Pony Express Tour '98
PONY EXPRESS TOUR '98
ONA HAZY SUMMER DAY IN the Big Apple, members of the New York Police Department stopped traffic to allow more than 30 motorcyclists to cross the East River through the Midtown Tunnel and travel uptown to BMW Manhattan. Normally blasé commuters watched in awe as BMWs, Harleys, Suzukis and Yamahas rode in harmony for one cause: finding a cure for breast cancer.
Organized by the Rochester, New York-based W~men's Mo torcycle Foundation, the `98 Pony Express Tour raised nearly $500,000 for breast-cancer research. This, in only its second effort (the first was in ’96).
BMW North America CEO and Chairman Henrich Heitmann said his company is committed to helping eradicate the disease. BMW has sponsored the tour since its inception, this time by donating eight bikes.
“The fight against breast cancer is of utmost importance for every citizen,” said Heitmann, who rode the New York leg to BMW North America’s New Jersey headquarters. “We do not just sign a check. We w'ant personal involvement.”
This year’s event began in June at the historic Pony Express Stables in St. Joseph, Missouri, and traveled more than 16,000 miles through 44 states, plus Toronto and Quebec. Approximately 900 motorcyclists participated. Those who raised more than $ 1000 wore pieces of a gold-plated horseshoe medallion made by sculptor (and New York Sirens Motorcycle Club President) Cheryl Stewart. The ride ended in August in Dallas, Texas, where the money was donated to the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation, the nation’s largest private funder for breast-cancer research.
With one in eight women diagnosed with breast cancer and 44,000 deaths each year, the Women’s Motorcycle Foundation hopes to raise even more money on its next ride, which is slated for the year 2000.
-Karissa S. Wang
