Buffalo, N.Y. (WBEN) - Although the official "Ride Day" takes place at the University at Buffalo this Saturday, June 22, for the 29th annual Ride for Roswell, the first official event commences Friday evening at the college campus with the Celebration of Hope, an opportunity for the community to come together in a rally against cancer prior to the ride.
"Today's our Celebration of Hope, where we really bring the spirit of the ride and really, why we ride and collect as a community to celebrate the survivors, the patient's currently going through their battles and the loved ones we've lost," said Andrea Gregory, director of Ride for Roswell.
The evening will feature family-friendly activities in a festival-style atmosphere offering entertainment, the chance to learn more about the research taking place at Roswell Park and an inspirational stage program. The event features:
- the arrival of the Peloton, a group of top fundraisers who ride 2-by-2 from Roswell Park to UB
- an Olympics-style procession of Roswell Park doctors, nurses researchers, patients and survivors
- a Parade of Teams, celebrating teams that have raised more than $10,000 this year
- the ceremonial lighting of the torch by this year’s honoree Kelly Englert Flak, a Roswell Park nurse and patient
This event is free and open to the public.
There will also be an optional dinner for $15 a person - click here for all the details including times and parking information.
This year, the Ride for Roswell will once again break their own rider attendance records, with over 8,200 riders signed up to ride on Saturday, this year's fundraising goals in $6 million for Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center.
"We are very fortunate and that number is very significant. We actually see about 65% of our riders return year in and year out. We have riders that have been doing it for 20-plus years. We have a really wonderful community in that way. And there's people that started riding maybe in their 20s and then they had kids and they bring their kids along now and we have grandparents that are riding with their grandchildren now that have rode for years so the community continues to support this event which is just so wonderful," Gregory noted.
Riders will start from UB every 20 minutes from 6 a.m. until 10:40 a.m. with routes ranging from four to 100 miles. The start line is on Lee Road and will be emceed by various Roswell Park leaders. The finish line is located on Hamilton Road near the Rider Team Tent Village and the lunch tent. View a map of the space here.
"There's nine different routes, all of them start at the University at Buffalo's north campus except for one. And there's a handful that go out towards the river. So Dodge Road and the Audubon are going to very busy places tomorrow, we just do ask that everybody out on the road keep an eye on all of our riders that are out there tomorrow and help keep them safe," asks Gregory.