Ride Flyer (PDF)
Ride Entry (PDF)
Ride and Hike Schedule (PDF)
Supporting the Trails (PDF)

Changes are in store for the Seventh Annual East Bay Hills Trails Benefit Ride, scheduled for August 27 - September 1st. This year's 6-day ride starts at Bort Meadow, followed by 2 days at Sequoia Arena, and finishes up at the Es Anderson Equestrian Camp. And in celebration of the 20th Anniversary of the Bay Area Ridge Trail, this year's ride will be held in conjunction with the first through-hike of the East Bay section of the trail, from Castro Valley to Martinez. The hike will be 5 days at 10-15 miles per day, and will share camp with the equestrians.

This year's ride and hike has deep roots in TWHA history. In 1990, shortly after the formation of the Bay Area Ridge Trail Council, TWHA sponsored a Ride for the Ridge from Tilden to Sequoia Arnea as a fundraiser for the trail. The next year TWHA invited hikers, runners and bicyclists to join us in the renamed Tri for the Ridge, which, along with similar events in the North and South Bay, helped provide significant support for the Ridge Trail in its early years.

In most respects the 2008 ride will be very similar to recent years, although obviously we will not be at Mt. Diablo, as we were the last 2 years. Aside from the 2 days when we move from one camp to the next, hikers and riders will be following different routes. And in order to accommodate the hikers, we may have to limit the number of riders this year to keep the event at a manageable size.

The ride organizing committee, consisting mostly of TWHA Board members, has set a limit of 75 participants per day, including both riders and hikers, ensuring that the combined event will be no larger than our largest ride two years ago. Even if that maximum size is reached, significant hiker turnout will mean fewer horses and vehicles, less crowded camps, and smaller dinners the final 2 evenings.

A separate hike committee of Ridge Trail enthusiasts has already met to begin organizing the hike, and we expect hiker volunteers to share the load of coordinating and supporting the event. It remains to be seen how hikers will respond to this opportunity, but we expect there to be quite a bit of interest. Some equestrians have talked about bringing along family members to join them by hiking. Sign up for the hike will be through the BARTC web site at www.ridgetrail.org.