100% of pledges go to charity
Pat yourself on the back if you're one of the 5,100 bicycle riders who participated in the Pan-Massachusetts Challenge this year.
The two-day charity bike ride raised $33 million for cancer research and care at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston.
How does $33 million for the two-day event compare to other charity bike rides? The Lance Armstrong Foundation reported that its LiveStrong Challenge rides raised about $10 million in 2006, and all 100 MS bike tours combined raised $67 million last year.
More riders
In making the announcement last week, organizers of the 28-year-old event said the grand total was $7 million more than was raised in 2006. They attributed the increase in donations to the 20% increase in riders this year.
Also, for the first time, all the money went to the Jimmy Fund. The Boston Red Sox Foundation, Overstock.com and Covidien, along with 200 other corporate sponsors, paid for the cost of producing the event. Also 2,500 volunteers helped. The Jimmy Fund is the charity that gets the money on behalf of Dana-Farber.
The bicyclists this year pledged a minimum $1,000 to $3,600 to ride depending on the route. Participants came from 36 states and 10 countries.
7 routes
With the opening of the 50-mile Wellesley loop this year, the bike tour boasts seven routes that cyclists can take, covering some 360 route miles and visiting 46 towns.
The routes — 1 or 2 days — begin or end in Wellesley, Provincetown, Sturbridge, or Bourne. The longest is the 192-mile bike ride from Sturbridge to Provincetown.
The next Pan-Mass Challenge is scheduled for Aug. 2 and 3, 2008. Regisration opens Jan. 8 for alumni and Jan. 15 for newcomers.
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