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Batavia resident plans to ride bike across country raising money

By Maria Pericozzi

Doug Forsyth is counting down the days until he rides his bike across the country to raise money for cystic fibrosis.

On July 9, Forsyth, a Le Roy native, will be flying to Portland, Ore., where he will begin his 30-day journey, eventually ending up in New York City.

Although it was part of Forsyth’s bucket list to ride his bike across the country, he was inspired to take the journey and raise money by his best friend’s child, who is living with cystic fibrosis.

“It’s a terrible disease,” Forsyth said. “Kids are just born with it and there’s nothing you can do.”

Forsyth said he found a foundation, Claire’s Place Foundation Inc., that gives money directly to the families who have kids that have been in the hospital for more than two weeks.

“I heard from them and the money that I’ve raised already has been given to a family in Minnesota,” Forsyth said.

He has raised almost $4,000 so far through his GoFundMe page and donations made directly to the foundation.

His cycling mentor, Douglas Sawyer, from Ossining, will be riding with Forsyth. Sawyer will be raising money for traumatic brain injuries.

It will be an unsupported ride, meaning he will be towing a bike trailer filled with camping supplies. Forsyth plans on camping two-thirds of the time and getting hotels the rest of the way to wash up.

“I’m very excited about it,” Forsyth said. “I just hope I can have the stamina to do it.”

Updates about his journey will be posted on his Facebook page and donations can be made here.

Time to register for Batavia Lions Club Bike Tour

By Billie Owens

The Batavia Lions Club will host its Second Annual Bike Tour on Saturday, June 11. This year there are two tour options from which participants can chose.

In addition to the 32-mile “Tour Ride," a six-mile “Family Ride” will be available.

Check-in time for the 32-mile ride is 7:30 a.m. and 8:30 a.m. for the Family Ride.

The 32-mile ride begins at 8 a.m., and the six-mile ride begins at 9:15 a.m.

Check-in and the start of each event will be at the parking lot on the corner of Alva Place and Bank Street in Batavia.

Pre-registration postmarked by Thursday May 26 is $30. After that date, the registration fee is $35. The fee for all children under 10 years old is $15.

The first 50 riders registered by May 26 will receive a gift bag from our sponsors including an “official” ride T-shirt. All entrants must wear an approved safety helmet. All participants must be 16 years of age or be accompanied by a parent, grandparent or guardian.

The tour route winds through the beautifully rich agricultural area of Genesee County that surrounds the City of Batavia. There will again be water and snack stops, help if needed along the way, traffic guides at busy intersections, and emergency roadside assistance. The tour route is flat with very few hills.

The club's address is P.O. Box 456, Batavia, NY 14020. Email is batavialions@yahoo.com. Or contact Dominic Lovria at 343-7198.   

A bike tour from sea to sea (literally)

By Philip Anselmo

Maybe you've spotted them. They're more than 200 strong, and they rolled into Byron last night. From there, they left for Romulus this morning via Routes 5 and 20 through Avon. They're the cyclists of the Sea to Sea bike tour to end poverty. They're from all over the country, and Canada, too, and they've raised more than $2 million in their journey from the waters of the Pacific, just west of Seattle, to those of the Atlantic just east of Jersey City.

Many of the cyclists have kept a blog on their journey. Plenty of great photos—such as the pair you see here—can also be viewed on the site hosted by the Christian Reform Church.

How do I know all this, you ask? Well, I was over at the Holland Land Office Museum earlier this morning shooting the next episode of our history series with Pat Weissend—look for it this afternoon, it's a good one—when a kindly couple stopped to ask if I was with the local television station. Long story short, the Templetons are following their grandson who is one of the cyclists in the tour. They told Pat and me all about the race.

All 220 cyclists started in Washington on June 30, with their back tires literally dipped into the Pacific Ocean (see the photo below). Sixty-one days and 3,881 miles later at an average of about 72 miles per day, the cyclists roll to an end in New Jersey, where they will dip their front tire into the Atlantic Ocean. Unfortunately, they've already passed through Genesee County by now, and we didn't have a chance to catch them and maybe sit down for a video interview with some of the participants. But if the little bit we've told you about here has piqued your interest, as it has mine, you should check out the site and poke around. As I said, there are blogs and photos. There are also profiles of the cyclists, news clips, maps and a whole lot more. Much fun.

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