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  • Jim Rouge

    JIM ROUGE Riders, friends and family gather after the 2007 Ride for a Reason for awards and a raffle, above. At right, riders make their way on the various event courses.

  • Cameron Stewart, now 10, of Cameron Park won a bicycle for his fundraising efforts for the first Ride for a Reason. He's still going strong as a rider and fundraiser.

More Information

  • RIDE FOR A REASON

    • When: 8 a.m. Aug. 23 (staggered starts)
    • Check-in: Starts at 7 a.m.
    • Distance: Five to 75 miles
    • Where: Nimbus Flat (Hazel Avenue at Highway 50)
    • Registration fee: $65 general, $40 kids until event day
    • Rider limit: 1,000 people
    • Required: Helmets; children ride with a registered adult
    • Early packet pickup: 10 a.m.-7 p.m. Aug. 22 at Bicycles Plus, 705 Gold Lake Drive, Folsom
    • Registration and information: www.rfar.org, (916) 985-3991
    • Parking: Nimbus Fish Hatchery, Sacramento State Aquatic Center or, for a fee, Nimbus Flat State Park lot.
Outbound - Cycling/Hiking/Running
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Adventure of the Week: Ride for a Reason on Aug. 23 to raise funds for cancer, Parkinson's research

Published: Thursday, Aug. 14, 2008 | Page 3D

Up to 1,000 people and bikes will circle Lake Natoma on Aug. 23. But they're not just out there to get fit.

They're also donating thousands of dollars for research and programs to support survivors of cancer and Parkinson's disease via the third annual Ride for a Reason.

The ride will be held on the American River bike trail, starting and ending at Nimbus Flat. Distances and routes can be customized. Riders can do a 12-mile loop of Lake Natoma or continue up to Folsom Lake and back for an 18-mile total. Families can choose a five-mile out-and-back route. Experienced riders can do laps, with the last setting out at 11:30 a.m.

Some riders are survivors themselves. Cameron Stewart, 10, of Cameron Park will ride with his mother, father and younger brother. He was diagnosed with leukemia at age 2.

Most riders are donating through their registration fees. Stewart is doing additional fundraising. In fact, he's the top individual fundraiser after collecting nearly $3,000 through a readathon at Blue Oak Elementary School in Cameron Park, where he'll soon enter fifth grade.

"He came into our office, and he had this bag that must have weighed about 20 pounds just full of money," said Pam Whitehead, Ride for a Reason co-director. "It just kind of blows you away that someone who's 10 years old can do that."

At 8, Cameron raised more than $4,000 for the ride's first year. He rode his father's old bike in the event that year. He won a yellow Specialized bike that was just his size, said Whitehead, a 44-year-old who started riding after being diagnosed with uterine cancer in 2000.

She created the fundraiser with Folsom resident Lori Scheel, whose father died of cancer, and Parkinson's survivor John Crews, who owns Bicycles Plus in Folsom.

Last year's ride raised $70,000 for the Lance Armstrong Foundation, the Davis Phinney Foundation and the UC Davis Cancer Center's Triumph Fitness Program.

Riders earn chances to win raffle prizes by picking up tickets at checkpoints. The tickets also are sold for $1. Riders also get plenty of ride support, a goody bag, a T-shirt and an Outback Steakhouse catered lunch that starts at noon.

"This is a fun day for people, but you're doing something for a good cause," said Whitehead.

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