South Brunswick, NJ – A fourth bicycle course and the participation of a former U.S. cycling champion and rider for the U.S. Postal Team will highlight the 7th Annual Bike Ride for Amy on Sunday, June 1 in South Brunswick Township.
The ride, which raises funds to increase the early detection and treatment of breast cancer for uninsured women, begins at 8:00 a.m. (check-in at 7:00 a.m.). The cycling originates and ends at South Brunswick High School, 750 Ridge Road, Monmouth Junction, after passing through picturesque landscapes of Middlesex and Somerset counties.
Sponsored by The Amy Feiman Behar Foundation, this year’s ride for the first time will feature a 15-mile route in addition to the 25-mile, 35-mile and 50-mile courses, which are based on the proficiency of riders.
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The 15-mile is a flat subset of the 25-mile route, extending through South Brunswick and Plainsboro. The 25-mile is a mostly flat, relatively easy ride for all levels of riders, extending through South Brunswick, Plainsboro, West Windsor and Cranbury. The 35-mile course is marked by hilly terrain, and the 50-mile is even more challenging with 2,700 feet of climbing, featuring the Sourland Mountains. (Halter's Cycles in South Brunswick has graciously agreed to give a 10 percent discount on bicycle tune-ups to all Bike Ride for Amy registrants.)
Although the Bike Ride for Amy is not a race, The Amy Foundation is honored to welcome Eddy Gragus, who raced for eight years as a professional – three as a member of the U.S. Postal team – and who won the USPRO National Championships Road Race in 1996.
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“It’s an honor and privilege to support such a worthwhile event in terms of the impact it has on saving lives,” said Gragus, who began racing bicycles during his senior year in high school in Tampa, Florida. “I’m really looking forward to being there and meeting everyone.”
Gragus, who will participate in the 50-mile, is an all-around rider being able to sprint, climb and time trial. In 1991, when he was 22, Gragus moved to France and raced as an elite amateur throughout Europe. In 1994 he won the Tour of Yugoslavia.
“I’m so grateful to people like Eddy who are willing to give their time to such an important and wonderful cause,” said Arie Behar, President of The Amy Foundation, which was created and named for his wife, Amy, who died of breast cancer in March 2007 at the age of 49. “Over the past seven years, we’ve been able to help more than 2,000 women who lack the financial resources to be screened annually for breast cancer. We have ambitious goals for increasing our partnerships and expanding the number of women we can help in the years ahead. That’s why the Bike Ride for Amy is such an important fund-raising event.”
The foundation’s partnerships and programs began with Saint Peter's Medical Center in New Brunswick and expanded to include Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital in New Brunswick and University Medical Center of Princeton at Plainsboro. In addition to mammograms, the foundation also supports follow-up diagnostic services for women whose screenings suggest the possibility of breast cancer.
The Bike Ride for Amy does not require an entry fee, though each rider is being asked to raise a minimum of $140 -- the cost of one screening mammogram. There are several ways to contribute. You can register to ride, sponsor a rider or simply make a donation yourself by visiting the foundation's Stay Classy campaign page: www.stayclassy.org/7thRideForAmy. The site has been designed to make it easy for family, friends and colleagues to support riders by sponsoring their participation.
Riders who raise $420, the cost of three mammograms, will be entitled either to a Bike Ride for Amy cycling jersey, or shorts or arm warmers. Participants who raise at least $840, the cost of 6 mammograms, will receive both the cycling jersey and the cycling shorts. And riders who raise $1,260 will receive the jersey, shorts and arm warmers.
In addition, all riders will be provided with a water bottle and a Bike Ride for Amy T-shirt. Beverages and snacks will be provided at the start of the ride and at rest stops along each of the bicycle routes.
In the event of rain, a new date will be posted on The Amy Foundation website -- www.amyfoundation.org.
The Amy Foundation also welcomes corporate sponsors. Several companies -- Aaron & Company, Lackland Self Storage, First Property Management Solution and TriState Capital – already have given generously to the cause. Contributions to The Amy Foundation are tax deductible.
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