What do bikes and beating hunger have in common? The inaugural East Bay Dirt Classic (EBDC) Bike Ride. On August 18, Caleb ’18 and Lily ’21 O’Hare rode in the first annual EBDC, an epic bicycle ride on some of the best trails in the East Bay linking Tilden, Sibley, Redwood and Chabot Parks, with event proceeds going directly to the Alameda County Community Food Bank (ACCFB). The event, hosted by local cycling club C510, raised over $49,000!
Riders chose one of two courses: the Short or the Full Route. Caleb, after a grueling three hours on the Full Route, finished 2nd out of 60 starters, with the 1st and 3rd place riders being local semi-professionals. This route was 45 miles long with 5,500 feet of climbing, challenging even the most fit riders, with a combination of dirt roads, paved roads and singletrack trails.
Caleb rode for the O’Dowd mountain bike team throughout his four years in high school and will be attending UC Santa Cruz in the fall.
Lily, a current member of the O’Dowd mountain bike and cross country teams, tackled the Short Route (25 miles with 3,000 feet of climbing) and finished strong in 3rd place for women, even after dealing with a flat tire halfway through.
The ACCFB provides food and health education to our neighbors who are most in need. Children, teenagers and the elderly make up 66% of the beneficiaries of their donations. ACCFB works with 240 agency partners-a broad network of childcare centers, senior centers, after-school programs, food pantries, soup kitchens and other community-based organizations-to provide healthy meals throughout the county.
Following the race, O’Dowd Admissions Director Kerryn Pincus and her husband Chad Gallagher, a member of C510, hosted a BBQ lunch at their home for the riders.