New York bike race hopes to raise US$1m

Full tuition college scholarships for 100 NYC students

Published: August 19, 2009 at 11:36 pm

The September 12 "City to Sand" 100-mile bike race begins on the streets of New York City and ends in the sand of The Hamptons. The goal is to to raise US$1,000,000 to provide full tuition college scholarships for 100 qualified inner-city New York City students.

The brainchild of Marquis Jet co-founder and New Yorker Jesse Itzler, the "City to Sand" bike race will benefit select students who will receive four-year full tuition scholarships at CUNY colleges through The 100 Mile Man Scholarship Fund and the Fund for Public Schools.

"I want people to be challenged and to get out of their daily comfort zone," Itzler said. "In today's climate, I knew we needed something with a 'wow' factor to generate attention for our foundation."

The race will begin on 7:30 am on Saturday, September 12 at Conrad’s Bike Shop at 25 Tudor City Place in Manhattan and will conclude at Docker’s Restaurant in East Quogue.

Itzler created "The 100 Mile Man" Fund in November of 2006 when after running 100 miles non-stop in under 24 hours and raising over US$1.4 million dollars for a variety of charitable causes. Since then, Itzler has created ultra-endurance type events to be used as fund-raisers for the fund.

According to Itzler, rest stops will be approximately every 20 miles with a full blown lunch stop at the third stop at about 60 miles. Food, drinks, bathrooms, medical aid and mechanical assistance will be available at each stop.

"At any point during the ride if a rider is feeling like they can't continue, they'll be "moved along" to a point that’s close enough to the finish, so that if they'd like they can get out and continue to ride and cross the finish line with the rest of us," he explained. "The race will feature many very experienced cyclists to provide riders with all the necessary motivation, encouragement and technical support."

Upon finishing in The Hamptons all riders will receive a special participatory medal and enjoy food, drink and relax with new friends.

For more information, visit www.the100mileman.com.