Article Contributed on: 3/6/2006 9:56:57 AM
Cyclists ride 3,000 miles to make wishes come true
Team Race for Wishes to compete in Race Across America and benefit Make-A-Wish Foundation
It has been called “the toughest endurance race in the world.” Race Across America (RAAM) is a 3,000-mile, nine-day, coast-to-coast bicycle race, spanning 14 states and crossing through all continental U.S. time zones. Eric Tidd of Colorado and Derek Slife of Arizona will compete in the race as the two-person Team Race For Wishes, raising money through pre-race events, sponsorships and pledges to benefit the Make-A-Wish Foundation’s of Colorado and Arizona. Team Race for Wishes’ goal to raise $200,000 will be split between both chapters, making nearly 40 wishes a reality for courageous Colorado and Arizona children fighting life-threatening illnesses.
The first of two fundraising events in Denver to support Team Race for Wishes will be March 11 at the Tryst Lounge downtown from 5:30-9:30 p.m. Never straying from their intense training schedule, Tidd and Slife will host the evening from two stationary bikes donated by Matrix Fitness, continuously spinning throughout the event. There will be a $10 cover and $3 drink specials as well as several raffles for items including champagne bottle service and gift certificates from Capital Grille. One hundred percent of the cover will benefit Make-A-Wish.
Matrix Fitness in Denver will host the second of the Team’s fundraising events: a 12-Hour Spin-A-Thon on April 29 from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., with a $45 per hour minimum to spin with Tidd and Slife.
Tidd and Slife came together to form Team Race for Wishes as an opportunity to make a difference in the lives of children. While the RAAM will be a true testament to the physical and mental endurance of both riders, they are confident that the challenge is nothing compared to what the children served by Make-A-Wish have to endure each and every day. Tidd and Slife will finish the Race as a salute to those children whose realities are that of numerous hospital stays and countless doctors visits and who wish to just be kids again.
Team Race for Wishes, sponsored by Hewlett-Packard, Titan Flex and Everyday Athletes, will compete in the RAAM June 11-21 beginning in Oceanside, Calif. and finishing in Atlantic City, N.J. Unlike the Tour de France, RAAM is a single-stage race with no designated rest periods. Within each 24-hour period, Team Race for Wishes will ride an average of 500 miles, with each rider on the bike for 12 hours and sleeping a maximum of only four hours. The Team will utilize each other’s strength in completing the cross-country journey.
The RAAM route is a grueling road of mountainous regions, high-altitude climbing sections, as well as flat and fast humid terrain. The Race is equivalent to climbing Mount Everest three times or running 50 marathons. To make a pledge or to track Team Race for Wishes’ progress, visit www.raceforwishes.org.
For more information about Team Race for Wishes, contact Janet Urbanek at (303) 898-1361 or visit www.raceforwishes.org.
About the Make-A-Wish Foundation of Colorado
The Make-A-Wish Foundation of Colorado grants the wishes of children with life-threatening medical conditions to enrich the human experience with hope, strength, and joy. Since being founded in 1983, the Foundation has granted more than 2,300 wishes to eligible Colorado children. The Colorado chapter is part of the largest wish-granting organization in the world, with 71 chapters in the United States and its territories, and 27 international affiliates on five continents. For more information about the Make-A-Wish Foundation of Colorado, visit www.wishcolorado.org.