SIMI VALLEY : Officers Join Benefit Bike Trek to Mexico

Nine Simi Valley police officers have volunteered to participate in the first “Ride for Life” relay bike-a-thon this weekend, which includes a 420-mile trek to Mexico and back.

All proceeds go to the Life-Savers Foundation of America, a nationwide computer service that helps match potential bone-marrow donors with people suffering from leukemia and other blood diseases, organizer Richard A. McCoy said. The Life-Savers Foundation is based in Covina.

McCoy, a Simi Valley businessman, said he got the idea for the bike-a-thon after reading a newspaper article about the plight of 12-year-old Camarillo resident Amanda Chandler, who has leukemia. Amanda’s family has been unable to find a suitable donor for a bone-marrow transplant.

McCoy said he was moved by the story and wanted to help Amanda and others like her. “It’s a way of giving back,” he said.

The two-day bicycle ride, which is being sponsored by the Simi Valley Police Officers Assn., will begin at 5 a.m. Saturday at Sycamore Plaza shopping center.

The Life-Savers Foundation will set up a booth at the shopping center from noon until 3 p.m. to take blood samples of potential bone-marrow donors. McCoy said each blood test costs the foundation $75 and the purpose of the bike-a-thon is to raise money to pay for these and other tests.

The police officers association is taking pledges for each mile an officer peddles. The officers will take turns riding, but each of the nine is expected to peddle about 46 miles. They hope to return to Simi Valley by noon Sunday.

The officers are Joe Brimberry, Bill Daniels, Gary Howell, Joe Loneiro, Bill Lappin, Stephanie Shannon, John Sameron, Rick Reinhart and Butch Hale.