IDA was proud to host the first annual Ride To The Light, Three Sanctuary Century, which was a very fulfilling Saturday of cycling more than 100 miles to benefit three awesome sanctuaries, Out To Pasture, Lighthouse Farm Sanctuary and our own Project Hope.

Jacob and Matt in the early morning sun.

And what a unique ride it was! The eight riders set off at 7am from Sweet Pea Vegan Baking Company in Portland’s vegan mini-mall, and headed to Estacada, Oregon, to Out To Pasture Sanctuary for the first stop. After climbing “the wall,” a ridiculously steep hill, the riders were warmly greeted by a posse of pigs including Rosa, Ramand, Ramone, Raoul, Lolita, Peppi, Iggy and others. Kit and John, the co-directors of the sanctuary, gave a tour and introduced us to the rest of the animal family that includes roosters, bunnies, llamas, sheep, a goat, feral felines and a horse named Singer, before a much deserved break and lunch.

You can almost see "the wall", the worst climb of the day, drop off there behind Heather.

Then we were off on an odyssey of rolling (and not so rolling!) hills another 65 miles through beautiful farm country, past vineyards and woodlands, toward our final destination in Scio, Oregon, to the Lighthouse Farm Sanctuary, where their annual wine and music party was already well under way. After fueling up on the fantastic vegan dinner, there was still enough daylight left to stroll around the acreage to give a scratch and say goodnight to some of the 200 or so chickens, donkeys, goats, sheep, pigs, horses, cows, and other animals that call Lighthouse home. After the long ride, it was so rewarding to get a chance to meet face to face with some of the individuals who were spared from suffering and will benefit directly from this event.

This was about as close as anyone got to Lisa all day - she was flying!

Although IDA’s Project Hope Sanctuary in a rural area of northern Mississippi was too far to include as a stop in the ride, the founder, Doll Stanley, was with us in spirit. Project Hope is home to as many as 150 dogs, cats, horses, emu, goats, chickens and other animals at any given time. Doll works tirelessly with local law enforcement to investigate cruelty cases, bring abusers to justice, and offer a new life for the animal victims in a region of the country where virtually nothing was being done to enforce cruelty laws. Now there is hope.

A special thanks to the riders, Josh and Heather from Herbivore Clothing, IDA’s Eric and Matt, and the other awesome cyclists, Julie, Jake, Lisa and Michael! Everyone did a great job and rode at least 105 miles, a bit more for some who took a creative detour! Overall it was a fun and rewarding day to raise awareness and much needed funds for the animals.

To date we have raised nearly $8,500 dollars for these three sanctuaries! Help us reach our $10,000 goal by going to our donation page or sending a check to IDA; 1732 NE Alberta St. Portland, OR 97211 with RTTL (Ride To The Light) in the memo line.

Stay tuned, because we are doing it bigger and better next year!

(L to R) Jacob, Josh, Lisa, Michael, Matt, Eric, Heather (not pictured, Julie)