How to Go
What: Strong Family, Strong Future Bike Ride
When: Saturday, starting at 7:30 a.m.
Where: The Depot Coffeehouse, 644 Miami St., Urbana, and checkpoints in Clark and Greene counties
Info: Registration fee is $35 per person, kids 13-and-under are free. Visit mrcmv.org or call 937-324-3064 to register.
A local marriage and family enrichment ministry will host a first-time bicycling event that uses the area’s extensive bike path to offer families a healthy bonding experience.
The Marriage Resource Center of Miami Valley’s newest event, the “Strong Family, Strong Future Bike Ride,” will be Saturday starting at 7:30 a.m. in Urbana.
“It came about through our own passion for riding and being outside,” said Lavern Nissley, the organization’s executive director. “It’s a fun, healthy family thing if you have right equipment. We thought ‘Why not build this into a way to support the work we do to help families?’ ”
The event is part of an increased fundraising initiative that the Marriage Resource Center adopted in November after losing a federal grant that had provided 85 percent of its funding.
So far, the ministry has been able to adapt to the funding loss, thanks to help from the community.
“We’ve definitely seen provision and support increase post-grant,” said Nissley. “We wish we had more certainty and could see into the future more, but it seems many of our programs have found funding with other local agencies.”
For example, Citi Lookout now runs a domestic violence reduction program that Marriage Resource Center had provided. Family and Youth Initiatives is funding the organization’s former high school programs. And Urban Light Ministries has provided a home for the group’s former fatherhood classes.
“We are so happy these have been able to continue,“ said Nissley. “And in a way, it has been to our benefit as it helps us focus more on what we believe our niche is, which is helping to build healthy marriages and families.”
Cyclists will start between 7:30-10:30 a.m. at The Depot Coffeehouse, 644 Miami St. Staffed rest stops with water and other aids will be scattered along the route until 2 p.m., and there will be one roving support vehicle.
The full three-county route is 34 miles one way, or 68 miles roundtrip. The first stop would be at Lee’s Chicken and/or Tropical Smoothies on Home Road in Springfield, making it a 12-mile ride. The second stop is Beatty Station in southwestern Clark County, adding 6.8 miles to the route. The furthest endpoint is Shawnee Park in Xenia, which adds 15.2 miles.
Registration fee is $35 per person, with kids 13 and younger free. A “ghost riding” option is available for those who don’t want to ride but still want to offer support at $20. Riders can also secure pledges for the ride, but they are not mandatory.
“We hope to see a lot of orange t-shirts on the bike path,” said Nissley. “Orange is a color that indicates urgency or attention, and many times healthy families get lost in the mix among many other great causes. This color says it’s urgent and it makes a difference.”
To register and/or for more information, visit mrcmv.org or call 937-324-3064.
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