Coming in May, the Heart & Stroke Big Bike will be rolling through Vankleek Hill to support heart disease and stroke research. Now in its 25th year, the Big Bike fund-raised over $8 million in 2017.
What is Heart & Stroke Big Bike?
The Big Bike can hold up to 29 people for a 20 minute ride, and teams of all sizes can participate. The company or team name will be displayed on the bike as it rides through the streets of the community, steered by a trained driver and powered by enthusiastic fund-raisers. Riders are encouraged to raise a minimum of $50 each in pledges to participate; full teams are advised to aim for $3,000 to $4,000. Proceeds go to the Heart & Stroke Foundation in an effort to change one alarming statistic: every seven minutes in Canada, a life is lost due to heart disease or stroke.
The Bike will be coming to Vankleek Hill on May 3, 2018. Starting at 10am, rides will happen every half hour.
How to sign up
To register a team for Vankleek Hill’s Big Bike event, or for more information, contact area coordinator Michelle O’Shaughnessy at (613) 938 8933 or [email protected]. Teams will be provided with a kit containing step-by-step guidelines, motivating posters and recruitment flyers.
Reg Harden is already at working organizing one 29-person team. He says he has 10 riders already signed up from Beau’s, and himself. To join Harden’s team, visit: bigbike.ca and select join a team. Look for Reg Harden and then you can register for his team.
The minimum donation is $50 per rider. You can solicit funds from family and friends.
If you do not want to participate but you want to donate, you can also donate to a rider or a team.
The departure time from Vankleek Hill Collegiate Institute has yet to be determined; it takes about 20 minutes to complete the ride, which in previous years has departed at about 11 a.m. Plan to arrive 15 minutes earlier to tabulate donations.
Harden says he does this because of family health problems related to heart and stroke. If this team fills up, Harden says he will form another big bike team!
