Texas 4000 Bike Ride Goes Virtual

The Texas 4000 for Cancer 2020 summer ride has gone virtual due to risks related to Covid-19, according to a press release. Rather than embark on the annual 70-day ride from Austin to Alaska, the team of University of Texas at Austin students are putting on a virtual ride from May 29 through June 26, 2020, to raise awareness of cancer. Texas 4000 will broadcast live daily and invite the public to make ride dedications and join the riders cycling indoors as we share ride dedications, cancer awareness and prevention information, and feature stories of riders, individuals, families and other organizations engaged in the fight against cancer.

“The global pandemic has brought our communities, our country and our world to a standstill, but cancer hasn’t stopped,” said Scott Crews, Texas 4000 Executive Director, in the press release. “That is why the ride must go on. The global pandemic may have taken the 2020 team off the road to Anchorage, but it has not diminished our passion for sharing hope, knowledge and charity in the fight against cancer. The fight continues.”

This year, Abbott, the global healthcare leader, is the presenting sponsor for the summer ride, supporting Texas 4000 for Cancer’s efforts to help people and communities become more aware of preventing cancer for a healthier life. Keith Boettiger, vice president of Abbott’s neuromodulation business located in Austin, said, “We are impressed with the commitment of these young women and men to the fight against cancer. Their leadership in bringing cancer prevention education to people and communities across the United States is a service to us all. Even though they are unable to make their journey to Alaska this summer as planned, their efforts and dedication to raise awareness are not in vain as they continue the fight.”

For 17 years, Texas 4000 for Cancer has cultivated student leaders and engaged communities in the fight against cancer through the longest annual charity bike ride in the world, a 4,000 mile journey from Austin, Texas to Anchorage, Alaska. Each year, students from UT Austin begin an 18-month leadership development program, preparing their bodies, their minds and their hearts for this mission, which culminates in this life-changing journey. Collectively, riders have helped raise more than $11.6 million dollars, pedal more than 5.2 million collective miles and impact countless lives.

“The young women and men of the Texas 4000 have poured their heart and soul into preparing for the summer ride and it is heartbreaking to have to take them off the road,” said Megan Lueders, Chair of the Texas 4000 Board of Directors. “Yet I could not be more proud of the way that they have risen to the challenge, turning their disappointment into opportunity. They have quickly adapted to our new environment realizing the pandemic creates an opportunity to engage more communities and more people in the fight against cancer. We believe, together we can beat cancer.”

For more information visit, texas4000.org

Broadcast Schedule:

Monday, June 1—Friday, June 26

Weekdays:

Sunday – Tuesday: 7:30AM – Ride Dedications;

8:00AM – Cycling Program with Riders

Wednesday – Friday: 8:00PM – Ride Dedications;

8:30PM – Cycling Program with Riders

Saturdays:  7:30AM – Ride Dedications;

8:00AM – Cycling Program with Riders

5:00PM – Cancer Awareness & Prevention Talk

6:00PM – Cycling Program with Riders

ABOUT TEXAS 4000

Texas 4000 for Cancer’s mission is to cultivate student leaders and engage communities in the fight against cancer. Each year a team of dedicated University of Texas at Austin students complete a more than 4,000-mile bike ride from Austin, Texas to Anchorage, Alaska sharing Hope, Knowledge, and Charity along the way. Over the course of their 18-month involvement with Texas 4000, riders train, fundraise, volunteer in the community, and serve in leadership roles to help plan every aspect of the summer ride. The leadership development program culminates in Texas 4000’s capstone event, a 70-day summer ride – the longest annual charity bike ride in the world. Since 2004, more than 900 students have completed the ride, raising over $11.6 million and logging more than 5,257,500 miles – fighting cancer every mile. Find us at texas4000.org, instagram.com/texas4000, facebook.com/texas4000 or twitter.com/Texas4000.