For the second straight year, the Community Learning Campus (CLC) is holding a ride on stationary bikes to raise money supporting Olds College students' mental health, but this time, they hope to bike much further than last year.
On Jan. 25 and 26, members of the public are invited to come into the CLC fitness centre, located on the second floor of the Ralph Klein Centre, to participate in the Ride For Mental Health.
Stak Fitness, which provided equipment in the facility, will donate 15 cents for every kilometre biked. Shoppers Drug Mart is another sponsor.
Money raised will go toward the Olds College student emergency fund.
The event is part of Make Some Noise For Mental Health, a mental health awareness initiative organized by the Alberta Colleges Athletic Conference (ACAC). Olds College is a member of the organization.
One of the initiative's first activities was during a women's hockey game at the Sportsplex Jan. 17. They continue during volleyball and basketball games at the Ralph Klein Centre this weekend.
Steven Bowie, the recreation and special events programmer for the CLC, says last year -- the first year of the Ride for Mental Health -- it raised about $700.
"Last year we started in Olds and we tried to see if we could bike the equivalent kilometres of getting from Olds to Ottawa," Bowie says. "We came up just short. We got to about Sudbury (about 2,884 kilometres).
"So this year, I've extended it to two days. I'm trying to get us all the way across the country, from Vancouver to Halifax, so it's just about 6,000 kilometres."
"Anybody can come and participate," Bowie says. "Whether you have a membership with us or not, you're free to use the facility. As long as you come in and bike beforehand, you're able to do your workout or whatever for free afterwards.
"So it's kind of a good way not only to support the cause, but if you're interested in kind of learning what the facility's all about, you can come, participate and get your free chance to try everything that we have."
The Ride for Mental Health will run for the entire time the CLC Fitness Centre is open. Bowie says on Friday it's open from 5:30 a.m. until 10 p.m. and on Saturday it's open from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m.
