CORVALLIS - In a sea of bicycle helmets, Steve Schulz's headgear always stands out.

Since joining Cycle Oregon as a staff member in 2008, Schulz has worn a distinctive, cream-colored straw cowboy hat while on duty at the Weekend Ride and Week Ride.

Now, perhaps more than ever, it's important for riders and others to spot Schulz because he was named the non-profit's executive director in June. Schulz, who turns 48 later this month, takes over an organization that enters its 30th year next year.

On Saturday - the first day of riding for the Cycle Oregon Weekend Ride that this year is based at Oregon State University - Schulz took care of duties similar to those in his previous role as deputy director.

For starters, he was on duty at 4:45 a.m. Most major tasks have been taken care of: placing road signage on three different routes leading southwest of Corvallis, preparing breakfast for more than 1,500 people and coordinating with the communities the ride will visit for the day. But Schulz is among the first people to be contacted for complications that arise.

cycleoweekendride 25 Gallery: cycleoweekendride

Schulz grew up in Cody, Wyoming, where he first began bike riding not so much for enjoyment but because it was a crucial way for a kid to get from one town to another.

In high school, his family moved to Denver because of a job transfer for his father, who worked in human relations for an oil company.

In 1994, he came to Oregon with his then-wife who had a contract for a season singing with Portland Opera. He figured he'd stay in the state for perhaps a year more.

Instead, he started a fitness company in Northeast Portland - Strada. In 2001, he trained and led some of the company's students on that year's Cycle Oregon ride, which visited the Steens Mountain area.

"And I was hooked," Schulz said. He continued to participate as a rider, but also cultivated contacts with Cycle Oregon officials, making suggestions on how to offer training tips to interested and registered riders - something he thought could be improved. He was hired as a staff member in 2008.

Cycle Oregon began by offering a week-long ride, in part to offer a brief economic boost to smaller Oregon communities that were struggling. That ride, held toward the beginning of September, now routinely attracts up to 2,200 riders. A weekend ride - aimed at families with a shorter route and a kids' bicycling camp - started in 2004. The Oregonian has been a Cycle Oregon sponsor since its inception.

While this year's Cycle Oregon is expected to sell out, probably later this month, the organization has found the weeklong ride has been a harder sell compared to previous years in which it sold out in days if not hours.

That has partly inspired the organization to look at offering different rides. This summer, Cycle Oregon presented its inaugural "Joyride," an event exclusively for women. The ride offered three distances - short, medium and long - and started and ended at Stoller Family Estate in Dayton.

Schulz and others expected perhaps a few hundred women to sign up for an untested event.

"It was fabulous," he said. "It was triple what I expected to have for ridership -- 800 people. The weather was great, the food - all local food and produce."

He said Cycle Oregon wants to expand the event next year.

"We had the best results on surveys than we've ever had for any event," he said. "They all say they're bringing their friends next year."

Meanwhile, the organization is looking at the possibility of adding other rides.

"Road biking is on a little bit of a decline," he said. Adding a gravel ride is one possibility. The main goal, he said, is to get more people riding bicycles.

Schulz replaced Alison Graves, who served for two years as executive director, following the departure of Jerry Norquist.

"I'm retired!" Graves said Saturday, taking a break from the ride at a rest stop near Tyee Wine Cellars, south of Corvallis.

Graves said she and husband Jay Graves, a Cycle Oregon board member who sold his Portland-area Bike Gallery stores in November 2012, are remaining busy nonetheless.

They're managing a tree farm they recently acquired near L.L. Stub Stewart State Park north of Banks as well as helping as needed with tasks at the Dayville Mercantile store in Central Oregon. The store, built in 1886, is believed to be one of the oldest continuously operated general stores in Oregon and is owned by Tabitha and Simon Graves - son of Jay Graves. As such, the store includes a bicycle repair shop.

Also, the couple are among 144 people who invested to buy the Wallowa Lake Lodge earlier this year. Jay Graves is board chairman; Alison Graves is on the marketing and communications committee.

"Steve has tremendous leadership capacity, has proven his ability to champion events and has assembled a fantastic team," Graves said Saturday, relaxing at the Cycle Oregon Weekend site on the OSU campus.

And the cowboy hat is certain to be a regular sight, though Schulz said he did not start wearing it to make it more easy for riders and others to find him.

"People can find me because they can see my hat. So it's worked out that way, I guess," he said. "When I don't want to be found is when I need to take the hat off."

--Allan Brettman

503-294-5900

@allanbrettman