Register now for Honor Ride Palmdale

PALMDALE – Registration is on for the Ride2Recovery’s inaugural Amgen Tour of California Honor Ride Palmdale, a self-paced, non-competitive ride to help raise funds for injured veterans, which will be held on April 6 at Marie Kerr Park.

The event is open to injured veterans and the general public of all ages. The ride is FREE to injured military, active duty or retired.

Participants may ride one of three distances – 20, 44, or 71 miles – all of which begin and end at Marie Kerr Park, 2723 Rancho Vista Blvd., in Palmdale. A 200-meter Honor Bike Race for kids ages 5 to 10 – with prizes – will also be held.

Participants may register at www.active.com/cycling/palmdalebr-93551-ca/atoc-honor-ride-palmdale-2013, or visit www.ride2recovery.com/honor_ride and click on the Amgen Tour of California Honor Ride Palmdale listed on the 2013 Schedule.

Registration is also available on Ride day beginning at 7:45 am, and the Ride will start at 9 am. Pre-registration is highly recommended.  Sponsorships and donations from individuals not riding in the event are also accepted.

Registration and packet pick-up will also be available on Friday, April 5, from 3 pm to 6 pm at Marie Kerr Park Recreation Center, 2723 Rancho Vista Blvd. The cost is $75 per rider, $125 per family with 2 adults per household and no limit for the number of children. The Kids Honor Bike Race is $10. Discounts are available for teams. Teams of 5 cost $60 per rider; teams of 10 cost $60 per rider.

A portion of the registration fee is tax-deductible and includes tech shirt, route slip, SAG support and rest stops. U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) helmets must be worn at all times by all riders.

“This makes what we do at Ride 2 Recovery very special – to be able to come to a city and help put on an event where there is tremendous community support and so many people, from the mayor to the city council members to all of the staff, who want to help,” said Ride2Recovery National Honor Ride Director Linda Glassel.

“Our goal is to have a fun, non-competitive ride that brings together families, veterans, cyclists, fitness enthusiasts and community supporters, all of whom are working toward the same goal – to raise funds and awareness for our healing heroes and to provide another means of rehabilitation for them, through the wonderful sport of cycling,” added Glassel.

The routes will follow many of the same streets that will be ridden by cyclists on Stage 3 of the Amgen Tour of California, which comes to Palmdale on Tuesday, May 14.

The 20 mile route will leave Marie Kerr Park, head west on Rancho Vista Blvd. to Ave. N; head west on Ave. N to 70th West;  continue north to Ave I; and return the same route back to Marie Kerr Park. The 44 mile route is the same, except riders will head west on Avenue I to 120th St. West; continue onto Fairmone-Neenach Rd.; turn left onto Munz Ranch Rd.; turn left onto Elizabeth Lake Rd.; and at the rest stop, return the same route back to Marie Kerr Park. The 71 mile route follows the 44 mile route, but continues on Elizabeth Lake Rd. to San Francisquito Canyon Rd., where riders will turn right and proceed to Spunky Canyon Rd.; turn left on Spunky Canyon to Bouquet Canyon; right on Bouquet Canyon to Elizabeth Lake Rd; and return on the same route back to Marie Kerr Park.

Volunteer and sponsorship opportunities are available. To volunteer, visit www.ride2recovery.com and click on “Honor Ride” then “Getting Involved.” For sponsorship opportunities, contact Stella Knight at 661-267-5699 or at sknight@cityofpalmdale.org.

High Desert Medical Group became the first sponsor of the event with a generous $20,000 donation.

For further information on Ride2Recovery, visit www.ride2recovery.com. For more information on the 2013 Amgen Tour of California, and to view the 2013 Amgen Tour of California map, visit www.AmgenTourofCalifornia.com, the City of Palmdale’s Web site, www.cityofpalmdale.org/atoc, or on Facebook at www.facebook.com/ATOCPalmdale.

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