This ride benefits the March of Dimes Birth Defects Foundation, who are dedicated to helping babies be born healthy. I personally know of one mother who lost a baby to a birth defect, then had another baby with the same problem who lived- because the March of Dimes had sponsored research which found a solution to the problem. The March of Dimes has one of the highest efficiencies of any charity- 78%. Compare that to some "charities" who only manage to get 5% to actual programs that help people.
The ride is sponsored by the March of Dimes.
As with other March of Dimes events, participants are encouraged to run around and get sponsors to contribute to the cause, but it isn't a per-mile thing-- just see how many of your friends, co-workers and family will kick in a buck or twenty for the March of Dimes. But to ride, you really only need to pay a nominal amount; $25 will get you a T-shirt, pin, and lunch. I raised over $300 the first year and over $250 the second, because I work with a lot of generous people. You will be surprised how an opportunity like this will show you how generous some of your friends are, and how stingey others are.
Each ride starts out in the morning with bagels, OJ, coffee, etc. After the ride, there's a big prize drawing and a pretty darn good lunch. Prizes in past rides have included helmets, gloves, accessories, and even a horribly expensive Harley-Davidson leather jacket.
The ride started at the Utah State Fairpark in Salt Lake City, then proceeded up Emmigration Canyon and East Canyon to East Canyon State Park at the reservoir, then back a couple of miles to a parking lot for refreshments. After refreshments, we backtracked to the Fairpark. Somewhere in Salt Lake City, one rider had an accident, the first we've had on our RideAmerica.
Email Lyle
Fri, 31 Dec, 2004