The longest annual charity bicycle ride in the world, the Texas 4000 team, rolled through Newport Friday, July 4th

The longest annual charity bicycle ride in the world, the Texas 4000 team, rolled through Newport Friday, July 4th, just 35 days after departing from Austin on to their final destination of Anchorage, Alaska. While in Newport, the Texas 4000 Team will celebrate and share Hope, Knowledge and Charity with friends and family before continuing on their 70-day journey.

Seventy-nine, undergraduate and graduate, students from the University of Texas brave the rain, sleet, wind, snow, heat and will pedal over 4,500 miles in support of the fight against cancer. Along their journey, riders will volunteer at community events that contribute in the fight against cancer and visit with cancer survivors, patients, caregivers, and family members to make educational presentations about CANCER PREVENTION and early detection.

In its eleventh year, 79 student riders began their journey in Austin on May 31st, 2014 with a 70-mile community bike ride called ATLAS. From there, the riders head north, separating into three routes: Rockies, Sierra, and Ozarks as they CONTINUE on a ride twice as long as the Tour de France.

Texas 4000 has sent over 400 riders on their bicycles, traveling more than 2 million miles to honor those affected by cancer. Collectively, these riders have raised more than $4 million for the fight against cancer, funding cancer research projects at MD Anderson Cancer Center, The University of Texas Biomedical Engineering Department, and survivorship PROGRAMS such as the LIVESTRONG Navigational Services Center. To make a donation go to texas 4000.org

Oregon Coast Daily News. July 7, 2014.