Member Highlight: Meet Peter Sherrill
A lot of things can happen on a ride at Colonnade; epic jumps, transcendent flow, or in some cases, skinning an elbow on a wall ride and bumping into Evergreen Project Manager Mike Westra on his backhoe.
That’s what happened to Peter Sherrill—a visiting California resident at the time—in 2008. A rider for 25 years in the San Francisco Bay area—mostly Ft. Ord—Peter had found his way into advocacy work when he formed the Monterey Off Road Cycling Association (still in operation today) and began taking care of local trails and running the Sea Otter Classic.
He and his wife had been talking about a move up north and Peter needed two things: to be near the water, and to have access to some great riding. And the Seattle area seemed like a good fit.
So when Mike got off his backhoe that day to talk with Peter (and tease that his injury “usually happen(ed) to noobies”), Peter was already an experienced veteran of trail projects. Since Colonnade was nearly completed he told Mike he’d be back to help out with Duthie in a few months. And in 2009, Peter’s wife accepted a new job in Washington and Peter brought his skills to Evergreen.
“I spent my first year unemployed,” Peter laughs “so I had plenty of time to work on the initial trails at Duthie. At one point there for 4 of us out there building trail—all unemployed.”
From there he continued to get more involved with Evergreen. When the Duthie Grand Opening needed an organizer, Peter volunteered (and says it “turned out surprisingly good”). The park opened up to a downpour that sent everyone under the REI tent. Then promptly at 9:30, the rain stopped, the sun came out, and “just like Return of the Jedi, mountain biking ewoks came out of the shrubbery and it was a big success”.
Since that day Peter’s been a main behind-the-scenes player for Evergreen, joining the board in 2010 and currently serving as Secretary. He arranged the first Tiger Mountain Enduro race, set up time trial races at Duthie (until the prevalence of Strava made them obsolete), and is often manning a table and BBQ working to build community and drum up membership. And he continues to lead lots of rides. “I love to get people out on new trails,” he admits “particularly backcountry.”
Keep an eye out for some of Peter’s group rides on the calendar. Or try some rides in his favorite areas—Lake Wenatchee, Hwy 410, and Palisades—on your own. Peter will also be leading rides on Tiger Mt. in 2015.