My wife and I started a tradition last summer of riding our bikes on the Centennial Trail each weekend. She’s doesn’t have a lot of biking experience but we bought a bike from Sharing Wheels and now she’s hooked.
When we wake up on Saturday morning she’s like a little kid at Christmastime. She can’t wait to get out the door and on the trail. We bike from Arlington to Snohomish and back. Round trip is 34 miles but the trail is relatively flat and is a great way to exercise while cherishing some peace and quiet with nature.
On May 5, we ventured to the Centennial Trail to start our second year of this tradition. It was a little cloudy and cold, but we were ready.
About halfway into the ride, we saw people alongside the trail cutting back brush and tall weeds. Shortly after that we noticed more groups of kids and adults cleaning up the trail, and painting the benches and street-crossing posts. I then realized that most of kids and adults were from the Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts.
I stopped to thank one of the adults and asked how many kids were involved in cleaning up the trail. He told me that more than 300 volunteers were helping out that day.
Many people today are of the opinion that the X and Y generations don’t have much of a work ethic, so it was very cool to see so many kids doing something that makes a difference.
Moreover, many folks haven’t recognized the fact that happiness in your own life comes from giving to others, so I want to extend my personal thanks to all of the volunteers for making one of our weekend traditions a much better ride.
Ken Hopstad
Marysville
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