Charity bike rides earn big bucks for cancer research

Congratulations to the organizers and participants of this summer’s Obliteride, the charity bike ride for the Seattle-based Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center.

Finishers at Gas Works Park, Seattle

Because the ride is supported by deep-pocket sponsors, such as University Village and the Sloan Foundation, all the money raised will go to the cancer research center to fund research on immunotherapy, breast cancer and other solid-tumor cancers.

Registration opens in the spring for the 2016 Obliteride, which is scheduled on Aug. 14. Check details at the website.

The donations for 2015 make Obliteride the largest charity bike ride in the Pacific Northwest. There are other charity bike rides, however, that are larger.

The largest in the nation is the Pan-Mass Challenge, which has been rolling out annually since 1980. While organizers are still tallying the 2015 results, the group put 5,500 bicyclists on the road to raising $41 million in 2014 for the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute.

The ride features several mileage options with starts in Sturbridge, Wellesley and Bourne, and five finish lines in Provincetown (2), Bourne, Wellesley and Foxboro. The next PMC rolls out Aug. 6 and 7, 2016.

In the Midwest, the Pelotonia charity bike ride is posting outstanding results after just a few year. Founded in 2008 to raise funds for cancer research at The Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center – James Cancer Hospital and Solove Research Institute, the Pelotonia ride raised $21 million in 2014.

Organizers are expecting better results in 2015. They’ll announce the results at an event featuring Sheryl Crow at the Schottenstein Center in Columbus on Nov. 18.

Just like the Obliteride, big sponsors for Pelotonia and Pan-Mass Challenge ensure that all the money raised goes to cancer research.

Watch the Charity Bike Ride page for your favorite nonprofit; I’ve just begun the process of updating rides for 2016.