Tour de Mitt: Join Bicyclists for a Benefit Ride

Bike Riders Invited to Join Final Leg of Tour de Mitt

(ST. JOSEPH) – For the third year, the Tour de Mitt, a Bike Ride for Hospice, will bring together bicycle enthusiasts, community members, and hospice organizations to raise funds and awareness for hospice care.

The ride will take place July 8 through 16 along a 450-mile route through Michigan, from Mackinac City to Stevensville. Bikers of all levels are invited to join in all or part of the journey. The final leg of the ride from South Haven to Stevensville will take place on Saturday, July 16 beginning at the First Baptist Church in South Haven, located at 1635 76^th Street. Registration will take place at 7:30 a.m. and the ride will begin promptly at 8:00 a.m. Those unable to ride can support the event by donating to the cause, with all money raised benefitting people in need of hospice care.

Community members are also invited to attend a celebratory cookout at noon on Saturday, July 16 to congratulate the riders as they cross the finish line at Caring Circle, St. Joseph, located at 4025 Health Park Lane. A fun ride for children will also take place during the cookout.

The Tour de Mitt is a special mission for Dawn Spoon, RN, a longtime registered nurse with Hospice at Home, a Lakeland Health Affiliate. Dawn’s goal during the first ride in 2014 was to raise enough money to provide a month of charity room and board at the Merlin and Carolyn Hanson Hospice Center in Stevensville. As news of the trip quickly spread and others joined her journey, Spoon has raised more than $20,000 over the past two years – with over $4,500 raised to date to benefit the 2016 ride.

Visit www.hospiceathomecares.org/tourdemitt for more information or to donate.