Local children to ride bikes for kids with cancer

Matthew Knox, Journal Inquirer, Manchester, Conn.
·2 min read

May 8—SUFFIELD — The 12th annual Pan Mass Challenge Kids Ride will take place between 9 a.m. and 1 p.m. Saturday at McAlister Intermediate School at 260 Mountain Road.

Registration for the ride is open now online, and riders can also register between 9 and 10 a.m. the day of the ride.

Registration for the ride costs $20, and each rider will have to raise a minimum of $40 by Sept. 1.

Children ages 2 through 16 are eligible to participate, and there are two routes to choose from.

For younger children, a circular course will be set up at Suffield Middle School, with plenty of adult supervision.

Older children have the option of a longer route on Hill Street to the intersection with Russell Avenue. Both stationary and riding volunteers guide riders along that 5-mile route.

Following the ride, there will be food, music and a raffle.

In the past 11 years the local kids ride has raised approximately $450,000. Founder Chris Nikolis said he's hoping this year that total will reach over a half-million.

Nikolis, who founded the ride with his wife, said it's become a popular community event in town. Seeing all the kids lined up at the start of the ride is a highlight of the year, he said.

All the rider-raised funds go directly to adult and pediatric cancer research and patient care at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston through the Jimmy Fund.

The children's ride is based on the Pan-Mass Challenge, a two-day, 190-mile adult bike ride through Massachusetts that originated in 1980 and raises more money for charity than any other single athletic fundraising event in the country, according to its website.

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