What was expected to be a simple bicycle ride to raise funds to support cancer survivors has received so much Skaneateles community support during the past three months that organizers have decided to make the event an all-day community festival.

From 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, July 14, at the grass field fronting the Skaneateles American Legion Robert J. Hydon Post 239 on Jordan Road, the public is invited to enjoy local food and drinks and live music while also supporting the ride and its participants.

“We’ve received such overwhelming community support that we’ve decided to share all the food, and Dusty Pascal and his pals have agreed to perform a free concert,” said Alive! Foundation co-founder Mike Wamp. “This is more than just a bike ride now – it’s turning into an all-day festival.”

The inaugural “Ride for Alive!” bicycle ride fundraiser, announced this past April and sponsored by the Alive! Foundation, will be a non-competitive 100-mile bike ride around Skaneateles, Otisco and Owasco lakes. The money raised by sponsors will benefit programs for cancer survivors in local communities.

“Our goal is to make this a memorable, incredible, inspirational and fun event for people to be a part of, and one they will want to come back and participate in for years to come,” said Julia Wamp, Alive! Foundation co-founder and cancer survivor, in April.

The Wamps, who live in Skaneateles, started the Alive! Foundation in January to educate and empower cancer survivors to live healthier, happier lives, according to the foundation’s mission statement. The organization plans to develop and fund programs in local communities to help cancer survivors to live well by focusing on movement, exercise and nutrition while promoting cancer survivorship nationwide.

In the three months since the “Ride for Alive!” was announced, the ride has garnered more than 100 participants and raised more than $60,000, with more riders, sponsors and donations coming in every day, Mike Wamp said. Some of the local sponsors include SkanRaces.com, Endurance Monster, Gazella Performance Studio, Byrne Dairy, Mirbeau, Johnny Angel’s and The Skaneateles Bakery.

So much food and beverage has been donated to the event by local businesses and the community has been so supportive, in fact, that the Foundation has decided to invite the public to come to the ride start/end location at the American Legion Post to participate even if they are not riding, Wamp said.

Food and drinks will be available from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., with live music from 2 to 4 p.m. by Dusty Pascal and Friends. The public will be asked to pay $10 per adult and $5 per child to enter and eat; riders and volunteers eat for free. All money raised from the public attendance will go directly to the Alive! Foundation to support its mission.

The “Ride for Alive!” will begin at 6 a.m. for check-in, breakfast and team photos. At 7:30 a.m., all cancer survivors participating in the event either as riders or volunteers will take part in the Lap of Honor around the American Legion loop driveway. All rides begin at 8 a.m.

Riders, participating as individuals or as teams, will have chosen to ride the 10, 25, 50 or 100-mile courses during the event. Each ride will highlight certain aspects of the three lakes in the area, Skaneateles, Owasco and Otisco. There will be aid stations every 20 miles with restrooms, snacks, drinks, first aid and bicycle mechanics.

All participants must get sponsors and raise money for their rides. Each distance has a required minimum amount of $500 for adults and $250 for students. There is also a registration fee.

For more information or to register for the Ride for Alive! event, visit rideforalive.org.

Jason Emerson is editor of the Skaneateles Press. He can be reached at [email protected].