SAN FRANCISCO – More than 120 cyclists are making their way down the California coast to raise money for athletes with disabilities.
The group is averaging 100 miles per day for a week, going from Santa Rosa to San Diego.
It’s called the Million Dollar Challenge.
Dig deeper:
Twenty-four of the cyclists have physical disabilities and use bikes adapted to their needs.
“We can’t go down to a local bike shop, it’s hard enough on the internet to find what we need. A lot of the time it’s custom manufacturing, adaptive sports manufacturers all around the world that make this possible. And it’s expensive because it’s custom,” said Josh Sweeney of Boise, Idaho.
Sweeney is a Paralympic gold medalist in sled hockey. He lost both of his legs above the knee while serving as a Marine Corps Scout Sniper in Afghanistan.
The group is raising money for the Challenged Athletes Foundation.
What they’re saying:
“If you look around you, you’ll see a lot of adaptive athletes, hand cycles, missing limbs. For those people to be active and get out into life through sport, it takes a non-profit like ourselves to bridge that gap,” said Dean Roeper, chairman of the Million Dollar Challenge.
The non-profit helps thousands of athletes each year, through grants for equipment, mentorship and a sense of community.
The cyclists get to give back to an organization that has helped them.
Army veteran Michael Smith, who lost his arm in a hit-and-run, credits Challenged Athletes Foundation for saving his life and many others’.
“When you serve 24 years of your life serving this country, then things start to crumble around you,” said Smith. “CAF stepped into my life and (said), ‘Recovery though sport is going to be your best way out of this.’ Because of them, now I’m putting my bid in for LA 2028 Paralympics.”
Ryen Reed, who was born with Cerebral Palsy, is doing her 4th Million Dollar Challenge.
She said the least she can do is give back to an organization that helped her so much over the last decade.
“People are so amazed when they see our bikes and what we can do,” said Reed. “When people see me go into grocery stores, they wouldn’t picture me being able to do this. In a hand cycle, we’re pushing with only our arms up these massive hills. It’s incredible, and it inspires me and makes me stronger to help the next generation or even other people older than me to realize we are capable and able.”
What you can do:
This race is set to raise over $2 million, and you can still donate at give.challengedathletes.org.
The Source: Original reporting by Amanda Quintana of KTVU