The 15th Annual Seattle Cranksgiving is November 23. Last year’s Cranksgiving was a record-breaker, with 168 riders hauling 3,699 pounds of donations. Can we do even better in 2024?

Seattle Bike Blog is once again partnering with Cascade Bicycle Club’s Pedaling Relief Project to host the annual food drive bike ride to benefit Rainier Valley Food Bank, University District Food Bank and The Market food bank at Byrd Barr Place. Central Cinema will host the after party.

Invite your friends and join us for a day of smiles, silly challenges and serious love for your community. It is free to enter, and there is no pre-registration. Just show up at the start with a bike, a bike lock, a pen, a way to carry groceries and some cash to buy them. You can ride solo or as a team of up to four people. We ask people to spend a minimum of $20 on purchases for donation, but most riders end up spending more. You are basically going grocery shopping but for your community.

At the start line, we will give you a list of items the food banks have requested as well as a list of places to buy those items. You get a point for each place you shop and each item type you purchase (no points for duplicate items, though the food banks will appreciate them). You can also score bonus points for completing some extra challenges. Much like an alleycat race or scavenger hunt there is no set route, so it will be up to you and your team to use your bike navigation skills.

Meet up starting 9 a.m. in front of Byrd Barr Place (722 18th Ave, between Columbia and Cherry Streets) to check in. The ride starts promptly at 10 a.m. Must finish back at Byrd Barr Place no later than 2 p.m. After party at nearby Central Cinema goes from 1 p.m. until 3 p.m.

Teams will start by heading to either University District Food Bank or Bike Works, which is hosting a drop off point for Rainier Valley Food Bank, hitting shopping points along the way. There, they will get a second list with items and shops to hit on the way back to the start line. Total riding will be somewhere in the 12–15 mile range depending on your route choices. We will also have a shorter round-trip option (3–5 miles) if that seems more your speed. There will be prizes for the top point earners as well as a prize raffle (must be present to claim).

We ride rain or shine.

In order to make sure it all runs smoothly, we need volunteers! Check out Cascade’s Cranksgiving volunteer sign-up page. If you would like to donate a prize or have any other inquiries, email me at [email protected] and/or Landon Welsh at landonw (at) cascade.org.

Cranksgiving began 1999 on the east coast as a bike messenger event in New York City. The idea has since spread across the nation. I started Seattle’s Cranksgiving in 2010, and I’ve been organizing it through Seattle Bike Blog every year since. The event quickly became one of Rainier Valley Food Bank’s largest food drives, with riders restocking their shelves during their busiest week of the year. After two very scaled back versions in 2020 and 2021 due to the pandemic and the loss of our usual start and end venue, the event was at risk of falling apart. That’s when Cascade’s Pedaling Relief Project and Central Cinema partnered with Seattle Bike Blog to revamp the event in 2022, building it into the fun multi-stop version it is today. This is my favorite version of Seattle’s Cranksgiving, and I hope you all enjoy it.