Cyclist may begin registering for the 2010 STIHL Tour des Trees’ first-ever Ride for Research (R4R), a one-day bike ride July 24 to benefit the Tree Research and Education Endowment (TREE) Fund. The Ride for Research is a 35-mile recreational ride through Chicago’s scenic western suburbs to raise awareness and money for tree research, education and scholarships.
More than 100 local riders are expected to join 65 STIHL Tour des Trees cyclists for the R4R, cycling the final leg of the 2010 Tour together. The R4R departs at 8 a.m. in Naperville and finishes around 2 p.m. at the Morton Arboretum where the International Tree Climbing Competition is being held. A $75 registration fee covers lunch, T-shirt, rider support, admission to the arboretum and a tax-deductible donation to the TREE Fund.
The STIHL Tour des Trees is the TREE Fund’s signature fundraising event, and America’s largest fundraiser for tree research and education. Proceeds from the 2010 Tour and the R4R will fund the scientific research, education and scholarship programs administered by the TREE Fund. Over the past decade, the Tour has raised more than $4.4 million for the TREE Fund, with nearly half a million dollars raised last year. This money supports a wide array of research projects ranging from improved disease- and pest-control methods to the development of technologies that will improve the survival rate of newly planted urban trees. The TREE Fund also supports research aimed at creating a safer work environment for tree care professionals.
The 2010 STIHL Tour des Trees is a seven-day, 500-mile ride beginning July 18 at Chicago’s Millennium Park. This year’s “Chicago Loop Tour” will show off some of northern Illinois’ top attractions and beautiful scenery before looping back to Naperville, home of the TREE Fund, where it will meet up with the R4R cyclists.
For more information or to register for the Ride for Research, please visit: https://treefund.org/tourdestrees. Registration ends July 17.
