ATV Cruise for a Cure

RENOVO – The fourth annual Renovo ATV Cruise for a Cure is sold out. Registration is closed. That is the announcement posted on the event’s website by the Bucktail Medical Center’s Relay for Life team. And that means come June 7the team will greet 249 ATV riders (180 machines and 69 passengers) who will have traveled from towns and cities across Pennsylvania to raise funds for cancer research while enjoying a 45 mile scenic ride through the mountains between the Susquehanna River and Kettle Creek valleys.

Riding organizations from places such as Wilkes-Barre and Allentown designate this as their annual club ride. The purpose of the ride, beauty of the mountains, excitement of the event, and chicken barbeque meal at the end of the ride rates high on their list of reasons to return each year. Sponsored by the Central Mountains ATV Association and sanctioned by the American Motorcyclists Association, the Renovo ATV Cruise for a Cure has quickly become one of the Bucktail Medical Center Relay For Life team’s most successful fundraisers.

The Renovo Fire Company kicks off the day’s activities with its popular pancake breakfast for riders and the general public. Participants will be shuttled to and from the meal by the fire company. They will begin serving breakfast at 6 a.m. Check in at Heritage Park opens at 7 a.m. The first of seven riding groups will be leaving Heritage Park at 9:00am. Until this year there have only been three groups. This year’s turnout created a need to add four more tour groups. Ride groups will start at the Heritage Park lot, loop around Renovo, and then proceed up Boone Road to Cross Fork . This year three rest stops at vistas have been added for photos and water breaks. Porta-johns are located at two of the stops.The half-way point includes a 30 minute break at Quiet Oaks Campground where the Boy Scout troop will have hot dogs and munchies for sale and riders can try some of the ATV games set up by the troop. The return trip take the riders into the headwaters of Paddy’s Run via Pfoutz Valley Road and back toward Renovo with a 15 minute stop at “the Flagpole” vista above Renovo. From there, it’s all downhill to Heritage Park and a barbeque chicken dinner cooked by the Renovo Fire Company.

The round trip will take about 4 hours and 20 minutes including 1 hour & 20 minutes for breaks. Groups will be departing every 15 minutes. Central Mountains ATV Association (CMATVA) trained guides will ride at the front and rear of each tour group. Renovo Fire Company will handle the communication and safety network for the event with crews stationed throughout the route and at Heritage Park. DCNR rangers will be available and along the trail to help with questions and traffic control. This year, bottled water will available at the stops. Washing stations will be located at Heritage Park and Quiet Oaks Campground. Heated showers will be available at Heritage Park. Washing stations, showers and porta-johns are provided by Quiet Oaks Campground.

Each year the community joins in the spirit of the event by decorating porches, businesses, and fences along the route through Renovo. The theme is “paint the town purple.” Posters from the American Cancer Society and laminated signs of honor and remembrance with names of local citizens who have had cancer will line Erie and Huron Avenues. Last year’s riders remarked on the impressive and sobering effect of this aspect of the ride. At registration, riders receive a commemorative rubber bracelet and t-shirt. Back by popular demand are the purple flags. For a small fee, participants buy flags and write on them names of those they wish to honor or remember. They then zip-tie the flags to their machines for the ride. Participants say it is quite a sight to see a line of atvs riding through town and along the wooded trails with all of the purple flags waving.

May is the month that the Cruise for a Cure committee kicks into high gear meeting weekly to fine-tune the event. This year’s record registration of participants required changes in plans for parking and processing a large number of registrants in a 2-hour period. Additionally, the event has attracted more vendors from central PA who plan to set up trailers showcasing ATVs and accessories. Last year a vendor was selling pink helmets with an embossed pink ribbon for breast cancer. A highlight in the vendor area this year will be the PAOHV (Pennsylvania Off Highway Vehicle Association) ATV simulator. This is a four-wheeler mounted on a hydraulic platform. It is used to teach safe riding practices.

Donations and sponsorships help offset the cost of promoting and running the event. The committee is pleased to see an increase in sponsors and donors this year. Sponsors are all listed on the back of the event’s t-shirts. The t-shirts are prepared and printed by Renovo business owner – Brad Casper. Donations are welcome at any time. All proceeds left after expenses are covered go to the Clinton County Relay for Life campaign to raise funds for the American Cancer Society. Donors and sponsors will be posted at registration.

The Renovo ATV Cruise for a Cure has joined the list of outdoor events that showcase the recreational assets and natural beauty of Clinton County. Like the others, months of preparation are bolstered by the cooperation and support of key individuals and organizations to make the difference in the level of the event’s success. Cruise for a Cure is Bucktail Medical Center Relay For Life Team fundraising event that is sanctioned by the American Motorcyclists Association with the Central Mountains ATV Association as its primary sponsor. Mitzi Gallagher, Legislative Aide for Rep. Mike Hanna, guides the two organizations each year through the state mandated permitting processes keeping them abreast of any changes in the process from year to year. Organizations and individuals contributing to the success of this year’s event are the Renovo Fire Company, DCNR district offices for Sproul and Susquehannock state forests, PennDOT, Renovo Borough, Leidy Township, Tom Charles, Renovo Rail LLC, Boy Scout Troop 137, Quiet Oaks Campground, Jim Watson – Clinton County GIS Dept., Clinton County Corrections Facility, and The Greater Renovo Area Heritage Park Association.