Published: August 24, 2008 10:59 pm            

FUNDRAISER: A whole lot of cyclists will be making their way through the Falls.

Nearly 200 cyclists riding to help end poverty — part of a nine-week trek from Seattle, Wash., to Jersey City, N.J. — are expected to cross the Rainbow Bridge in Niagara Falls Monday after a five-day sidetrip to Canada.

Organizers of the Sea to Sea 2008 Bike Tour said the group is scheduled to arrive on the U.S. side of the span about 10 a.m.

Of the 220 participants, 127 are riding the entire 3,881-mile distance while another 93 are riding for at least a portion of the route.

Coordinated by the Christian Reformed Church, an evangelical denomination with some 275,000 members in the U.S. and Canada, the tour provides a way to raise awareness and funds for people living in poverty in North America and around the world. A spokesman said the $1.5 million goal is designed to help end the cycle of poverty by partnering with Reformed Church in America and several other agencies to fund programs in job creation, education, and health services.

“Poverty is a big issue and it takes something like this tour to draw attention to it,” said the Rev. Len Riemersma, a cyclist from Willard, Ohio. “We serve a big God who is calling us to offer hope to people in what often seems like hopeless situations.”

The Sea to Sea cyclists are committed to raising $10,000 each, with others raising $4,000 each in various stages.

After leaving Niagara Falls, they will continue to Akron, south of Lockport and pitch their tents near Byron.

        

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