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Trek Donates Custom-Built Bike to Pendle Hill's Recruitment Coordinator for MS Research Ride
Darlene Walker, Pendle Hill's Director of Admissions and Recruitment, is a 57-year-old grandmother of five. For the past three years, she has participated in the Multiple Sclerosis 150 City to Shore Bike Tour, riding 157.6 miles to raise awareness and funds for MS research.
What motivates her? "I complete this ride each year with dedication and enthusiasm to honor my friends and family who are MS survivors…who live with the challenges that this disease presents every day of their lives," Darlene says. In order to take part in the Tour each September, she puts in 1500 to 2000 training miles before the event. In September 2006 many members of the Pendle Hill community provided support for Darlene's ride.
In the past Darlene has cycled on a 10-year-old hybrid bike, despite how hard it has been for her to pedal up hills and across bridges. When Nancy Saunders (a Pendle Hill spiritual nurturer and wife of Bookstore Manager Hill Felder) heard this, she wrote to Trek, sharing Darlene's story and the reasons for her ride. Trek was so impressed that they gave Darlene the bike of her dreams. This bike - state-of-the-art and bright pink - was unveiled at Pendle Hill on February 6.
The 2007 Tour is scheduled for September 29-30, round-trip from Cherry Hill to Ocean City, New Jersey. Darlene is looking forward to participating on her new bike. She says, "I will ride each mile in honor of my friends and family - making my way to Ocean City and back to Cherry Hill, one pedal at a time." She is grateful to Trek and to the Pendle Hill community for their support in the effort to find a cure for Multiple Sclerosis.
