RydeOn! Ryde-A-Thon Benefits Washtenaw Cycling Charity

On Saturday, Feb. 9, RydeOn! indoor cycling studio will host its second annual “Ryde-A-Thon” to benefit a Washtenaw-area charity that supports cyclists with disabilities. After raising $4,000 for Programs to Educate All Cyclists (PEAC) in 2012, event organizers hope to break the $4,500 mark this year.

That figure is well in reach, with seven teams and sixty-two registrations as of Jan. 31. The event is also benefiting from corporate sponsorships: Busch's Fresh Food Market, Bear Claw Coffee, and Al Petri and Sons Bicycle Shop are among the sponsors to date. This year's Ryde-A-Thon will run from 1-7 pm. 

“We're very pleased with the number of registrations we've received so far,” said RydeOn! co-founder Brigid Lossing, who opened the Saline indoor cycling studio with co-founder Christina Turner in 2011. “Our indoor cycling clients and instructors, PEAC'S volunteers, and really the entire community are all coming together to make the Ryde-A-Thon successful. At the same time, we're still trying to fill every seat – anyone who wants to join in the fun should register soon to be sure they can get a spot!”

Registration for the event is available online at the PEAC website at:http://bikeprogram.org/. Registration costs $25 per person for one fifty-minute slot; participants are also encouraged to raise additional funds from friends, family, and co-workers. Event organizers are also encouraging participants to form teams; team members can either register to ride together during the same time slot (as long as space is available) or for consecutive slots. 

“We've had some really creative team names this year,” said PEAC Community Liaison Liz Horvat. We've got 'Whitmore's Wheelies,' the 'Wheeden Warriors,' and the '1045 Zulu Crew' among others. People are having a great time with this – and we plan on having fun right along with them!”

PEAC  was founded in 2004 by John Waterman, a public school teacher, in response to an accident where a student with special needs at his school was severely injured by a car while riding his bicycle. The program provides cycling classes to people with disabilities and to those who wish to act as trained cycling companions to people with disabilities.

RydeOn! Saline  has been an active supporter of the greater community since its founding. In addition to the Ryde-A-Thons, Lossing and Turner provided $250 in matching funds for last year's Wish-A-Mile event for the Make-A-Wish Foundation of Michigan. This year the studio is hosting a team of clients preparing for the fifty-mile segment of the 2013 Wish-A-Mile ride on July 28. 

“Our company was founded on the idea of 'Training for Life,'” said Lossing. The point is that working out is just part of an overall healthy lifestyle. But the concept goes much farther than that – Christina and I believe that individuals need a healthy community in order to thrive, so as business owners we feel it's our responsibility to support organizations that share our wider mission.”

“We love PEAC because they make it possible for people with disabilities to do something so many of us take for granted – enjoy the freedom and exercise of cycling.”

RydeOn! Saline indoor cycling studio is located at 450 East Michigan Avenue in Saline. The studio provides indoor cycling classes to residents of Saline, Ann Arbor, Ypsilanti and surrounding areas. For more information visit the RydeOn! website at: http://www.rydeonsaline.com/

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