Tour de Fox, MJFF Fundraiser, Welcomes Cyclists on Aug. 28
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It’s been a long, evolutionary road for The Michael J. Fox Foundation’s (MJFF) annual Tour de Fox fundraiser, which kicks off virtually this year on Aug. 28.
The worldwide cycling event invites riders of all ages and abilities to put on helmets, check bike tire pressure, and take on the challenge of helping to solve Parkinson’s disease (PD), which affects more than 10 million people globally.
Again this year, participants may ride a course of any distance in their own neighborhood, or hop on a stationary bike. Registration deadline is Aug. 27. To get a welcome packet in time, participants must sign up by Aug. 9.
Registration for each adult rider is $50, and $40 for those age 16 or younger.
While fundraising isn’t required,  adult riders are asked to raise $250 by their ride’s end. All those who meet this goal will get a special cycling hat. Riders who raise at least $500 will receive a commemorative cycling jersey.
Thanks to an anonymous donor, money collected through event registrations and donations will be matched dollar for dollar, up to $20,000, this year. All proceeds will go to benefit MJFF in its efforts to accelerate research into disease treatments and a Parkinson’s cure.
Now an MJFF signature event, Tour de Fox began in 2015 with a coast-to-coast expedition headed by a former organization staffer, Sam Fox (no relation to MJFF founder, Michael J. Fox), the organization reported in a press release. That inaugural tour, which covered 14,000 miles, raised $2.5 million to support disease research.
Tour de Fox then became an annual event, with the MJFF hosting a series of fundraising rides across the United States and Canada. The evolution was inspired by the largest standalone event from the first tour — the 500-strong Wine Country ride — which raised nearly $500,000.
Between 2017 and 2019, the tour added new cities and revisited popular ride locations, and continued to grow as more riders signed on.
Last year, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Michael J. Fox Foundation had to reimagine the increasingly popular cycling series, transforming the in-person ride to a collective virtual ride that brought together cycling communities near and far. Some 884 cyclists participated — 597 of them for the first time. Riders participated from as far away as Australia and Germany.
For questions about this year’s event, send an e-mail to [email protected].
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