Special Olympics bike tour rolls through region

HARLEM VALLEY — The 22nd annual bicycle ride to benefit the Special Olympics in the Hudson Valley rode through the area on its nearly 200-mile CycleAbility Challenge Bike Tour (formerly the Bresnan Bike Tour) during the weekend of June 18.This year followed a new route dubbed both “picturesque and demanding” that went exclusively through the Hudson Valley, including through both Millerton and Amenia, on its way from Patterson to Kingston. Previous routes took the participants into Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont.All riders were required to raise a minimum of $1,000 in pledges, and this year’s 56 participants were able to raise roughly $100,000. All of this money goes to the Hudson Valley chapter of the Special Olympics.The Special Olympics New York, Hudson Valley Region is a nonprofit organization that provides year-round programs and services that help thousands of valley residents with intellectual disabilities gain confidence and build a positive self-image through training and competing in Olympic-style sports.According to one of the bike tour’s web sites, the event “was inspired by the camaraderie of its original participants and their desire to use their passion for cycling to assist people less fortunate than themselves. The tour is a personal challenge to the riders and has grown to be a tremendous benefit to its beneficiaries, having raised more than $4.2 million since its inception in 1990.”The site goes on to mention that more than 3,500 Special Olympics athletes from the Hudson Valley have benefited from the tour’s fundraising.Next year’s ride is tentatively scheduled for the second week of June. Everyone is welcome to participate, and sign-ups run from November to May. If you are interested in participating next year as a rider, volunteer or sponsor, contact Teresa Gilli, the associate director of development at the Special Olympics New York, Hudson Valley Region. She can be reached by phone at 845-765-2497 or by email at tgilli@nyso.org.

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