Park-2-Park 2009 Cruises to Success
About 40 riders completed their 400 mile trek across Montana September 7 - 11 in this year's fifth annual Park-2-Park Montana. Riders worked hard to reach their goals both on their bicycles and in their fundraising efforts. Throughout the week, CASA of Montana and the many Park-2-Park cyclists were fixtures in news channels across the state. See excerpts of the week's articles below.
For the People
Park 2 Park 2009 ~ One Riders Perspective
By David Lewis
It was Monday September 14th and I was waiting to catch a flight to Kansas City for a business trip. Technically I was back at work, but my thoughts were still on the previous week’s Park-2-Park ride. I reflected on the apprehension I felt when I stepped out of the cabin in St. Mary the past Monday morning and gazed toward the threatening skies to the south west. The gusts of wind in the night were so strong that I felt the cabin move on at least one occasion. At 8:00 a.m. the riders gathered for a ride meeting complete with a native prayer ceremony – we were in Blackfoot country. Never having been much of a spiritual man I stood just comfortably outside of the circle of riders that was called by Betty Cooper, a Blackfoot elder woman. Amanda Cooper sang a Blackfoot song for us. The haunting beat of the drum and the power in her voice drew me closer into the circle. I have no idea what the song meant, but somehow it struck me emotionally. I could tell that whatever she was singing, it was coming from deep inside.
David Lewis is a returning rider on the Park-2-Park Montana ride. To read more about his experiences on this year's ride, follow the link.
Park-2-Park Montana ride raises funds for the local CASA programs
Thirty-seven bicyclists traveled the hundreds of miles between Glacier Park and Yellowstone in the fifth annual Park-2-Park Montana, raising funds for and awareness of Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA) programs in Montana.
According to ride organizer Ellen Bush, riders from Montana, Colorado, California, Washington, Pennsylvania and New Mexico, raised nearly $40,000 as of Sept. 7, and hoped to raise at least $50,000 by the ride's end.
Read the rest at The Valerian.
Pedaling with purpose
Bike riding plays second fiddle only to family in Jeff Linton's list of priorities.
Up until two months ago, Linton rode close to 100 miles a week.
That changed when Linton and his wife, Kathy, both of whom moved to Helena just over a year ago, decided to become foster parents and welcomed a 16-year-old boy into their home. Now Linton provides transportation for his son to and from school and can't ride his bike as often to his job as a bicycle mechanic at Big Sky Cyclery.
Read the rest in the Helena Independent Record.
CASA's 5-day Park-2-Park bike ride fundraiser will cover nearly 400 miles
Five years ago, Ellen Bush, executive director of CASA of Montana, and the CASA director in Billings had the idea to organize a bicycle ride across Montana that would stop and visit with CASA programs along the way.
Eleven riders participated in CASA's first Park-2-Park ride, which covers almost 400 miles between St. Mary and Gardiner.
Read the rest in the Great Falls Tribune.
Charity biking between Glacier, Yellowstone
Dozens of bike riders are hitting the open road -, a lot of roads, in fact - to raise money for a good cause.
It's the Park-2-Park Montana Fundraiser, and it has 40 bike riders cycling between Glacier National Park and Yellowstone National Park.
Read the rest at the KTVQ Station Website. [Link no longer available.]
Last leg
Riders leave Livingston heading south on U.S. Highway 89 Friday morning, Sept. 11, on the final leg of the Court Appointed Special Advocates for Children Park-2-Park fundraiser.
See the photo at the Livingston Enterprise News Digest.
Long road to healing may be traveled by bike
LIVINGSTON - Many of the cyclists leaving Livingston for the last 56-mile leg of CASA of Montana’s five-day, 400-mile Park-2-Park fundraising trip Friday morning said they were doing it because they believed in the cause.
CASA is a nonprofit organization that provides court advocates for abused and neglected children. Many of the 40 or so cyclists hail from law enforcement agencies and said they’d seen first hand the effects of mistreatment.
“I believe in the organization,” said Joe Bryce, a former Billings police officer and CASA board member participating in the ride for the fourth year. “I’ve seen the abuse that kids go through through no fault of their own.”
Read the rest in the Bozeman Daily Chronicle.
