The day dawned steamy and bright on Sunday, May 23, in the majestic mountain region of Lewis Morris Park, site of the first-ever ALYN pediatric rehabilitation hospital bike-a-thon staged in the U.S. Their legendary five-day “Wheels of Love” charity bike ride, with its 20-year history, is an institution in Israel.

Friends of ALYN Hospital, headquartered in Manhattan under the stewardship of Maayan Aviv, executive director, organized and coordinated the event along with the ALYN USA team of Deborah Rivel, director of development, and Davida Popik, arts and operations manager. They hoped the ride would draw 100 riders and raise $125,000. Instead, they attracted 160 riders, more than half from New Jersey, many from New York and some from as far away as Colorado, Connecticut, Los Angeles and Washington, D.C. Approaching the fundraising goal, the bike-a-thon topped out at $121,470—impressive for a first run!

The event was not a race per se, and the shorter-course riders arriving back first were Michael Ipp from Livingston; Liviu Goldenberg from New York (originally from Romania); and Jason Leinwand from Randolph. Some riders reported that they aborted the long course (60 miles) in favor of the 35-mile course, due to the high heat and humidity.

Jeffrey Grayzel, mayor of the Township of Morris, greeted riders at the start of the ride, earning him an official rider jersey. The ride was fully marshalled, and monitored in cooperation with the Morris Township Police and a private volunteer EMT.

By Ellie Wolf