Cascade kicks off 40th anniversary celebration at the Seattle Bike Expo!

In its 21 years of existence, the Seattle Bicycle Expo has certainly had its ups and downs, plus a fair share of location changes. In 2010, the show moved to the new cruise facility located in Magnolia, a fabulous building with 135,000 square feet of show space on two floors. Vendors, volunteers and attendees alike all seemed to agree…this year’s Expo turned out to be “one of the very best ever.”

The 9,300 strong attendee list marveled at magnificent 280 degree views of Elliott Bay and Mount Rainier, whilst enjoying three palatial lounges to relax, stay awhile and catch up with their cycling buddies. Maybe it was the astounding array of top class vendors, easy access to the venue by bike or top notch facilities inside the venue…but folks seemed to linger more than ever and took full advantage of this wonderful space.

The world class entertainment line-up helped to inflate the crowd’s energy level to all time highs… and what can you say about the stupendous one-two punch of Canadian trials rider Ryan Leech and the artistic cyclists together in the Performance Arena? Stefan Musu, Lukas Matla and Corrina Hein, the three young German superstars, wowed standing room-only crowds all weekend with acts layered withathleticism, grace and sheer beauty. It was kind of like being able to enjoy both the Beatles and the Rolling Stones on the very same ticket!

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The returning Classic Bike Show also “kicked it up a notch” in a very big way. We flew in Ken Taylor, one of the legendary British bike builders from the past 50 years to be our special guest. Ken, now 84 years old, was a true gentleman, a perfectly lovely northern English chap happy to share a story (or three) with delighted passers by. With more than 120 highly collectible bikes on show, this was indeed “the place” to be over the weekend.

The Cascade Education team seized the opportunity to reach out to kids and families in a big way. Our booth, located on the top floor was a hive of activity, with bracelet making, treasure hunts, bike art and even a Computrainer virtual race course set up for the older kids to enjoy. The kids Learn-2-Ride sessions and Wheelie Fun bike course brought smiles to even the stiffest curmudgeons among us! As you know, Biking is FUN…so what better way to get kids involved than putting on an amazing display of activities to enjoy!

We would also like to give a shout out to all the folks who made this event happen: Raleigh Bicycles, our title sponsor was the perfect fit for Expo, a classy brand for a classy show…we also salute the entire Expo Committee, Cascade staff plus the 200 volunteers who helped make the show such a success. Debuting brand new 40th anniversary T-shirts, Cascade volunteers once again showed us why they are the very best in town.

Finally special thanks to you the customer and all the wonderful vendors who all came back in droves to support the show, even after last year’s shortcomings. This kind of support is the main reason the Seattle Bicycle Expo will continue to be the very best (and biggest show) in the nation.

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