Why We Ride

My name is Ann and This is why I make Every Mile Count

The human body is a pretty amazing life form. But sometimes things don’t work quite right. Disease, genetics, injuries and sometimes the unknown prevent organs such as our lungs from working properly. Now we have a new threat to lungs and other organs: novel coronavirus.

The American Lung Association researches and combats these threats to our lung health. The more they can research, the more likely they will find solutions or remedies.

I don’t have a personal connection to lung disease but I ride for the overall wellness of everyone. As a cyclist I appreciate clean air. I need the American Lung Association as my advocate for lung health.

My name is Dana, and I this is why I Ride, year after year

The first time I rode was over 12 years ago. I remember biking it with Jeff when he wore a garbage bag for 60 miles hoping it would keep him dry from all the rain.  It was a fun, wet ride but back then, it was just a ride.

Now, it is more than a just a fun bike ride. I bike for my Mom. I bike in her honor, her memory and most of all I bike because I miss her so much and I know she would want me to keep on riding. Mom was diagnosed with lung cancer in 2010 after finding a lump on her neck. She never smoked, and it caught us all by surprise. She endured 2 rounds of chemotherapy and radiation that left her unable to swallow and burns on her chest.

Yet in 2011, my mom, a survivor taught herself how to ride a recumbent bike and we rode the Clean Air Challenge together.  One week later we found out that the headaches she was having on the bike ride was from brain tumors.

The radiation and steroids made her too weak to ride a bike in 2012, but that didn't stop her.  She still did the ride, in a car and she cheered for my brother and sister-in-law the first 60 miles and me the second 60 miles.  Of course, she enjoyed a victory ride margarita at the bar in Talkeetna. Team Nan was formed in 2013 in the memory of Nancy (NanNan) Ferrell.

Since then it has become a family and friends ride. Last year there were more kids on Team Nan than adults. Once again Team Nan will ride, so proud and strong, as we pedal in Nancy (NanNan) Ferrell’s memory.

Why We Ride — Team Renate Schnell

Clean Air Challenge was a ride and event that meant a lot to Renate Schnell. She first began riding in honor of her mother whom she lost to lung disease. Riding in the Clean Air Challenge also reminded her of when she did a bike trip across Germany with her brother. She kept riding Clean Air Challenge and bringing along her kids, co-workers and friends because she always had fun. Renate took pride in what she committed to, so she always made her best effort to be a top fundraiser, and she won a bike one year which each one of her daughters has ridden in the event since her death.

Renate's children, Dagny Smith, Chris Hill, Farrah McLaughlin, and Sabrina Hargrave have chosen to honor their mother's memory through the Clean Air Challenge, and along the way they've touched hundreds of Alaskans with their story and those of their many team members who have been touched by lung disease.

Clean Air Challenge happens on Mother's Day weekend, which is also Renate's birthday week, so it has become a family tradition to honor her by continuing her legacy of fundraising and cycling for the American Lung Association each year. All of Renate’s four children and their families, kids and all, along with dozens of friends have participated in this Mother’s Day tradition. In the years since Renate passed and Team Renate Schnell was created, they have raised over $300,000 for clean air and healthy lungs.