Local Bikers Raise over $90,000 for Charity

At the Bike MS: Tour de Farms 2012 over the weekend, , but there's little disappointment in losing when the team still managed to raise $52,517 for charity. Not bad for a bike ride.

While the team—made up of local bikers—was ultimately passed up by a couple of teams who received corporate sponsorships, they didn't ride away from the weekend without taking home some hardware. The team won the “Largest Team” (an estimated 120 Pedal Heads were expected to ride) and “Best Team Jersey” awards. And when the official awards ran out, team captain Vicky Tate issued her own awards to the team's top fundraisers, which were:

• Scottie Graser: $5,610

• Donna Granback: $3,275

• Steven Mayer: $2,156

• Kathy Ellingson: $2,140

• Victoria Tate: $1,975

• Tracey Ellsworth: $1,465

• Richard Truesdale: $1,275

• Karin Anderson: $1,245

• Anne Johlie: $1,225

• Robert Reininga: $1,085

The top fundraisers weren't the only ones receiving praise from Tate, who had a lot to say about the local sponsors that helped the team out.

“I would love to give a plug to Good Samaritan Health and Wellness Center for providing the funds for our awesome team tent, to the who gave our team a donation that helped us provide the supplies for the tent and for Spokes who gave our team a discount on bike stuff and held a bike maintenance seminar,” Tate said.

The Psyclomaniacs, another bike team based out of Downers Grove, raised $39,284, with their team captain Scott Burstein raising an astounding $16,503 on his own. Burstein works at and Tate works at the Good Sam Wellness Center, and Tate said the two teams have had a fundraising rivalry for years.

To see more photos of the event, or to learn more about The Pedal Heads, visit their Facebook page here.