Finish line team

KNOXVILLE – The co-founders of Pedal for Alzheimer’s, Joshua Crisp and Michelle Brooke-Marciniak, presented $70,000 to the Alzheimer’s Research Initiative at the University of Tennessee Medical Center. The donation is a result of fundraising efforts from the 2018 Pedal for Alzheimer’s (PFA) event.

The check presentation occurred at the women’s basketball game on Sun., Feb. 24, when the Tennessee Lady Vols faced South Carolina in Thompson-Boling Arena.

This past October 7-17, a team of PFA cyclists completed 1,098 miles beginning in Knoxville, Tennessee, pedaling through the Great Smoky Mountains to North and South Carolina, down the Georgia and Florida coasts, and concluded the second annual event in Daytona Beach. The 1,098-mile team cycling event honors and commemorates Pat Summitt’s 1,098 NCAA wins as the legendary coach of the University of Tennessee Lady Volunteer basketball team. Formerly known as “Pedal for Pat,” this year the riders cycled under the non-profit 501(c)(3) brand of Pedal for Alzheimer’s, Ltd.

The event kicked off with a 65-mile day ride in Knoxville which welcomed dozens of local riders to join the team for the loop ride. The nine unique “1098 Cyclists” each represented a story and had a reason for committing to raise a minimum of $10,000 each and carry the mission of Pedal for Alzheimer’s in their hometowns in an effort to raise funds, spread awareness and education for the disease.

The goal was to “Raise the Bar” in the second year, and the team did just that by accomplishing a more difficult route, adjusting to natural disaster effects of Hurricane Michael, and shortening the ride to 11-consecutive days. Due to flooded roads and rainfall, the PFA team was forced to move one day’s ride indoors to spin bikes in Columbia, South Carolina, where they completed approximately 60 miles. The cyclists rallied and spread the remaining miles over the next days to be able to complete 1,098 miles.

“For the second year in a row, our team overcame challenges. This year, one of the ways we raised the bar was moving from a 12-day event to an 11-day event,” Crisp said. “That was already a more strenuous physical task, and unfortunately due to an interruption from tropical storm Hurricane Michael, our team was forced to rise to a new challenge and cover our miles in a different way. We were getting inspiration each day from Coach Summitt’s quotes and life themes, but moving indoors to ride on stationary bikes caused us to dig deep and reflect on the reason we were riding. We had no idea how difficult that would be because none of our team had ever pedaled 60 miles on a spin bike. It was encouraging to see everyone rally and rise to the occasion to reach the goal.”

For the remaining days, the team rode consecutive 130+ miles per day. This set personal records for each member of the team and challenged each cyclist to overcome mental roadblocks they had never faced.

“We had to endure weather and elevation and long mileage; however, as my beloved coach Pat Summitt would ask me, ‘do you want to be average or do you want to be great? I choose great. What do you choose?’,” Brooke-Marciniak said. “It was incredible to see the team rally and not back down to any challenge along the route.”

The cyclists, support team, volunteers, and sponsors are honored to have raised funds for the Alzheimer’s Research Initiative at the University of Tennessee Medical Center. Pat Summitt’s motto in life was “You win in life with people.” That is what Pedal for Alzheimer’s believes it will take to fund and fuel the necessary money and awareness to win this fight against Alzheimer’s.

“Pat Summitt was all about her family, her players, her University, her state and at the end, she was all about fighting her Alzheimer’s disease,” Brooke-Marciniak said. “Our organization is carrying on her legacy and we are proud to be able to issue $70,000 towards Alzheimer’s research at the UTMC in hopes of finding a cure.”

“We are grateful to Pedal for Alzheimer’s for choosing UT Medical Center’s Alzheimer’s Research Initiative as their benefactor from their 1,098 mile ride in 2018,” Dr. Roberto Fernandez, Medical Director of The Pat Summitt Clinic said. “This gift will have a significant impact on our ability to advance research in hopes of developing new approaches for early diagnosis, more effective treatments, and one day, a cure. We look forward to our continued partnership with Pedal for Alzheimer’s for this important cause.”

Cyclists who participated in the 2018 ride included Crisp, Brooke-Marciniak, Brandon "Monk" Feehery, Crit Life pro cyclist; Pam Bettis-Tanner, former basketball athlete and coach, breast cancer survivor; Chris West, a graduate of the University of Tennessee, Knoxville and director of Clinical Delivery Strategy; Matt Padgett, founder of Keystone Mortgage; Joe Graves, pediatric ear, nose and throat surgeon at East Tennessee Medical Center, Jonathan Williams, a U.S. Navy veteran, and Brandon Bruce, co-owner of Cirrus Insight. Mark Bottom, an inaugural Pedal for Pat cyclist, basketball coach and former law enforcement officer, and Debbie O’Connell, a former NCAA basketball standout and LPGA professional joined the 1098 Cyclists for the second half of the event.

Pedal for Alzheimer’s announces the dates for this year’s event that will take place September 29 through October 10, 2019 for a 1,098-mile, 12-day event. The team of 1098 Cyclists will be capped at 12 with additional 6-day team opportunities and a day ride open to the public in Knoxville, Tenn.

Event title sponsors include Solinity, SHEEX and Podium Sports Medicine. Hincapie Sportswear is the official designer of Pedal for Alzheimer’s, and the company’s co-owner, five-time Olympian and Tour de France veteran George Hincapie. The organization encourages interested individuals to join or sponsor the team, cheer the team on along the route, as well as sponsor a rider, donate in honor of a loved one or ride with the team for a day. Interested cyclists can sign-up at www.pedalforalzheimers.org.

For more information about Solinity, please visit www.solinity.com.