Tahoe bike ride raises nearly $4 million for leukemia society

Monday, June 5, 2000 | 8:06 a.m.

The Team in Training Century Ride raised nearly $4 million for the New York City-based organization, said event spokeswoman Holly Jespersen.

"The good news is that 75 cents of every dollar raised goes to leukemia research," she said.

Participants had to raise a certain amount of money to join the ride, which began and ended at the Horizon Casino Resort here. They cycled in honor of a leukemia patient back home.

Among participants were leukemia survivors and those who have lost family members to the disease.

"In some way, I see this as a small way to give back," said cyclist Brian Migdal, a leukemia survivor.

"I'm alive today because of research, and I'm raising as much money as I can so our team's honored patients have the same chance at life that I did."

The bike ride was one of 35 endurance events staged each year by the society's Team in Training fund-raising program.

Since its start in 1988, the program has raised more than $160 million for research to fight blood-related cancers such as leukemia, lymphoma, Hodgin's disease and myeloma.

Lake Tahoe straddles the Nevada-California border in the Sierra Nevada mountain range and is one of the world's clearest, deepest lakes.