Approximately 1,200 cyclists wheeled into Sterling Saturday as part of Pedal The Plains, and brought about a $250,000 economic impact to the community, according to Karla Maraccini, Director of Community Partnerships for Gov. John Hickenlooper.
Maraccini addressed a crowd that included riders as well as local residents from the mobile stage on Third Avenue next to the Logan County Courthouse Saturday evening, and said the benefit to the host communities is one of the things the Governor’s Office loves about the annual three-day bicycle tour of the Eastern Plains.
In addition to the revenue for businesses and corresponding sales taxes from the riders, local organizations also received grants from PTP and its supporters. The ride is a project of the Denver Post Community Foundation, a non-profit that provides funding for programs that benefit children, the arts, literacy and education and the provision of basic human services. Renee Wheelock, the community relations manager with the foundation, presented a $6,000 check to Colorado 4-H. The 4-H program and Colorado FFA were selected to receive grants in keeping with the ride’s focus on agriculture education; members of both groups helped with the educational stops along the route. Read the rest of this article on the journaladvocate.com