World’s Longest Charity Bike Ride Passes Through Shreveport

“The longest charity ride in the world.”

Texas 4000 is a non-profit organization “dedicated to fighting cancer by sharing hope, knowledge and charity. They cultivate the next generation to lead the fight against cancer through their cornerstone event, a more than 4,000-mile bike ride from Austin to Anchorage.” Every year a new group {60-100} of student riders from the University of Texas make the seventy day tour {4,687 miles, to be exact} from Austin to Anchorage.

The trip takes three separate routes. There is the Rockies {blue}, Sierra {orange}, and Ozarks {green} route. The Sierra route heads west across New Mexico, Arizona, Utah, Nevada and California. The newest route is the Ozarks. It passes through College Station, Houston, Little Rock, St. Louis, Minneapolis, and on into Canada, but not before its cyclists pass through Shreveport.

On Sunday June 8, 1/3 of the Texas 4000 team will ride through Shreveport, LA., stopping at the Shreveport Water Works Museum in Downtown Shreveport {142 N. Common}. Local cycling enthusiasts will be on hand to greet them with a reception, which is free and open to the public. Then the TEXAS 4000 Ozarks cyclists will make a short presentation about their cause and why they ride, sharing information about the fight against cancer.

The presentation will be followed by live acoustic music including the Street Rats String Band and Trash Can Jinga. Lagniappe Catering will serve up Chicken Sausage Jambalaya, and GoGreenly, will provide fresh vegetarian hors d’oeuvres, for as long as the supply lasts.

The 2014 TEXAS 4000 riders have already raised over $525,000 for the fight against cancer. This is the first year the group has stopped in Shreveport and we hope it becomes an annual occurrence. Not only do we hope to bring attention to the fight against cancer, and raise funds for both the TEXAS 4000 for Cancer and M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, but we also hope this event raises awareness of the many local cancer centers located in Shreveport-Bossier, including Christus Schumpert Cancer Treatment Center, Feist-Weiller Cancer Center, and the LSU Health Science Center. It is also worth noting that local cancer research projects and centers are eligible to apply for funds raised by the TEXAS 4000.

This event is organized by a collective group of cycling enthusiasts. Participating volunteers include members from many of the local cycling clubs and groups, including: LOCO (Louisiana Off-Road Cycling Organization), Team LaS’port, Shreveport Bike Club, SBC Bike Social and Sunrise Triathlon Club. Other participants include members of A Better Shreveport and You Know Me, which advocate for bike safety, bike lanes, and amongst other great causes, a generally bike friendly city. Flyers with more information can be found at area bike shops, including Bikes Etc., The Bike Pedaler, River City Cycling and Scooter’s Bike Shop.

Additional Info & Local Connections:

The Ozarks cyclists will arrive at the LA Exhibit Museum at 12:30 pm for a media moment in the parking lot in front of the museum portico with historic plaster frescos.

They will continue along the “Historic Texas Trail”, now known as Greenwood Road and Texas Avenue, into Downtown Shreveport.

One of the riders, UT student Austin “King” Baker, is the nephew of one of the local organizers of this event and his two grandmothers live in Shreveport.

The Ozarks cyclists will stay overnight in Shreveport following this event and will depart at 6 or 7 am the following morning to continue toward Anchorage, Alaska.
They are arriving from Carthage, TX, on June 8, and will be heading to Texarkana. TX on June 9.

The entire route can be seen on their website.

Local Event Contacts: April Dahm (318) 762-8946 or David Nelson (318) 426-0852

IMPORTANT: The day before is another event sponsored by the Shreveport Bicycle Club called the Heart of Hope! We are working together to make a full weekend of cycling and fundraising awareness… Click here for more information about the Shreveport Bicycle Club’s event.

by Henry Harbor

http://henryharbor.com/worlds-longest-charity-bike-ride-passes-through-shreveport/