465-Mile Bike Journey To Raise Money For Local SPCA

On June 22, Pennsylvania cyclists Mike Van Ryn and Viktor Ohnjec, members of the West Chester Cycling Club, will begin their four-day, 465-mile trek through New York with Ogdensburg as their destination.

The goal of the biking trip is to raise funds for SPCAs and other animal rescue organizations located along their route as part of 2010 Pedaling4Paws. Last year, the riders biked through seven counties in Pennsylvania and five counties in New York raising $2,000 from local donations.

"The ride started last year as an idea I had to ride my bike to the Canadian border. A friend of mine, Mike Van Ryn agreed to join me and when Mike's brother offered to contribute $1 per mile to the Chester County SPCA, we suddenly had a charity event. Within a couple of weeks, we hit the road and actually collected $2,000 for our local SPCA," said Mr. Ohnjec.

There were two reasons why Mr. Ohnjec selected Ogdensburg as their destination to cross into Canada.

"One is purely selfish. My trip to Canada, where I have family, takes me to Ottawa and later to Lachute, Quebec and Ogdensburg is such a beautiful crossing point and generally speaking not crowded," said Mr. Ohnjec. "The second reason is because of another West Chester Cycling Club member who moved up to Heuvelton and he's trying to get a more active cycling community going, something we're very passionate about, and he got his dog and cat from the St. Lawrence Valley SPCA."

"So it worked well at all levels," he added.

The ride will end at 1 p.m. on June 26 in Ogdensburg. Before then, the riders will stop at the St. Lawrence Valley SPCA on state Highway 68.

This year, the ride is an official charitable event with all proceeds going directly to local SPCAs on the route. With the help of online donation capabilities from those local SPCA/shelters, promotion of the event by local groups and participation in the ride by members of local bicycle clubs, the 2010 ride expects to draw significantly more riders and donations.

"As the ride was happening in 2009 and since then, we've been planning the 2010 ride and future years. Our first goal was to have local participation in the communities along the way. We researched the different SPCAs and animal shelters that we would be passing near and researched the local bike clubs and shops along the way and started reaching out to both letting them know that from June 22 to June 26, we'd be in their area," he said.

Through word of mouth, the Pedaling4Paws organizers have also been approached by other cyclists, both in Pennsylvania and New York, who have expressed interest in riding all or portions of the ride.

"We are happy to see that many more people are getting involved this year and that the ride itself is growing and hopefully with that the level of donations will also grow. Our intent is to get the local bike shops and riders to work with their local SPCAs/shelters to raise awareness," said Mr. Ohnjec. "Ultimately, we want people to ride locally, give locally and to benefit locally. Everyone wins."

The organizer said that they would like to raise the goal of the ride to $5,000.

If you like to learn more about Pedaling4Paws or to make a donation that goes directly to the SPCA, then log onto www.pedaling4paws.org.