Claresholm council gets behind cancer fundraiser

By Mickey Dumont, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

The Town of Claresholm council has agreed to host the Texas 4000, arguably the world’s longest annual charity bike ride at 4,000 (6,437 kilometres) miles long, when it makes an overnight stop here on June 23.

It will be Day 38 of 70 days on the road for the riders peddling from Austin, Texas to Anchorage, Alaska to raise money to fight cancer. The cyclists are students from the University of Texas at Austin and rely on hospitality along the route to help cut expenses.

In Claresholm they will stay overnight in Centennial Park as the town’s guests.

“This is a fundraising cycling event that happens pretty much every year,” Town of Claresholm Chief Administrative Officer Abe Tinney said in introducing the information at council’s March 10 meeting.

“Claresholm is one of their stops and usually there’s 20 to 30 students that come through town,” he said.

The town will supply free camping at the campground and some showers.

“Also, administration will coordinate a backup place to stay, usually that’s the library, in case the weather’s really miserable for them. June 23 could be miserable,” Tinney said.

In past years the ride organizers reached out to Coun. Kieth Carlson to help coordinate the stop over.

Carlson, formerly a restaurant owner, “usually hosted them with a couple of meals, but he’s no longer out at the restaurant,” Tinney said.

“They’ve been in touch with our recreation manager to help coordinate, and I believe the (new) restaurant owners are going to work with them and provide a couple of meals,” he added.

Coun. Rod Kettles made the motion to allow the Texas 4000 group to stay in Centennial Park Campground for one night on June 23 for free of charge to support their cause of raising funds and awareness for cancer research. The motion also approved the use of the  and Claresholm Public Library to be offered as a bad weather alternative and for administration to facilitate their stay.