Registration is now open for Ride Hard, Grow Forth, a bike ride to raise funds for Alleycat Acres scheduled for March 5. Seattle Bike Blog is an ally of the event, which is gathering quite a coalition.

So, why is Alleycat Acres so awesome that you should not only ride 60 miles around Lake Washington for them, but also pledge to raise at least $60 in donations? Because the vision AA has for urban potential and human power is awesome, and any money they get goes incredibly far.

Alleycat Acres is different from other community gardens because its model is versatile and takes advantage of underused space. The site of their farm at 23rd and Union, for example, was basically a dumping site. It was a vacant lot full of discarded items and trash. Now it is beautiful and produces food. Their operations are as bike-powered as possible. And if the land owner some day wants to move forward with a project on the site, the farm will find a new vacant space to grow in.

This ride is an attempt to simultaneously build community and raise their entire year’s operational costs in one big go.  So if you think you might like to go on a big bike ride in March (duh) and think you can get at least 6 friends to pledge $10 each, then register now (there is a $10 registration fee that covers ride admin costs).

Oh, and did I mention there are a bunch of prizes? Yeah. A Chrome bag, a gift card to Nau, a cap by Octopus Caps and more to come.

Only 100 spaces are available, so register now. Also, there’s a facebook event (they promise the ride will be way better than Farmville).