#cranksgiving2024 — Public Fediverse posts

Seattle riders donated 2+ TONS of goods by bike during record-smashing 15th Annual Cranksgiving

I am still in shock. I knew we had a good crowd Saturday morning as we sent Cranksgiving riders out into the city to buy food and necessities for local food banks, but I had no idea we were on the verge of turning all previous participation and donation records to dust. Riders crossed the 2-ton mark for the first time ever and kept on going.

242 people participated in the 15th Annual Seattle Cranksgiving food drive bike ride (224 riders and 18 volunteers), donating a total of 4,210 pounds of goods to Byrd Barr Place (1,373 lbs), U District (1,452 lbs) and Rainier Valley (1,386 lbs) Food Banks. All the donations were purchased at an array of food vendors and stores across the city and hauled by bike. Thank you to Cascade Bicycle Club’s Pedaling Relief Project, our co-host and organizing partner for the third year in a row. Thank you also to Bike Works for once again hosting and staffing the drop-off point for Rainier Valley Food Bank. And thank you to Central Cinema for being a fantastic afterparty host.

As inflation rises and grocery prices increase, the pressure on food banks increases as well. So it is even more remarkable that as food prices have increased, Cranksgiving riders have only increased their support. Last year’s haul of 3,699 pounds of donations was record-breaking, and I my goal this year was just to try to match it. Instead, they added another 14% on top.

Held in the middle of November, Cranksgiving is supposed to be a celebration of rainy weather biking, but it is mysteriously plagued by good weather. In the same week as our region was hit hard by a rainy wind storm, the rough weather paused for a few hours so Cranksgiving riders could have a beautiful day to ride. The donations were especially helpful because our amazing food security organizations have also been working hard to help folks affected by power outages that unfortunately spoiled a lot of food in home fridges.

At a time when hate for others has taken hold of the national government, Cranksgiving riders used their legs and their hard-earned money to demonstrate how we can be resilient and take care of each other by working together. Thank you to everyone who volunteered or biked this year, and thank you to all the amazing staffers and volunteers at all our region’s food security organizations.

Landon Welsh at Cascade deserves a big special shout out. He was hired as Volunteer and Pedaling Relief Project Manager barely a month before Cranksgiving, and his first big task was to fill the shoes of Seattle PRP founder Maxwell Burton who helped me create this expanded version of Cranksgiving back in 2022. Welsh had no prior experience with Cranksgiving, and I am a scattered and unorganized person more accustomed to improvising than carefully planning. But he worked hard to get up to speed quickly and make sure everything was in place and staffed with volunteers who knew what to do. The fact that we had 75 more riders than I was expecting and it still went smoothly is a testament to his work.

Thanks to prize sponsors: Both Ways Café, Best Side Cycling and Vincita, Wombi, Seattle Bike Blog, the Center for Bicycle Repair, REI, Tom Bihn, and Cascade Bicycle Club.

There are also a bunch of happy photos on various social media sites using #CranksgivingSEA.

#SEAbikes #Seattle

Seattle Cranksgiving 2024 is November 23

The 15th Annual Seattle Cranksgiving is November 23. Last year’s Cranksgiving was a record-breaker, with 168 riders hauling 3,699 pounds of donations. Can we do even better in 2024?

Seattle Bike Blog is once again partnering with Cascade Bicycle Club’s Pedaling Relief Project to host the annual food drive bike ride to benefit Rainier Valley Food Bank, University District Food Bank and The Market food bank at Byrd Barr Place. Central Cinema will host the after party.

Invite your friends and join us for a day of smiles, silly challenges and serious love for your community. It is free to enter, and there is no pre-registration. Just show up at the start with a bike, a bike lock, a pen, a way to carry groceries and some cash to buy them. You can ride solo or as a team of up to four people. We ask people to spend a minimum of $20 on purchases for donation, but most riders end up spending more. You are basically going grocery shopping but for your community.

At the start line, we will give you a list of items the food banks have requested as well as a list of places to buy those items. You get a point for each place you shop and each item type you purchase (no points for duplicate items, though the food banks will appreciate them). You can also score bonus points for completing some extra challenges. Much like an alleycat race or scavenger hunt there is no set route, so it will be up to you and your team to use your bike navigation skills.

Meet up starting 9 a.m. in front of Byrd Barr Place (722 18th Ave, between Columbia and Cherry Streets) to check in. The ride starts promptly at 10 a.m. Must finish back at Byrd Barr Place no later than 2 p.m. After party at nearby Central Cinema goes from 1 p.m. until 3 p.m.

Teams will start by heading to either University District Food Bank or Bike Works, which is hosting a drop off point for Rainier Valley Food Bank, hitting shopping points along the way. There, they will get a second list with items and shops to hit on the way back to the start line. Total riding will be somewhere in the 12–15 mile range depending on your route choices. We will also have a shorter round-trip option (3–5 miles) if that seems more your speed. There will be prizes for the top point earners as well as a prize raffle (must be present to claim).

We ride rain or shine.

In order to make sure it all runs smoothly, we need volunteers! Check out Cascade’s Cranksgiving volunteer sign-up page. If you would like to donate a prize or have any other inquiries, email me at [email protected] and/or Landon Welsh at landonw (at) cascade.org.

Cranksgiving began 1999 on the east coast as a bike messenger event in New York City. The idea has since spread across the nation. I started Seattle’s Cranksgiving in 2010, and I’ve been organizing it through Seattle Bike Blog every year since. The event quickly became one of Rainier Valley Food Bank’s largest food drives, with riders restocking their shelves during their busiest week of the year. After two very scaled back versions in 2020 and 2021 due to the pandemic and the loss of our usual start and end venue, the event was at risk of falling apart. That’s when Cascade’s Pedaling Relief Project and Central Cinema partnered with Seattle Bike Blog to revamp the event in 2022, building it into the fun multi-stop version it is today. This is my favorite version of Seattle’s Cranksgiving, and I hope you all enjoy it.

#SEAbikes #Seattle