Riders at Thursday Night Ride work 9 to 5, but live 5 to 9
529 Legion has been enthusiastic about bikes for 16 years. We have been out on trails riding, racing, advocating, building and supporting. In that time, our club has grown just as a family would. We’ve diversified our racing to include enduro, epics, and cyclocross. We’ve moved members around the world and we’ve become a little more diverse in our demographics. We have come to realize that 529 Legion is more than bikes, it’s about the people, the trails, and the communities we love. 529 Legion is a celebration of diversity in mountain biking.
We strive to make 529 Legion an inclusive team and have branched out in age, gender equality, sexual orientation, ethnicity, and level of fitness and skills. Through the Youth Legion program, we provided information and support to get the kids racing in a local series, and most of them had a chance to stand on the podium at least once! We also host a women-only Ladies Legion ride once a month that always encompasses progression and ends in hugs and smiles.
529 member donating time to improve trails for the community
529 Legion generously support Evergreen Mountain Bike Alliance. We work as a group to make sure we help with advocacy, trail building, and financial support. Many of our members have gone the extra mile and support Evergreen as Team Epic members. Many of our kids have attended Evergreen Kid’s Camps and some of the older “kids” have worked as coaches.
Our Thursday Night Rides have been officially providing an open invitation to ride local area trails with a bunch of 529 Legion riders for 16 years. We start the ride at 6:00 pm. We end the evening with dinner. Some nights we have five riders but other nights the group is as large as 25 riders forming a couple of smaller groups. It is a great opportunity for everyone on 529 Legion to introduce friends to the sport, meet new riding buddies and always know we’ve got a chance to ride before the weekend.
529 Legion riders race at BuDu, Whistler Crankworks, Race Cascadia, Leadville, the Swiss Alps Epic, local and national cyclocross events, NW Epic Series, local enduros and NWCup Races. In typical fashion, a 529 Legion team member extends an invitation to fellow MTB friends to participate in an event. That leads to several folks registering, looking at their calendar, and realizing they have fitness goals. That leads to training rides on gravel and hills together. That leads to hanging together on race day, suffering together in the cold and on the climbs, fixing Mike's 5 flats together, finishing mostly together, and chowing down the burgers and chips and beer afterward while recounting the day's highlights and pitfalls. These events build memories. They build community one relationship and one event at a time.
Brandon finishing strong at Leadville 100, Colorado
