MCBC recruits volunteers for. This long-time event in Marin is a rider and volunteer favorite. MCBC hosts the Nicasio Rest Stop – you know, the rest stop that has the biggest buffet known to the Marin Century. The one where MCBC volunteers are passing out yummy PB&J sandwiches, fresh organic fruits and a dozen other tasty treats. For this volunteer event, MCBC relies on 21 volunteers to spend 74 hours refueling the riders.

Quickly after the Marin Century, riders can look forward to riding Mt. Tam and the Headlands at the MCBC Dirt Fondo. This is another rider favorite that signifies has long miles and epic climbs. One of MCBC’s largest volunteer events, this finds 17 volunteers putting in 51 hours of time before the ride even starts. Out on course, riders benefit from 108 hours by 36 of our devoted volunteers from our course marshals to those who made sure everyone returned safely. At the BBQ, our volunteers served up 8 long hours of beer, burgers and salad.

The Jensie Gran Fondo completes the ride calendar. We had 25 volunteer put in 40 hours to make sure riders stayed on course and another 64 hours total for by 9 volunteers to pour beer and serve up tasty food at Stafford Lake.

The most recent volunteer effort was a huge success with 372 volunteers booked from 112 of our dedicated volunteers. Due to the fires up north, we decided to reschedule Biketoberfest and our volunteers came through! With an overwhelming percentage of volunteer retention from the original date, we rocked Biketoberfest Redux. Our volunteers showed up with smiles and a ready-to-work attitude. A huge thank you to all those who signed up the both dates and even more of a thank you to the 93 volunteers who make Biketoberfest a day to remember.

In all, MCBC volunteers put in over 900 hours in 2017 for our Signature Events filling 273 unique volunteer jobs. That’s an amazing effort by our volunteers! THANK YOU!