Annual bike event raises money for local cancer research

To date Ride Cincinnati, now in its ninth year, has raised more than $1.9 million for the University of Cincinnati’s Barrett Cancer Center to fund 34 breast cancer research projects, including five so far in 2015. This year’s event is June 14 and is open to riders of all skill levels.
 
“The greatest thing about Ride Cincinnati is that the dollars raised stay local and benefit local people,” says Allison Schroeder, spokesperson for Ride Cincinnati.
 
The event features longer rides along Route 8 in Northern Kentucky and shorter routes on Eastern Avenue in Cincinnati. All bike rides begin and end downtown at Yeatman’s Cove at Sawyer Point.
 
There won’t be a kids’ ride this year. Instead, the 8- and 16-mile routes in Cincinnati will be closed-road courses, which means that families will be able to enjoy a safe ride.
 
Ride Cincinnati 2015 has two honorary chairs, U.S. Sen. Rob Portman and his wife, Jane. The event is close to Jane’s heart in that her family has been touched by breast cancer. The Portmans will help kick off the event and plan to ride, as they’ve done in the past.
 
This year Ride Cincinnati partnered with Cincy Red Bike, which has agreed to waive the overage fee for event participants. A day pass is $8 per bike, and there’s a bike station at Sawyer Point as well as nearby ones at the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center and Fountain Square.
 
“We wanted to engage with Red Bike because it helps us appeal to a new audience of people,” Schroeder says. “Red Bike is ideal for the 8- and 16-mile rides.”
 
To have the overage fee waived, participants must send an email to [email protected] prior to race day.
 
Race day begins at 6:30 a.m. with the 63-mile ride. The 45-mile ride begins at 7 a.m., the 26-mile at 8 a.m. and the 8- and 16-mile rides at 8:30 a.m. Event registration is $40 for adults and $15 for kids 12 and under. All who sign up to ride get a Ride Cincinnati T-shirt, and participants who raise at least $100 in pledges receive a bicycling jersey.