Ladies and Gentlemen:
As many of you know, I grew up in Kemah a few blocks from Galveston Bay. Many happy hours in my childhood were spent swimming, fishing and sailing there. Unfortunately, I find many of my friends in Houston are largely unaware of the Bay and its many treasures. Did you know, for example, that Galveston Bay:
- Is the 7th largest bay/estuary system in the U.S
- Is the 2nd most productive estuary in the country in terms of seafood production
- Has the 3rd largest concentration of private marinas in the country
- Is home to the 34,000 acre Anahuac National Wildlife Refuge
- Witnesses 3/4 of North America's bird species passing through it
- Hosts the Texas City Prairie Preserve, one of the last remaining sites in the US supporting the Attwater prairie chicken
To highlight the many wonderful venues that surround the Galveston Bay, the Galveston Bay Foundation is sponsoring a bike tour around the bay on October 20-21. I am excited to say that Lyondell has agreed to be the major sponsor of the tour. The first day of the
Lyondell Bike Around the Bay, the riders will cycle through Chambers County, down Bolivar Peninsula, crossing over the Bolivar Ferry to Galveston and spend the night at Moody Gardens. They will enjoy dinner and a beach party at Palm Beach at Moody Gardens.
On Sunday, the riders will cycle up the west shore of Galveston Bay, visiting the Texas City Dike (extends 6 miles into the Bay), Dickinson, Kemah, Seabrook, Morgan's Point and LaPorte, eventually crossing over the Fred Hartman bridge to end the tour in Baytown at the Houston Raceway Park. The total distance is approximately 170 miles.
The tour is being carefully planned to ensure that it is both enjoyable and safe. Galveston Bay Foundation is working with individuals and bike shops that have long standing experience in organizing these kinds of rides.
I hope that you will support this event. If you are a cyclist, you can register to ride in the tour at
www.bikearoundthebay.org. If you register prior to October 12th, the entry fee is $100 and includes a meal on Saturday night and a one-year membership with the Galveston Bay Foundation. If you are not able to ride but still want to support this event, you can become a sponsor or volunteer. Information for both can be found at the ride's website.
Galveston Bay is an incredible resource for this region, one that must be protected and passed on to our children and grandchildren. This is the mission of the Galveston Bay Foundation. You can get more information about the Foundation at www.galvbay.org. I hope you will seriously consider supporting it.
WEK
PS: Links to all of the websites in this e-mail are also available at
www.BillKingHouston.com.
