Let’s Hear It For The Boy!
Bo Mitchell

A small, but mighty, group of Riders took to the roads in support of the men fighting cancer in their lives and to remember those they had lost to cancer in the inaugural RE/MAX Results AttaBoy Ride last month. The Father’s Day fund-raising event used the Dakota County Fairgrounds in Farmington, Minn. as the start and stop location for scenic 9 and 23-mile routes. There were 39-mile and 60-mile routes planned as well, but flooding along the Cannon River washed out those plans. Nonetheless, Riders were free to pedal the shorter routes more than once in order to get their fill of biking and sweating for the day.

“With numbers for charity events being down across the board in Minnesota, we were pleased with our participation numbers for our first year,” said Kari Mitchell, Executive Director of Charity Events of Minnesota (the organization that produces the Ride).  “Because of the financial support we received from our title sponsor, RE/MAX Results, and other generous sponsors, it looks like nearly 100 percent of the donations raised will go back to the benefiting agencies.  Our participants also did a great job at fundraising and getting the word out about the needs of our beneficiaries.”

Open Arms of Minnesota, The Angel Foundation, Masonic Cancer Center at the University of Minnesota and Sage Scopes were the benefitting agencies of the inaugural AttaBoy Ride.  The Ride was financially supported through the sponsorship from RE/MAX Results, KFAN, FOX News, TDS Metrocom, Erik’s Bike Shop, FedEx Ground, NovaCare Rehabilitation and LifeImage.

“We look forward to hosting this event again on Father’s Day 2013,” Mitchell added.  “It was really powerful to see fathers and their children riding together and sharing with us how cancer touched their lives.  Father’s Day is a great time to come together and give dads their moment in the sun – so to speak – like moms have on Mother’s Day.” 

Details about the 2012 RE/MAX Results AttaBoy Ride will be posted in the upcoming months at www.AttaBoyRide.org. 

Next up for Charity Events of Minnesota is the fifth annual Hartford & RE/MAX Results Breast Cancer Ride.  Taking place August 4-5, 2012, this two-day bicycle ride raises money and awareness about breast cancer.  More than 300 people will participate in the 2012 Ride, which should raise over $300,000.  Benefiting from the Ride is Open Arms of Minnesota and Susan G. Komen for the Cure, Minnesota Affiliate.

Riders, Crew, volunteers and donors are still needed to make the Breast Cancer Ride a huge success again this year.  “Even though this Ride is more established, we are still seeing the national trend of lower-than usual participation affect us," Mitchell noted. "We’re relying on our dedicated participants to rally around the event this year and invite even more of their friends and family to support the Ride in some way -- whether on their bike or writing a larger check. Regardless, it’s going to be a great Ride and we can’t wait to hit the road!"

To learn more about The Hartford & RE/MAX Results Breast Cancer Ride please visit: www.BreastCancerRide.org

Article Published: 07-17-2012