| Karen Dolan rides in the Bike Relay to raise funds for cancer research. |
The MECCA bike club has been involved in several rides this summer. They began in April with their annual Swell Bike Festival held in Green River where they rode many of the trails and roads in the San Rafael Swell. Each of the community celebrations has seen a bike ride in conjunction with the festivities in their towns.The bikers also had an Emery County Fair bike ride on July 31. A new idea this summer has been the moonlight ride on the Swell, where bikers beat the heat by starting the rides at sundown.
On Aug. 28, the bike club met in Emery at 6 a.m. and rode throughout the county for a good cause.
The Riders Against Cancer pedaled to raise awareness and money for cancer research. They began in the wee hours of the morning in Emery. Gary and Jolene Petty sponsored the breakfast for the riders that morning. The riders continued on to Ferron and Orangeville. The riders stopped for a break in Castle Dale at Stewarts Market, where Wayne Huntington supplied the riders with a watermelon break.
The riders continued on to Huntington where they were served lunch courtesy of the UP&L credit union, KFJ trucking, Subway and Maverik donated cookies. The bikers started rolling along again and visited Elmo and then made their way back to Cleveland where dinner was served courtesy of Smiths in Price. Snacks courtesy of Wal-Mart kept the riders going throughout the day.
The riders are excited about next year’s ride already and have the date of Aug. 27, 2005 in mind. Jamie Jensen said, “We raised $2,800 for cancer research. This was more than last year and we are really excited about that. Cathy Sitterud and Debbie Wilson from the Emery Chapter of the American Cancer Society served the watermelon in Castle Dale. It was a really fun ride. Our youngest rider was 11 years old and she rode 50 miles. The route from Emery to Elmo spanned 62 miles and then we rode back to Cleveland.”
Bike the Swell Fall-2004, Mountain Bike Festival will be upcoming on Sept. 24-26 at the Wedge. Check-in will begin on Sept. 24 at 1 p.m. at the Wedge Overlook. A ride will begin at 3 p.m. After the ride, a spaghetti dinner will be held. The prize drawing will be held at 6 p.m. Riders can also check-in on Sept. 25.
Sept. 25-Breakfast at the Wedge, and then the rides begin from beginners to advanced. You will need to provide your own lunch and snacks for the rides. A dutch oven dinner with campfire stories will begin at 5 p.m. Possibly a moonlight ride after dinner, if the moon cooperates. Sept. 26 the riders will bike to the Buckhorn Pictograph panel. This ride is sponsored by the Emery County Recreation and promoted by the MECCA bike club. You can visit the website biketheswell.org for more information on the fall festival.