FeedsTour de Belleville fundraiser is planned
Patrick and Diane Bruetsch want people to see Belleville from a bike.
And while they’re riding, they want to generate funds to help Andrew Valinski, a Van Buren Township boy who has leukemia.
“He’s a great kid and his dad, Chris, is a Van Buren Township officer,” said Patrick Bruetsch, owner of Bicycle Peddler in Belleville. “We first met him (Andrew) through an auction to benefit the family by donating a bike and decided to try and expand involvement by organizing this ride.”
The fundraiser—called the Tour de Belleville—will take place on July 26 with three different bicycle routes around Belleville, Van Buren Township and Belleville Lake.
“We’ve organized other charity rides before, notably the Torch Lake event to support the Chalfonte Foundation, dedicated to helping children with cystic fibrosis from Children’s Hospital to have summer and winter camps,” he said.
The Tour de Belleville will start and finish in the city offering riders three different routes from short to long. The ‘Family Loop’ will be 4 miles from the bicycle shop on Denton Road between Belleville Lake and the Harbour Club Golf Course, while the ‘Criterium Loop’ will be 7.7 miles, which loops around the eastern portion of the lake and back to town along a westerly path on East Huron River Drive to Liberty Street. The ‘Master’s Route’, which is 15.7 miles, will circle around the west half of the lake, along West Huron River Drive to Rawsonville Road, back along the South Service Drive to Quirk Road and includes the route of the criterion loop, as well.
There will be several carbohydrate and drink stations on the routes, along with ‘sag wagon’ volunteers to circle the routes while riders are on the course to pick-up anyone whose body or bike is not up to the ride they chose.
“Van Buren Township has also offered to have their bicycle rescue units available to ride the route,” Bruetsch said.
The Tour de Belleville event may also include a pancake breakfast hosted by the Belleville Rotary Club before the event and a chili cook-off for riders after they return.
The cost is $12 for a family ride, $20 for individuals around two longer routes or $100 per team. To participate or for more information, contact the Bicycle Peddler at (734) 697-8899.
