Dare to Ride

Global Down Syndrome Foundation Ride Team 2017

Support Our Courage Classic Champions

The Dare to Ride Team is organized by the Anna and John J. Sie Center For Down Syndrome at Children’s Hospital Colorado, one of the largest pediatric medical care centers for Down syndrome in the world.

Global Down Syndrome Foundation 2017 Team

WE NEED YOUR HELP!
Please support the life-changing medical care at the Sie Center for Down Syndrome at Children’s Hospital Colorado by joining our Dare to Ride Team and being a part of our fourth annual Courage Classic in Copper Mountain!

Become a Champion
Join the Global Down Syndrome Foundation’s Dare to Ride Team for the 2017 Courage Classic bike tour! The Courage Classic is a fundraiser for Children’s Hospital Colorado, and all money raised by the Dare to Ride Team will benefit the Anna and John J. Sie Center for Down Syndrome. Whether you are a recreational biker or a seasoned race pro, the Courage Classic has a course for you. Bike the 10-mile Route on Saturday, the 160-mile full route over two days, or select one of many options in between. All routes start at Copper Mountain Resort, 75 miles west of Denver in beautiful Summit County.

All registered participants will receive:
⦁ Courage Classic T-shirts
⦁ Breakfast on each of the tour days
⦁ Lunch provided Saturday on-route
⦁ Access to any of the route options
⦁ Fully stocked aid stations (approximately every 8-15 miles on course)
⦁ Full tour support, including sag wagons, medical first aid and mechanical aid
⦁ Rider welcome reception on Friday afternoon
⦁ Family entertainment offered throughout the weekend at Copper Mountain Resort
⦁ Rider Expo featuring sponsor booths, giveaways and the newest in cycling innovation

The 2017 Courage Classic Tour will take place from July 22 – 23rd.

Registration
Registration is $120 for adults and $60 for children.

Early Registration (Before Midnight, April 30th)
Adult: $95 | Child: $50

Late Registration (After May 1st)
Adult: $120 | Child: $60

Final Registration (After July 1st)
Adult: $145 | Child: $70

All registered riders commit to raising money in support of the Dare to Ride Team, with all team proceeds benefiting the Anna & John J. Sie Center for Down Syndrome at Children’s Hospital Colorado. The minimum amount that each rider must raise by July 22nd is $300 for adults and $125 for children, but fundraising will continue until August 31st, and the Dare to Ride Team has a fundraising goal of $50,000. Ready to sign up?

Step 1 Register on the Dare to Ride Team page in order to ensure that all funds raised support the Sie Center.

Step 2 After you register, you can set up your own personal fundraising page, complete with a photo, a personal message and more. Email your friends and family and utilize social media to gain support for your ride. Decide on your fundraising goal. Be ambitious – pick a number that will push you to network, get creative, and work hard to help. We suggest $1,000. For every $1,000 you raise, you will receive one entry into a drawing for the chance to win a prize! If you have any questions, please contact events@globaldownsyndrome.org or 303-321-6277.

Fundraising Toolkit for Riders Step 1: Decide on your fundraising goal. Be ambitious, pick a number that will push you to network, get creative, and work hard to help. Sometimes people looking at your rider page won’t donate if you have already reached your goal. So set it high. We suggest $2500.

Step 2: Contact the family whose child you are riding for. Ask them for a few pictures of their child and some details about their child and his/her experience at the Sie Center.

Step 3: Set up your rider page at Courage Tours. Include the child’s pictures. If there’s any delay getting your family assigned or your pictures, go ahead and get your rider page active without them. It is easy to update the page when you do get the pictures.

Step 4: Reach out to friends and family, through direct contact, emails, and social media. Make it personal; tell your story! Each of us will be riding for a specific child.  Some of you will be riding in honor of your own child, a member of your family or a friend, or a special patient you have taken care of. A few of you will be riding in memory of a patient as well.  This brings an individual child’s situation into focus; it’s personal! That’s what makes our team so special is that we honor our patients and their families individually.  Let your donors know how much these kids mean to us and how the money they donate will directly help us help them.

Why do you care about the Sie Center? If you or a family member were a patient, describe why you support the Sie Center. Include some details about the child you are riding for and how they were helped by the work of the Sie Center. Feel free to include the links to our inspirational videos.

Don’t be embarrassed in person to ask for support. Abundant research shows that people do not resent being asked to support a cause that you care about (it doesn’t bother you if a friend asks you to support their passion, right? It doesn’t bother people when you ask either!) Indeed, they are often honored that you thought of them in a generous way.

Step 5: Ask the family you are riding for to forward your request letter to their friends, family, and social media. Many of the families that we offer to ride for are brought to tears by the thought that someone is riding and fundraising to honor their child. They often don’t think to ask their network for support of your ride, but are happy to do so when it is suggested. Last year, some of our riders received more pledges from the families and friends of the child they rode for than they got from their own friends. The family’s network of friends knows the child personally, so they are often deeply grateful to have a chance to support the Sie Center.

Step 6: Invite the family you are riding for to come to Copper Mountain to cheer us on over the finish line on Saturday, July 22, between noon and 2:30 PM.