Livestrong Texas 4000, the world's longest charity bike ride, is set to hit Whistler on July 28 as part of their campaign to fight cancer.
The bike ride will reach its 55 th day when it gets to Whistler, over a third of the way on its 70-day journey that takes riders from Austin, Texas to Anchorage, Alaska. That's a 4,500-mile (7,242 kilometres) journey where riders press on through all kinds of weather including rain, wind, sleet, snow and heat.
"This ride comes with some obvious physical demands and perhaps less than obvious emotional demands," said Jamille Ruebsahm, Texas 4000 executive director, in a news release. "It's incredibly encouraging for the riders to be supported by the people of Whistler, and have the opportunity to share their stories about how they pursue this ride in hopes of living in a cancer-free society."
The team this year includes 45 student riders who began their trip in Austin with a 70-mile community bike ride called ATLAS. After that, the riders separated into two groups, Rockies and Sierra, following bike routes twice as long as the Tour de France.
The ride started eight years ago when a University of Texas student and cancer survivor was looking for a way to share a message of "hope, knowledge and charity" to people suffering from cancer. Texas 4000 has since contributed over $2.5 million to fighting cancer and over 350 people have ridden bikes for the cause.
Anyone interested in learning more or donating to the cause can go to www.texas4000.org.
