The temperature is roughly 90 degrees, the humidity is on par with Florida weather, and now it’s time to cycle four 100-mile rides throughout central Ohio and conquer the infamous Reynoldsburg Road hill not just one time but four times.
Some may call this insane. Tanny Crane calls it the Legendary Four-Leaf Clover Challenge for her My Pelotonia ride.
Pelotonia 2020 is My Pelotonia
Tanny Crane and Caroline Worley at Market Square Finish in 2018
If you’re from central Ohio, you know Pelotonia, the 2008-founded organization that raises money for cancer research for The Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center – James Cancer Hospital and Solove Research Institute. After fundraising efforts conclude, a three-day cycling event takes place that brings thousands together. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Pelotonia organizers knew the 2020 event had to change.
“Bringing thousands of people together right now is a challenge, but bringing thousands of people together, many of whom have cancer, is an even bigger challenge because of their risk profile,” says Doug Ulman, president and CEO of Pelotonia. “We would never do anything to put people in harm’s way.”
Instead of a mass ride in August, the new My Pelotonia initiative is underway and runs until Oct. 31. The virtual experience allows participants to set their own fundraising and activity goals, whether that’s running, making masks or cycling every day.
For Crane, a longtime New Albany resident and avid cyclist with Girls with Gears and Pelotonia, this virtual experience meant setting higher goals – but she didn’t want to ride alone. When she pitched the 400-plus mile idea to her bike gang (as they call themselves), My Pelotonia suddenly became Our Pelotonia.
“That’s what we’re going to do, and it is insane,” Crane says, laughing.
That’s the beauty of My Pelotonia: there’s total freedom. Even though fundraising isn’t required to participate in the 2020 event, Pelotonia will still donate 100 percent of funds raised to the James. Plus, its pledging $1 million of that to investigate the impact of COVID-19 on cancer patients.
Ulman says this new, highly functional and interactive virtual experience will replace the old virtual ride that was merely transactional. Plus, having a year without the ride means when it does return, it will be better than ever before.
“This platform will continue on and we’ll add the ride back when we can,” Ulman says. “This also give us a chance to reinvent the ride. Next year, it will probably have a new route and aspects. We have this time, that we wouldn’t have asked for, but we’re trying to take advantage of the situation.”
Crane at Gambier Finish in 2019
A Pelotonia Legend
Prior to participating in Pelotonia, Crane says she was never a huge cyclist. When she learned about the grassroots movement, her philanthropic spirit shifted into high gear and she couldn’t help but join the cause. Every year, Crane raises about $15,000, and every year she matches that dollar for dollar.
“She continues to go above and beyond from a fundraising perspective,” says Ulman. “Her achievements on that front are legendary. Just through her own fundraising she’s raised the equivalent dollars to fund 20-plus research grants. ... We just feel so humbled and beyond appreciative of all that she does.”
Crane says fundraising for Pelotonia is rather easy since everyone has a cancer story and knows the importance of eradicating it. She simply sends out a large email to personal and business friends that includes recent statistics from the James as well as her father’s story, who died of lung cancer.
Crane says she always rides with her father in mind. When she sees cancer surviors riding, and when she rides alongside them, Crane is emboldened.
“When I’m riding next to men and women who have on the back of their jersey, ‘I’m a survivor,’ I feel like the pain of my two days is just a drop in the bucket compared to the pain they’ve endured,” Crane says. “Whatever anyone of us can do to help ... is so well worth it.”
As for riding, Crane says the second she started training she knew she discovered a new passion.
“The first year, I had never ridden 100 miles, ... so preparing for it was such fun,” Crane says. “Now it’s become an addiction; I love it so much.”
Tanny Crane with Leslie Paxton and Caroline Worley at the 200 Mile Finish at Bevelheimer Park in 2019
For the first few years, Crane rode with a different Pelotonia group and loved every moment. When she learned about the New Albany-based Girls with Gears group, an empowering all-women team founded by fellow New Albany resident Lisa Hinson, Crane made the switch.
“I’ve developed friendships with this amazing group of women. A lot of them are from New Albany, but not all; we’re from all over Columbus,” Crane says.
Crane’s longtime friend and Pelotonia buddy, Jim Coleman, is an honorary member of Girls with Gears. The two have ridden together since the beginning and she calls him an inspirational rider.
Regardless of what group she rides with, the physical and emotional sensations of riding hundreds of miles throughout Ohio are priceless. Crane recalls one of her favorite moments in the two-day Pelotonia ride, an aspect she’ll miss this year. It was the Sunday morning of the ride – always chilly and misty, Crane says, making the first portion of the ride crisp and relaxing. As she rode through the countryside, flying by hills and lush summertime plains, she could hear the clip-clop of Amish buggies as the church procession began. The riders and churchgoers smiled and waved at one another before Crane sped off with her peloton.
Crane her husband John Wolff and grandchildren at 200 Mile Finish at Bevelhymer Park in 2019
“The hairs on the skin just raised because it’s just so beautiful,” Crane says. “I would never experience that otherwise, right here, less than 100 miles from here, if it weren’t for Pelotonia.”
As the race concludes and the final miles stretch on, Crane says it’s all worth it when they enter Market Square and are greeted by hundreds of volunteers and residents. Even though that won’t happen this year, Crane is thankful that she can still ride and raise money for cancer research, which makes participating in Pelotonia a no-brainer.
“It’s easy to participate because just look in the face of someone who has cancer and just know that by participating in any way – whether you’re a volunteer, a virtual rider, or this year you’re running, walking, cooking, sewing face masks – that your efforts are saving lives. Period,” Crane says. “That’s all I need.”
Lydia Freudenberg is a contributing editor. Feedback welcome at feedback@cityscenemediagroup.com.
