South Mountain Park hosts ride in honor of Rob Dollar Oct. 23
Staff Reports | Digital Free Press
The 5th Annual Rob Dollar Ride, presented by the Rob Dollar Foundation, is from 6:30 a.m. to noon Sunday, Oct. 23, at South Mountain Park in Phoenix.
The Rob Dollar Ride, Arizona’s largest memorial bike ride, honors Rob Dollar who tragically lost his life on a bike ride when he was hit and killed by a motorist. To honor his wishes and legacy, Rob’s father John Dollar and best friend John Hogen started the Rob Dollar Foundation and created its largest annual fundraiser, the Rob Dollar Ride.
Cyclists in the Valley and throughout other communities will have the chance to participate with family and friends, as well as win great prizes and raise funds for the Rob Dollar Foundation, whose mission is to raise awareness of road safety in the cyclist and driver communities.
Rob Dollar Foundation ride
“This event is extremely significant to shed light on the importance of bike safety and enforce others to be mindful when they are on the road,” said John Dollar, president of the Rob Dollar Foundation, in a press release. “We are fortunate to host this event again this year in order to help spread the word and raise funds to increase road safety in the Valley and throughout the United States.”
The South Mountain Park is 10919 S. Central Ave. in Phoenix. South Mountain offers two main routes: one up to the “Towers” that is 14.8 miles roundtrip and the other up to “Dobbins Lookout,” which is 11.2 miles roundtrip. Participants are free to explore different routes or challenge themselves to repeat the routes as many times as they wish. The park will be closed to all vehicle traffic, except park officials/emergency personnel.
In partnership with WE-CYCLE-USA, the Rob Dollar Foundation is also offering a free kid’s bike safety course from 8:30 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. on the morning of the ride. Officials report the children’s ride is on a closed course that allows hands-on learning of the basics of bike safety, best practices and showing participants the correct way to wear bicycle safety equipment.
All participants of the Rob Dollar Ride safety course will be entered into a raffle drawing where they will have the chance to win a bike helmet or one of 20 new bikes donated by Walmart to the Rob Dollar Foundation. The bike raffle drawing is at 10:30 a.m.
