Available members of the Bike for Breakfast committee hammed it up for a photo op at Grindin Gears Bikes n’ Boards last Tuesday night to launch this year’s fundraiser. The event is scheduled for June 12 and includes lots of exciting changes. Geoff Lee Meridian Source
This year’s Bike for Breakfast fundraising event will stay close to home and be open to anyone with a road bike.
The event, to be held on June 12, is already in motion following a kickoff at Grindin Gears Bikes n’ Boards last Tuesday night led by store owner and committee chair, Jim Taylor.
“I’m excited, I’m ready to go. I’m not trained up yet, but I’m excited to kick it off,” said Taylor with many committee members on hand for a photo op.
Taylor was part of a group of cyclists that rode to Tuffnell Saskatchewan and back last year raising $270,000 for school breakfast programs in the region.
“This year, we’re keeping it a little simpler,” said Taylor, including routes and fundraising.
Cyclists can choose 40km, 80km or 160km routes heading south on Highway 17 from the Musgrave building parking lot.
Taylor says they are not out to beat last year’s fundraising total, with the bar raised so high.
“Our goal is to support the schools. Whether we raise the same as last year or more or less, we’re going to do a good job and support the schools,” he said.
Event registration will take place at Grindin Gears from April 26-28 from 6-8 p.m. with the window open until May 30.
“Last year, the biggest thing we heard was people wanted to ride with us,” said Taylor.
“We’re already getting people asking about it and asking what the routes are going to be, so we expect to have quite a few people that are going to want to bike with us.”
Check the Bike for Breakfast YLL Facebook page for more information on how to hop onboard.
First-time road cyclists can brush up on their techniques and conditioning with training rides to take place Tuesdays and Thursdays at 6 p.m. from Grindin Gears starting May 3.
“Most of us were new road riders last year, and so we’re going to do that again,” said Taylor.
“We’re going to encourage people to come out with us, people that want to ride, get comfortable on the road and see what distance fits them the best.”
Tracy Matthews, vice-chair of the committee, road last year as a newbie and is excited to support the Bike for Breakfast cause for a second year.
“It’s exciting. It’s good to give back. I’ve always done hot lunch programs that my kids have gone to,” she said.
Matthews notes last year’s breakfast program covered schools within a 57-kilometre radius from Lloydminster.
“It was quite a few schools that were able to utilize the funds we were able to give them,” she said.
Matthews says she was wearing her Bike for Breakfast T-shirt in Edmonton recently and was asked by a stranger what it was all about, and she explained it to him.
“He’s like ‘that is so cool what a great thing to be part of and to give back.’ It’s great this year that we want to include the rest of the community,” she said.
Matthews says one of her stand-out memories from the inaugural breakfast ride as a new cyclist was being able to ride a total of 175 kilometres.
“I was pretty proud of myself. We had to persevere through a lot of obstacles to get this done and then we came home and people were waiting for us. That was pretty cool, and how much money we raised; it was great,” she said.
“Donating is one thing but actually being part of that. It’s kind of cool to see it all unfold at the schools.”
