The Dungeness River Audubon Center has sponsored a mountain bike racing team — Quiet Water Racing — to raise awareness and funds for the center. Team member and sponsor Greg Voyles rides at the 24 Hours Round the Clock bike ride on May 29 in Spokane. Photos courtesy of Powell Jones

A new fundraiser is on the fast track at the Dungeness River Audubon Center at Railroad Bridge Park — mountain bike racing.

For its annual Spring Fling event, staff and volunteers formed Quiet Water Racing, a mountain bike team to raise awareness and money for the educational programs of the Audubon Center.

“We saw a unique opportunity to blend a cause that we believe in with an activity that we love to do,” said Powell Jones, education coordinator for the center.

“With all the electronic distraction in our society, the team members and sponsors feel that it is more important to engage kids and adults in outdoor activities of all sorts rather than limit their outdoor activities to walking in the woods.”

The team recently competed in a 24-hour relay and plans to spread their message by participating in several more mountain bike endurance events, like two, 100-mile off-road trail races.

“These types of events are about ‘challenging our bodies and our minds, and creating lifelong memories and connections to the wilderness,’” Jones said. 

The Dungeness River Audubon Center has sponsored a mountain bike racing team — Quiet Water Racing — to raise awareness and funds for the center. Team member Laura Gould rides at the 24 Hours Round the Clock bike ride on May 29 in Spokane. Photos courtesy of Powell Jones

Promoting stewardship
Organizers also hope the team builds rapport among environmental groups and mountain bikers because there has been a negative perception that mountain bikers and environmental awareness don’t go hand-in-hand.

“Responsible mountain bikers are stewards of trails and the environment,” team member and sponsor Greg Voyles said.  

“We ride to enjoy the serenity of the wilderness, plants and animals while doing an activity that is low impact on the environment and promotes a healthy lifestyle.”

Continuing education
The River Center’s mission is “to inspire understanding, enjoyment and stewardship of the Olympic Peninsula’s unique natural and cultural resources, with emphasis on birds, rivers, fish and people.”

The center’s programs for schoolchildren focus on fourth-eighth grades, bringing children to the park to monitor the river and to learn about the fish and wildlife of the North Olympic Peninsula.
The Dungeness River Audubon Center at Railroad Bridge Park, 2151 W. Hendrickson Road, operates in partnership with the Jamestown S’Klallam Tribe, Olympic Peninsula Audubon Society and National Audubon Society. 

Hours are 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Tuesday to Friday, and noon-4 p.m. Saturday.

Three businesses so far have sponsored the racing team, Mervin Manufacturing, a Sequim-based eco-friendly snowboard company, Mike’s Bikes and Voyles Insurance.

For more information and/or to sponsor the Dungeness River Audubon Center Quiet Waters Racing team, visit www.dungenessrivercenter.org or call 681-4076.