Bikers Will Pedal For a Cure Aug. 13

At the 14th Annual Wheeling for Healing event on Saturday, Aug. 13, over 1,000 bike riders will cruise to raise money for the Cancer Care Center at .

This ride will be a family-friendly event as well as a fundraiser. Last year’s Wheeling for Healing Race raised over $40,000 for the Cancer Care Center at Community Memorial Hospital. This year they hope to raise around $50,000.

“The riders will wear T-shirts with the ride’s logo and sponsors on them – this year, riders will wear lime green, and cancer survivors who ride will wear tie-dye yellow colored shirts,” said Donna Roesch, Special Events Coordinator at Community Memorial Foundation.

The day will start with stretch and warm ups offered by the Tri-County YMCA before the riders get on their bikes.

Helmets are required, and can be purchased from Wheel & Sprocket onsite before the ride.

Dan Needles, a Sports Director from WISN TV will be the Ride Marshall, and will help kick off the event sending riders on their way.

The challenging 33-mile route, targeted to the more serious biker, starts at 7:30 a.m. and rides through the scenic Holy Hill area in 3-4 hours. The 15-mile route is the most popular ride, starting at 8:15 a.m., and the four-mile ride is ideal for families with small children, starting at 9:00 a.m.

Each route is supported with safety and bike maintenance personnel and rest stops complete with rest room facilities, energy snacks and beverages. 

The routes will be located on streets alongside traffic, but the police department will be on the routes helping riders to cross busy streets and stay safe.

Even though this is not a competitive race, there will be prizes afterwards. All participants will be entered in the door prize drawing where they can win donated prizes like movie theater tickets, Brewers game tickets, restaurant gift certificates and more.

In addition, raffle tickets can be purchased at the event before or after the ride for $10 each or $25 for three tickets. The first prize will be an iPad with 32 gigabytes of memory, which was donated by the Community Memorial staff. The second prize will be the Microsoft Office 2010 Professional Software package, donated by Microsoft. The third prize will be four tickets to the Brewers vs. St. Louis Cardinals game on Aug. 31. Additional prizes include restaurant gift certificates and tickets to area events. All prizes have been donated, and you do not have to be present to win.

All proceeds from this event and the raffle will go directly to the Cancer Care Center, which will be re-opening in October after renovations. A new linear accelerator, which administers radiation to patients, is among the new additions.

After the ride, participants can enjoy the post-ride party featuring live entertainment by the band Phat Side Down, and brunch, which is included with the ride registration fee of $20 to $30 (see website).

Brunch will include breakfast omelet pockets, smoothies, and other breakfast items. Most riders will be able to finish the ride by noon or earlier.

At the post-ride party there will be a Kid’s Corner where those under 12 can play games to win prizes. For the adults, an onsite massage therapist will help with those achy muscles. 

To participate in the ride, register on their website, in person at Community Memorial Foundation's office (located on the lower level of Community Memorial Hospital), or on-site the day of the event by arriving at Community Memorial Hospital 45 minutes prior to the ride’s start time.