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Each October since 2017, the community comes together in remembrance of Sloan Everett with the Breckenridge Chamber of Commerce-hosted Sloan Everett Pure Country Pedal Memorial Bike Ride. (Archive photo)
Each October, the community comes together in remembrance of Sloan Everett, who died in 2017 protecting his family’s cattle from an enormous wildfire in the Texas panhandle. In the fall following his death, the Breckenridge Chamber of Commerce hosted the inaugural Sloan Everett Pure Country Pedal Memorial Bike Ride, and it has continued to grow each year since.
The event was first initiated by then-Chamber board member Kyle Fambro, who served on the board with Sloan and enjoyed bike riding around the area together.
The annual bike ride is hosted at the Breckenridge City Park. This year’s event takes place Saturday, Oct. 11 for the ninth edition of the bike ride.
In 2019, Sloan’s parents and five sisters started a fundraising campaign in support of the bike ride to benefit local volunteer fire departments.
In the first year that the fundraiser was launched, 95 bikers registered for the event and over $13,000 was raised by corporate sponsors and private donations.
In 2024, the bike ride raised a total of $42,961.80, split evenly between Caddo VFD, Hubbard Creek VFD and Wayland VFD. An even split saw each department receive $14,320.60. That was an increase from the previous year, which saw a total of $41,753 raised.
The goal for this year is to raise $50,000 for the volunteer fire departments in Stephens County. The Sloan Everett Memorial Foundation has donated $174,764.16 to the VFDs since 2019, when the event began.
Everett graduated from Breckenridge High School in 2000 and was involved with several local activities in the area. That included serving on the Stephens Memorial Hospital Board and the Breckenridge Chamber of Commerce board of directors, as well as volunteering through the First Baptist Church of Breckenridge’s youth ministry.
All participants for the ride must be registered prior to the event, and online registration is open through purecountrypedal.com. The registration fee is $45 for riders age 18 and older, and for ages 13-17 it is $30.
The fee includes the ride as well as a t-shirt and brunch. Kids aged 12 and under are invited to register for free, while a $10 lunch and $20 t-shirt are available for them to purchase separately.
The bike ride will include five different routes for riders to choose from with varying difficulties:
• Greenhorn Route, 4.22 miles
• Pony Express Route, 7.79 miles
• Buckin’ Bronc Route, 18.73 miles
• Top Hand Route, 31.62 miles
• Sloan’s Route, 59.07 miles
Details of each route are also available for review on the website.
Registration for the event begins at 7:30 a.m. on the day of the ride, with a welcome ceremony at 8:30 a.m., following the ride beginning at 9 a.m. Family friendly festivities will begin at 10 a.m. and lunch and entertainment begins at 11 a.m.
The Self Band, a family group out of Ovalo made up of Matt, Joanna, Samuel, Sadie and Maura Self, will provide the lunch entertainment.
