mesa bike tour HERE wednesday!
MESA Bike Tour to ride through Ashland
BY JEFF RUSST-G Staff Writer
Ashland will be filled with cyclists Wednesday when the Rotary Club of Ashland plays host to the MESA Bike Tour.
MESA ” Medical Equipment and Supplies Abroad ” raises money to send medical equipment to Third-World countries.
The tour is a 400-mile circle around Ohio that starts and ends in St. Marys. Ashland is one of six home cities.
The tour begins Sunday and concludes Friday, July 17. Between 3 and 4 p.m. July 15, the riders will arrive in Ashland for an overnight visit. Dennis Ragle, past president of the Rotary Club of Ashland, said riders will come into town through Center Street and gather at the Country Club of Ashland.
Most of the riders are Rotarians. One local rider, Marla Akridge, will participate in the Ashland leg of the tour.
Riders will spend the night at the homes of local Rotarians and leave Thursday, July 16 for Marion.
“They like to stay in people’s homes as opposed to hotels,” Ragle said. “They are cooking breakfast for them, and I did not know that was such a big deal; but the riders are excited to be having breakfast with the families.”
Since its inception in 2005, Ragle said the tour has raised more than $150,000. This year’s goal is $60,000.
The Rotary Club of Ashland will present a donation to the tour at a dinner for the riders Wednesday night, People can donate an exact amount and per mile and can be made to PO Box 630 Ashland, Ohio 44805. Overall, Ragle said everyone is very happy to have the tour stop in Ashland.
“We are honored to be selected as an overnight stop,” he said. “We feel like this is a very worthy cause. The whole thing is a lot of effort and lots of fun. It is interesting to meet new people and have them stay in your home.” via Ashland Times-Gazette.com -
