Posted by: Kim_Hamilton on 06/18/2008 05:39 PM
Updated by: Kim_Hamilton on 07/30/2008 11:24 PM
Expires: 01/01/2013 12:00 AM
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ThePineTree Pedaler Rides for Children “Heroes”~By Brett Loring
Team Will, a non-profit Sacramento-based group cyclists, whose mission it is to raise funds and awareness for childhood cancer research, just embarked on its second 10-day “Ride To Reach The Day” from S.F. to D.C. with full medic and SAG support. ThePineTree Pedaler, Brett Loring who did the ’06 Ride from S.F. to Virginia, rode 115 miles of Shift 2 on Monday from the rally at the Capitol to Truckee in Team Will’s June 16-26 ride.....
  
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It all started with a group of guys on mountain bikes retrospectively wishing they had seen the country from a bike before they had settled into careers and families and adult commitments. Then there was young William Kiefer who put it all in perspective for them. Will, a twin to his sister Grace, was the 17-month old son of one of the cyclists. At the time, Will was facing cancer treatments for a rhabdoid tumor. The guys started talking, and right there on the trail Team Will was born. Plans began to unfold for a cross-the-country bike trip dedicated to William with the mission of raising awareness and funds for childhood cancer research through cycling activities and events – an endeavor much bigger than a bunch of cyclists just having fun.
Within months of Team Will’s inception, Will lost his battle to cancer, but the fervor of Team Will became even stronger as the group began supporting Will’s family, holding rallies, fundraisers, and awareness campaigns leading up to the “Ride To Reach The Day” of 2006 when 16 riders formed 4 teams, each team taking a 6-hour shift throughout the day and night to accomplish the ride in 10 straight days. That grassroots Ride raised over $90,000 of which about two-thirds went directly to childhood cancer research efforts through CureSearch National Childhood Cancer Foundation and Children' s Oncology Group.
Now this year, with more corporate sponsors and partners, riders have adopted “Heroes” – children who are facing cancer. Team Will members have sent e-mails, cards, letters and gifts to the Heroes and their families, and some Team Will riders even visited some of the children in the hospital or at their homes as recently as Day 1 of the Ride. Riders carry pictures of their Heroes throughout the ride so as to remember them and their families and to spur them onto their fundraising and awareness goal for the sake of the children. Along the trans-U.S. route, teams of riders will stop at children’s hospitals to visit with some of the Heroes they have not yet met. An ’06 alumnus rider, Ryan Loufbourrow who joined Team Will this year from Sacramento to Auburn, commented that he had just received an encouraging e-mail through CaringBridge.org from a then-sickly young man he and this writer had visited in a hospital in Kansas City 2 years ago. In his e-mail, Zachary indicated that he was now back in school, playing football again, and living at home. Other stories abound on the team’s website - stories like Zachary’s, and other heart-wrenching testimonials from families that keep Team Will pedaling for hope from the Golden Gate Bridge to the summit of Donner Pass and the Colorado Rockies to Pennsylvania Avenue.
Brett is a founding member of Team Will and is interested in starting a local chapter of Team Will in this area. If you are interested in this or in participating in Team Will’s other events, including its 2010 “Ride To Reach The Day,” please contact Team Will through its website: www.team-will.org where you can also see updates of Team Will’s current Ride To Reach The Day.
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