FOOTHILL RANCH, CA (BRAIN) — From Giant Bicycle headquarters to Oakley headquarters, more than 120 riders wrapped up a three-day, 200-mile trip on Sunday to benefit the Young Survival Coalition, a global organization dedicated to helping young women diagnosed with breast cancer. As might be surmised from the start and end point, many bike industry insiders participated, including two-dozen Giant employees, Interbike's Justin Gottlieb, SmartEtailing's Mark Graff and BRAIN publisher Marc Sani.
Liv/giant, the women’s bike brand of Giant Bicycles, has been a sponsor of the YSC Tour de Pink rides for five years. Other Tour de Pink events include a yearly East Coast three-day ride that rolled in late September from Philadelphia to Washington, D.C.
In July 2010, the Tour de Pink took on a special significance for Giant employees when Michelle Weiser, Giant’s gear marketing manager, succumbed to breast cancer. This year Giant employees Eric Christianson, Ann Fischer, and Michele Benson pedaled the West Coast Tour de Pink as part of a team known as “Weiser’s Army” and raised more than $66,000 dollars.
This spring, Liv/giant produced a special road bike, the Avail Inspire, which was designed by Emily Gresh. The Connecticut woman won a design contest sponsored by Liv/giant and YSC that was open only to breast cancer survivors. Training for a YSC Tour de Pink event helped Emily recover from her cancer treatment; several bikes with the distinctive graphics she imagined were also provided by Liv/giant to a number of Tour de Pink riders so they could take part in the 2012 events. Sales of Inspire bikes and gear have led to Liv/giant donating more than $75,000 to the organization.
