Saturday April 14, 2012 The Cape Eleuthera Island School supported Eleuthera’s annual Ride for Hope, which raises money for cancer caring centers and cancer treatment programs. The Cape Eleuthera Island School has been supporting and donating to the annual bicycle race benefit since the very first race was organized by Stephen Holowesko and Susan Holowesko Larson, long time friends of the school. This year, The Island School and Cape Eleuthera Institute had their highest participation in history with 23 riders from both organizaions. The group collectively rode more than 1,200 miles for the cause. John Dennis the Principle Managing director at Woodrock and Co., longtime rider and Island School alumi parent (Grace Dennis Su’10), sponsored the jerseys for the entire team. The sleek, professional and fashionable shirts were marked with the iconic Island School mutton snapper, Cape Eleuthera Foundation sea star, Cape Eleuthera Institute conch, and Deep Creek Middle School sand dollar. Though coveted by non-riders, Chris Maxey asserted “You gotta sweat to get the jersey.”
This year also marked another exciting first: it was the very first time that the entire campus has picked up and headed down island to support the even. Forty-eight students and additional faculty spent the day organizing, moving bikes, marking down participants as they crossed the finish line, and of course, cheering! One Island School student, Peter Graham, biked alongside his Potcake Cycling Club and finished with 50 miles under his tires.
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Enjoy the following reflection from the perspective of a student supporter and Ride for Hope volunteer Dana Colihan: Everyone thought that waking up at 6:15 for morning exercise was bad, until we had to wake up at 4:45 on Saturday morning. After a quick granola breakfast everyone hopped in the bus and we were on our way to Governor’s Harbor. We were going to support Ride For Hope, an annual bike ride for cancer awareness. This year there were more than 600 riders participating from all around the world, riding from between 10-100 miles. There were around 25 Island School Faculty and CEI researchers biking in the race. While everyone else had professional bikes and shoes, our team rode on their own bikes and our rusty blue beach cruisers. The students were there to volunteer and help support.
I was put on bike check where we helped put tags on the bikes to send them back to Nassau. It was fun to be able to talk to the bikers as they had just finished the race. I asked them questions about how the race went, how long their ride was, where they were originally from. I talked to a man who had done the race every year, but this year he rode with his son who wanted to join him.
All the students really enjoyed cheering for all the riders, not just our own team. However, we went absolutely ecstatic whenever we saw the teal island school jerseys with the Island School logo come around the bend. Everyone particularly enjoyed seeing Maxey cross the finish line after riding 50 miles on the “Iron Horse.” The “Iron Horse” is Maxey’s bike that was originally made out of different old bike parts, but is now completely rusted out. It has basket on the front and a license plate on the back. It has one of those classic bike bells that he likes to ring as he passes you and shoots you that wild Maxey grin. Whether it was biking, cheering, volunteering, or getting free Ben and Jerry’s ice cream—everyone who went to Ride for Hope had a fantastic time.