Ride Ataxia 2014 Thank You

Dear Village of Channahon,

On July 20, the Friedreich’s Ataxia Research Alliance (FARA) held their 3rd annual Ride Ataxia Chicago charity bike ride in partnership with Outback Steakhouse, Carrabba’s Italian Grill and Bonefish Grill.  We welcomed 320 cyclists and raised over $66,000 in support of FARA’s mission to treat and cure Friedreich’s ataxia (FA).  Thank you to Ellen Macuiba, Kristin Knutson and Pat Fox at Channahon Central Park for allowing us to host our start and end event in such a beautiful park.  We are grateful to Galloway Elementary School for allowing us to utilize their parking lots.  Thank you also to Deputy Chief Adam Bogart, Sergeant Steve Weiss and their team at Channahon Police Department as well as Kendall County Police for ensuring the safe passage of our cyclists.  Our gratitude also extends to Rose Scofield at the Will County Forest Preserve, Don McKinney at Nettle Creek Elementary School and Tim Wallace Nursery for allowing us to use space on their properties for our rest stops as well as Jill Jackson at the Department of Natural Resources for allowing us to use part of William Straton Park and the I & M Canal trail.  Special thanks to The Bike Rack of St. Charles, IL for providing excellent mechanical support for our cyclists on the road, to the Holiday Inn Express in Morris for their overnight hospitality, and the Dunkin Donuts in Morris for their early morning coffee and donut contribution for our volunteers.  And thank you to the Village of Channahon for welcoming us so warmly for another year.  This year’s event marked record attendance, fundraising and route distances traveled for both our able bodied riders and our cyclists living with FA.  This is particularly significant because FA is a progressive neuromuscular and energy deprivation disease- making it even more challenging for individuals to coordinate movement and travel long distances under their own power.  Thank you for providing the setting for so many to achieve their personal athletic goals and for us to raise funds for research to treat and cure FA.

With gratitude,

Becky Young
Mother to Emily (18 year old, Diagnosed with FA age 12)
Ride Ataxia Chicago Organizer

Kyle Bryant
Ride Ataxia Founder/ Director

Felicia DeRosa
FARA Program Director