Team WMMR Bikeathon Recap from Markus Goldman

Thank you Gary Brown, Sr. for this tremendous video.

Today is a special day. It is the day of the American Cancer Society Bikeathon, one of my absolute favorite days of the year. This year, being the 51^st of such rides. It is a day when everyone is united in riding to Atlantic City with the hopes to raise enough money to one day defeat cancer as we have all been impacted by cancer directly.

The WMMR family is quite incredible. They are passionate, active, loud, fun, real, and full of support for the community we live in. Every year, I'm blown away by what Team WMMR does annually in the American Cancer Society Bikeathon. It has been 18 years since Team WMMR began with nine riders. This year, we have 179 riders. In 2022, Team WMMR raised over $130,000 and received The Randy Weinstock Fundraising Award for being the Top Fundraising Team for Bikeathon in 2022. Team WMMR was also the top fundraising endurance event team nationally for the American Cancer Society in 2022. The Team WMMR Riders are special and reflect the soul of the station. A beautiful mix of people from all over.

June 11^th, 2023, the weather was perfect for the 51^st American Cancer Society Philadelphia Bikeathon. The Team WMMR Tent sits at the base of The Ben Franklin Bridge. Almost every rider passes the tent as they venture over the Ben on this glorious day. The energy is always Rock and Roll Electric before the 2000+ of us climb the Blue Bridge and descend into Jersey and on to Atlantic City.

As the sun was rising, the cyclists were rolling to the start point in preparation for the ride. We pulled up at 5:45AM. As always there is a lot of activity around the Team WMMR tent. The Team WMMR riders gathering to go over the bridge together as one big team in a sea of amazing teams riding together for the same reason. There is always the Team WMMR picture at the tent before the ride. A fun gathering of everyone together for a photo.

The energy was electric as we waited to cut the ribbon to ride over the Blue Bridge.



It was neat seeing all of the different Team WMMR jerseys as we were together in a huge group at the base. The start went smoothly as we climbed and descended The Ben. The cool morning breeze felt so nice during the first stage, where we arrived at the first rest stop Cherry Hill East.

From there, I connected with a large group of Team WMMR riders and we continued from there together all the way to the endpoint. Those riders were Vince Strausser, Bob Ievers, Chris Mogee, Brendan Stewart, Alan Sindoni, Dan McGlaughlin, Rob Wright, Eddie Robb, Steve Jenkins, Reid Jenkins, Scott Harstock, Steph Toffenetti, It was a magnificient ride. Not too hot, not too humid, and not too much headwind. Just beautiful. We stopped at each of the rest stops, with most people being excited about rest stop 3, Hammonton, where we get our uncrustables. Hahahahaha. The excitement for the uncrustables really brings out our inner child.

From there, we powered our way to the 4^th rest stop. Each stop along the way, we eat, stretch, refill waters/sport drinks, reapply sunscreen, make bike adjustments, and replenish our electrolytes.

Riding into AC is a blast. We ride the last five miles of the Expressway in the right lane. It's been repaved, so it's mostly smooth riding. The cooling headwinds weren't too difficult as we rode into the city, except for an occasional little gust. But we rode in as a large group and it was a thrill to ride with so many team members. We rode onto the boardwalk, and through the endpoint.

The endpoint experience is special. We have wonderful food, courtesy of some excellent food trucks. And, we have The Survivors ceremony, where we get to pay tribute to the cancer survivors involved in Bikeathon in some capacity. It's really moving.

Team WMMR Received the Randy Weinstock, top fundraising team award for 2022 for raising over $130,000 in 2022.

I need to thank so many people for their help, love and work to make Bikeathon successful. The volunteers all along the route were wonderful. Thank you for giving your time to make sure the riders were re-energized for the entire ride. The SAG Wagon drivers were awesome and very helpful. We had The Centurions and other motorcycle riders riding up and down the route to help ensure safety. The First responders in all the townships were so great in helping the riders navigate the route safely. The entire American Cancer Society Staff for their work and dedication to pulling the event off. The ACS Bikeathon Committee for being all volunteer and pulling bikeathon off. The people along the route cheering us on as extra motivators. THANK YOU ALL.

At WMMR so many people deserve MASSIVE THANKS. Eric Simon – Promotions Director for his continual support and help from start to finish. Todd Defeo, Asst. Promotions Director for making sure we have a promotional team at The Ben, Cherry Hill East and The End point. Greg Monaghan for his top shelf designs for the T-shirts, jerseys, and more. Bill Weston – PD and Chuck Damico – APD for their continual support of such a wonderful event. The entire WMMR Air staff for helping promote the WMMR Bikeathon on air and helping Team WMMR grow annually. Zack Morse for his awesome production every year.

Thank you to Wilson's Secret Sauce BBQ and Tamman Inc. for being sponsors of Team WMMR and the work they've both done above and beyond. The Promotions crew of Lauren, Colin, Connor, and Rob for working a long day to help in the success and fun of the event. I'm honored to be working alongside you all. And, finally, a special Thank you to my Co-Captain Vince Strausser. He's been a great friend and co-captain for a decade. Thank you for helping make this a great day for so many people. We ALL made a difference.

The ACS Bike-A-Thon has benefitted the American Cancer Society for 51 years. The annual event took place on Sunday, June 11, 2023.

As stated by the ACS, "At Bike-A-Thon, participants and volunteers come together to honor cancer survivors, spread the word about reducing cancer risk, and raise money to help the American Cancer Society save lives."

Riders begin in Philadelphia at the base of the Ben Franklin Bridge just after sunrise. They cross the river to the Jersey side to begin a long trek to Atlantic City. The ride includes small rest stops throughout South Jersey. The most experienced riders complete a course of 100 miles. (You might not want to complain as much on your next car ride down the shore.)

They reach the finish line set up on the Atlantic City Boardwalk just off the campus of Stockton University.

Team WMMR, and its 179 participants, is one of the top fundraising teams that participated in the event in 2023. You can still donate HERE (thru 8/31).

Our very own Markus in the Darkus, with the help of his co-captain Vince, organizes the team effort and participates in the ride himself each year.

MMR is proud to have helped the efforts of the American Cancer Society for another year with a fun event benefitting a great cause.