Author: Donna Ardizzoni

A Reason to Ride

Sunday, September 17, 2017
Liberty Tree Mall, Danvers

The 10th annual A Reason to Ride bike-a-thon will take place on Sunday, September 17, 2017 at 75 Sylvan Street in Danvers. Register today at areasontoride.com.

A Reason to Ride started out as a labor of love for brain cancer survivor and grateful Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC) patient, Tom DesFosses. Along with his wife, Judy, their close friend, Bob Barry and numerous grateful patients, friends, and family, they launched A Reason to Ride in 2008 to raise funds for Eric Wong, M.D., and the Brain Tumor Fund. Join us each year as we continue our efforts to support the critical research being done, leading to better treatments and someday a cure.

A Reason to Ride presented by Fuddruckers is an annual bike-a-thon with the option of 10- 25- or 50-mile bike rides through the north shore towns of Danvers, Beverly, Wenham, Essex, and Gloucester to benefit cancer care and research at BIDMC. The family-friendly event also features a trike-a-thon for kids, a Fuddruckers cookout, raffles, music, a car show, and much more.

Each year the ride draws an increasing number of riders, participants, and supporters and has surpassed its ambitious fundraising goals. In 2011, Tom and Dr. Wong expanded the ride to support other cancer areas within BIDMC. They recognize that cancer touches everyone’s lives in different ways and A Reason to Ride could continue to grow by joining forces with other grateful patients and supporting their personal connections to BIDMC’s cancer center.

Since its start in 2008, the ride has raised more than $610,000. These funds have supported research initiatives and lab researchers. Dr. Wong and his team of researchers recently completed and published research papers with findings that directly impacted brain cancer patients’ treatments at BIDMC and beyond. They also investigated the function of cerebrospinal fluid, the clear fluid that occupies the space around the brain and found that the fluid is an important channel for the body to send signals to promote growth and brain tumor development. The implications for how this knowledge could influence future research and care are yet to be uncovered, but the potential is exciting. Continued funding will allow research such as this to continue and could accelerate the discovery of improved cancer treatments and hopefully someday, a cure.

For more information on this year’s ride, to register, or to donate, visit http://www.areasontoride.com.