June 24 - July 8, 2019, Year 26, Issue 13 Box 603, Bonaire, Caribbean Netherlands, Phone (599) 796-4055, www.bonairereporter.com email:
[email protected] RIDE FOR THE ROSES Emergency road repair Real Madrid coming to Bonaire DeLoachs of Reef ID fame For the fourth year in a row, residents of Bonaire stretched their legs and literally traveled the extra mile, (kilometer), to support their neighbors suffering with cancer in the Ride for the Roses on June 23. Home for the “Roses” was Eden Beach Resort. The original event launched by cancer survivor and cyclist Lance Armstrong was held in Austin, Texas in 1997. The benefit cycle race was so successful that the idea caught on in Europe and other places around the globe. Curacao held its first “Ride” in 2005 and today it is the biggest charity event they hold attracting more than 10,000 cyclists. Bonaire adopted the idea in 2016 thanks to Ride for the Roses president Jursi Marshall and ORCO Bank’s John Soliano. Jursi Marshall said, “My grandmother had cancer and I just wanted to do something to help.” Marshall said he heard about the Ride for the Roses in Curacao and liked the concept. He went to Soliano with the idea and that was the beginning for the Ride for the Roses in Bonaire. The main idea is to get everyone involved in a healthy and fun way to raise money for the people fighting cancer. Participants ride, walk, run and swim in memory of someone they know that has had cancer or is fighting against it now.