Find a helmet, grab your bike, and
for a minimum pledge of $30 sign up for Sunday’s (7 November) KiwaniBike.
This year’s event will also include
a KiddieBike race for children ages 7-12 and parents, starting at 8.30am, from
Smith Cove to the Cayman Islands Rugby Club.
Registration for that ride begins
at 8am.
KiwaniBike, now in its 29th year is
one of Cayman’s longest running sports fundraisers. Previously known as the Kiwanis
Bike-A-Thon, it has reverted to its previous name to make it stand out from its
many imitators.
The event, involving a scenic
20-mile ride from the East End Blow Holes to Smith Cove in South Sound, will
raise money for Cayman Heart Fund and assist up to 90 local Key Club and
Builder members so they can attend next year’s International Service leadership
convention in Orlando, Florida.
“I encourage everyone, young and
old, to participate in the 29th KiwaniBike this Sunday morning,” said club president
Wickert Weber.
“KiwaniBike is an important
fundraiser for the Cayman Heart Fund and for Kiwanis Key and Middle clubs,
which foster leadership in our schools. Cycle at your own pace, it’s a fun
event – not a race.”
First organised by the Kiwanis Club
of Grand Cayman in 1981, the ride always attracts hundreds of participants,
including entire families, groups of workplace colleagues and friends. This
year Governor Duncan Taylor will participate, as well as Miss Cayman, Cristin
Alexander.
CHF Chairman Suzy Soto said, “Upon
coming to Cayman in 1963, one of my most prized possessions, beside my three
daughters, was my bike! It took a month or so to get here and when it did, I
jumped on it with great glee and started riding on the South Sound sand road…
When we went to Colliers to live, we got bikes for everyone, by then I had two
boys… So bike riding is a passion of mine, it is one of the most wonderful,
healthy and fun sports.
“The Cayman Heart fund would be
very grateful for everyones’ support… Remember the heart you save may be your
own!”
Definitely one for early birds;
KiwaniBike participants will need to drop off their bikes at Smith Cove between
5.30 and 6am before taking one of the Kiwanis buses to the Blow Holes at
6.15am. All bikes will be transported to East End courtesy of Lemmie’s
Trucking, and the organisers will strictly enforce the event’s policy of ‘no
helmet no ride’.
With cyclists and their bikes
reunited and safety headgear strapped on, the KiwaniBike race will start at 7am
with individuals cycling at their own pace to eventually meet back up at Smith
Cove for an open-air beach party with plenty of well-deserved refreshments and
food.
As well having earned the
satisfaction of completing the event and raising a stash of cash for two local
causes, all participants who raise at least $30 in pledges will also get a
commemorative T-shirt. The names of riders who secured pledges of $100 or more
will automatically be entered into a prize draw to win the new bike ridden by
the Governor, thanks to Uncle Bill’s. Participants must be present when the
draw is made in order to win.
Workplace teams can also test their
mettle by competing for the event’s Corporate Team Annual Trophy.
Money raised will allow the Cayman
Heart Fund to organise free clinic screenings in the districts and will offset
the cost of attending the Florida convention by members of the five Key Clubs
at John Gray, Clifton Hunter, Cayman
Prep, Triple C and St. Ignatius high schools.
For further details on KiwaniBike, KiddieBike, the corporate team
challenge and to download any of the sponsorship forms, visit www.kiwanis.ky
Related Videos
