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Randy's Riders ready to keep the party going

The group Randy's Riders is hoping to keep the party going long after Meat Loaf has left the stage. The local charity cycling group is a on a mission to raise $100,000 for this year's Enbridge Ride to Conquer Cancer, and have fun while doing it.
Randy’s Riders
Randy’s Riders

The group Randy's Riders is hoping to keep the party going long after Meat Loaf has left the stage.

The local charity cycling group is a on a mission to raise $100,000 for this year's Enbridge Ride to Conquer Cancer, and have fun while doing it.

After a successful first Spring Fling, Randy's Riders will be bringing it back

for another year.

This time, the fundraising event will serve as an after party to the Meat Loaf concert when the singer takes to the Energy Centre stage on June 18.

“When the city announced there was going to be a Meat Loaf concert they wanted to do an after party because they know the concert isn't gong to be that long. They thought it would be a good opportunity for a group to use it as a fundraiser,” explained Darrell MacDonald, captain of Randy's Riders. “So we accepted that challenge.”

Comprised of 24 members, Randy's Riders has raised over $200,000 for cancer research since first participating in the Ride to Conquer Cancer in 2013.

In order to just participate, each rider is required to raise $2,500.

With just over $13,000 raised so far this year, the team has a long way to go before the August ride.

“Last year, at this time in July, we already had probably $70,000. This year is a lot harder; a lot of the riders are having a harder time. The corporate sponsors that we were getting from a lot of the companies, they're not donating this year,” said MacDonald.

To help make up where they're lacking in corporate sponsors, the group is hoping to bring in a large pot from the after party. In addition to the possible revenue from 900 tickets for sale, raffles, a 50/50, and alcohol ticket sales will give a boost to their fundraising efforts.

Keeping the party going long into the night is local band Mid Life Crisis and Cold Lake DJ Cory Friend.

“Mid Life Crisis, all of the band members I went to high school with. Last year they played for our first Spring Fling fundraiser, where we raised $12,000. They know how important it is for us and for them as well. Their families have had cancer go through...This will be one of their biggest gigs they've ever done,” MacDonald said.

He added, “Cory Friend, he is a high school student that I taught. His father actually had colon cancer, so when he overheard that we're going to do this he came up to me and said he'd love to be able to help out if he could.”

The Randy's Riders Spring Fling 2 'The Afterparty' will kick off at 9:30 p.m. on June 18 in the Energy Centre Reid Field House. Tickets are available at the Energy Centre, Hamel's Meats and Royal LePage. They will be selling tickets before the concert as well, but MacDonald noted they're hoping to avoid the bottleneck and sell out prior to the nigh of.

The after party isn't the ironly new fundraising initiative, though.

MacDonald is putting his house painting skills to good use to raise even more funds for the cause.

“I come in, give them a price quote, and then we paint. When we're done we take our iPad in and they do a donation to Randy's Riders. It's tax deductible, so it's like you get 40 per cent back.”

So far, they've completed two houses in Cold Lake and are waiting on a couple more to be finished construction.

While they're focused on their goal for this year, MacDonald expressed that they'll keep peddling year after year to do their part in conquering cancer.

“We do this because we're trying to fundraise for cancer, and specifically for the Alberta Cancer Foundation. There isn't too many families or individuals who haven't had cancer touch their family in some way.”

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