PEDAL for Kids benefit bike ride April 5

Fallbrook resident Krista Hogan is a woman with a mission. She loves children and decided that she wanted to develop an organization that will provide monetary assistance to the children of our area. So, she began a new organization called PEDAL for Kids (Participate, Educate, Develop, Achieve, Lead). She feels her 501(c)3 organization will help children succeed and thrive.

This fledgling company is still getting details worked out, but will sponsor a bike ride that Krista has dubbed “Avenue of the Oaks PEDAL for Kids.” Krista said that the proceeds from the event will be directed toward the local Boys & Girls Club, Fallbrook High School Interact Club and UNICEF.

The course will begin at Live Oak Park and continue on three different rides for 15 miles, 31 miles and 62 miles. “The courses are good courses, but hard courses,” Hogan noted. She is in the process of getting the courses approved by the county.

The money for the children will be raised through the ride entry fees; however, the riders will also be given the option of soliciting per-mile sponsorships.

During the ride there will be rest stops where the cyclists can stop for water, food and facilities. At the end there will be a barbecue, silent auction, music and even massages.

Krista said that she is now 37 and feels that it is time to give back to her community. She believes that she was spurred on to a life of giving by the example of her parents, Johan and Katie Haferkamp. (Katie passed away six years ago.)

“When I was young my parents taught me to give to the community,” she said. They would choose ten area families to bless with gifts. A visit to one of those families will forever be imprinted on Krista’s heart.

“One home had a dirt floor and no beds – that will be in my mind the rest of my life,” she said. Krista hopes to continue her parents’ legacy of giving with this bike ride she hopes will become an annual event.

Avenue of the Oaks is now looking for riders, sponsors and volunteers to help with the event. For further information e-mail Krista Hogan at [email protected].

A Web site for this new organization is currently under development and can be accessed at http://www.avenueoftheoaks.com.