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Boys and Girls Club Plans Bike Tour: Event to Raise Money Encourage Kids to Get More Exercise

Posted on: Wednesday, 22 March 2006, 09:00 CST

By Brandy Brubaker, The Dominion Post, Morgantown, W.Va.

Mar. 22--INFO: Mountaineer Boys and Girls Club 304-292-7510 Mountaineer Boys and Girls Club plans to hit the pavement to raise money and encourage children to exercise. The group is planning a bike tour at 9 a.m. April 1 at Hazel Ruby McQuain Riverfront Park. The ride, open to the public, includes a competitive Triathlon Tour and two shorter pledge rides for children and adults. The triathlon runs 24.85 miles from north of Morgantown to Fort Martin, Pa. The adult pledge ride is for bikers 13 years old and older and will run on the Decker's Creek Rail Trail from Riverfront Park to the end of the paved trail and back -- a total of five miles. The youth pledge ride is for children 12 and under and runs on the southern portion of the Monongahela River Rail Trail from Riverfront Park to the end of the paved trail and back for a total of 3.6 miles. Mountaineer Boys and Girls Club Director Denny Poluga said this is the first year for the bike tour, which will raise money not only for the club but also for the Christian teen group Young Life. The groups hope to generate $10,000. Fund raising aside, Poluga said the event would show children the benefits of physical activity. "We thought it was a good time to get kids interested in exercise after a long winter," Poluga said. Poluga said Boys and Girls Club will continue the efforts after the bike tour by starting up a bike club for kids. Volunteer Coordinator Aaron Hawley hopes it will help. "It's hard to count the good things about getting kids exercising," Hawley said. "Getting them out and active is good for them on so many levels -- physically and socially." Poluga agreed. "We want to get them interested in something other than iPods and computers," he said. Mountaineer Boys and Girls Club serves 60 to 70 children a day at its Court Street location. The afterschool program, from 3 to 8 p.m., includes homework help, games, sports and exercise, educational classes, and, of course, playtime. It is open to all area youth ages 6 to 16. Pre-registration for the bike tour is suggested, although bikers may sign-up the day of the event. Registration for the triathlon is $20 per person. Bikers in the pledge rides will collect pledges per mile biked. All participants will receive a T-shirt and a water bottle. Pre-registrations will be accepted at the boys and girls club and at Pathfinder.

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Copyright (c) 2006, The Dominion Post, Morgantown, W.Va.

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Source: The Dominion Post (Morgantown, W.Va.)

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