March 28, 2022 – Camana Bay, Cayman Islands: Over 250 participants have already registered for 24 consecutive hours of cycling, walking, and running in the island’s third annual Ryde-A-Thon fundraiser on April 29-30. Last year’s event raised $100,000 for Cayman’s Acts of Random Kindness (ARK) and this year; organizers hope to raise even more for the Cayman Islands Crisis Center (CICC). Teams of 8 will take part in the challenge which involves a 24-hour relay at the Ryde indoor cycling studio in Camana Bay.
The Ryde-A-Thon kicks off at 5pm on Friday 29th April, continuing through the night and the early hours of the morning into Saturday afternoon, culminating in an exciting finale outside on the Camana Bay crescent.
The concept was the brainchild of Ryde instructor Michelle Fisher who took inspiration from a 24-hour running event she used to participate in with her father when she was a young girl. An avid athlete herself, she said “having seen the success of the event my Dad participated in and was so passionate about, I’d been looking to bring a 24-hour sporting challenge to the Cayman Islands for a few years – I was just waiting for the right time.” She found the reason she was looking for when her friends and fellow cycling enthusiasts lost their son, Leo, at just a week-old back in 2019 and wanted to do something meaningful in his memory. Leo became the inspiration for the event which aims to make a big impact in the local community in his memory. Maya Lewis, Leo’s Mum assists Michelle in planning the event and told us “After losing Leo I knew that nothing could bring him back, but I had to live life for the two of us and do his short life justice by making a difference to the community that helped us so much in our time of need.”
The Ryde-A-Thon chose to support the Crisis Center this year after hearing about their goal to raise $2 million to build a new shelter for both men and women who fall victim to domestic abuse. Ania Milanowska from CICC says the charity is thrilled to be chosen as the beneficiary and cannot wait to help make the event a success: “We are very grateful to the Ryde-A-Thon for choosing CICC to be the beneficiary of this fantastic event. Our current Emergency Shelter is not sufficient for the needs of our community, so our hope is to provide a new, purpose-built shelter, so that survivors have a safe place to recover and to begin their new lives free from domestic abuse. We encourage everyone in Cayman to participate in and support the Ryde A Thon this year and help us achieve our goal!”
Kelly and David Walker, Ryde Cayman owners, are delighted to be hosting the event for the third-year running having had to overcome the challenges of Covid restrictions to keep their business going over the last couple of years. “The Ryde community has become our family and we’re so excited to be doing the Ryde-A-Thon again with the help of our generous sponsors, Berman Fisher, FFP, Ogier and H2O.”
Every year the spinning element of the event sells out within a couple of hours – this year was no different with 15 teams pre-registering for the “Super Challenge” where team members have to complete 24 hours of walking/running and cycling – effectively 6 hours of exercise per teammate.
Registration for the Ryde-A-Thon is still open for walking and running teams and more information can be found on the website www.rydeathon.com.
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