How ‘My Pelotonia’ Removes Barriers to Cancer Research Support

As the COVID-19 pandemic continued into March, April and beyond, it became more and more apparent that it wouldn’t be possible to hold the annual Pelotonia fundraising bike ride on August 8 and 9 — at least, not in the traditional way.

“[Pelotonia board member] Cindy Hilsheimer said to me, ‘We will never cancel Pelotonia,’” says Pelotonia president and CEO Doug Ulman. “I thought, ‘What does she mean?’”

What Hilsheimer meant was that “the mission isn’t canceled, the work is not over and the need is even greater,” Ulman says.

Some outside-of-the-box thinking soon led to the creation of My Pelotonia, which allows participants to define their own personal challenges and fundraising goals, limited only by their imagination and creativity.

“This allows people to create their own journeys,” Ulman explains, adding that his Pelotonia is to ride from Columbus to Cincinnati, something he’s always wanted to do. “We’ve eliminated all barriers to participation in Pelotonia.”

There is no registration fee this year and no fundraising minimum, and the personal challenges don’t have to be related to cycling. Every dollar will add to the total of more than $211 million since the first Pelotonia ride in 2009.

Other My Pelotonia journeys include riding challenging hills and trails, exercising regularly as a family, performing 21 acts of kindness and writing 21 cards to James patients and doctors, getting at least five people to sign up for My Pelotonia and taking 100 walks with 100 different people.

The My Pelotonia idea had been discussed before but hadn’t been implemented because of the non-stop demands of the yearly ride. “In some ways [the COVID-19 pandemic] gave us the urgency to make My Pelotonia a reality,” Ulman says.

More than 8,700 people and counting have signed up for My Pelotonia, and when it’s safe to ride together again, the new format will likely remain as an option.

“My Pelotonia could replace the virtual rider platform and is another way how people can participate in Pelotonia without being on a bike in early August,” Ulman says. “We think this idea has tremendous long-term potential.”

Ulman provides all the details of My Pelotonia on our Cancer-Free World Podcast. Listen via the video player above and subscribe on Soundcloud.