Rochelle Goldberg
The heat wave ended. The weather was perfect. The excitement in the air was palpable, as the 160 cyclists rode off on the glorious scenic routes of Maryland at 50, 25, and 10-mile challenges respectively. Sunday’s Sinai Lifebridge 9th Annual Bikur Cholim Men’s Bike a thon raised a staggering $205,000 with money still coming in hourly.
For the ninth year in a row, Bikur Cholim of Baltimore/LifeBridge Health Men’s Biker Cholim and After Party BBQ event was an overwhelming success, with more cyclists, more fun, more challenges, and more money raised. This laudable event was once again chaired by Mordechai Gottlieb and his committee of Liz Rothstein, Yaakov Berkowitz, Tzvi Feigenbaum, Noam Shiman, Akiva Goldberg, Eli Portnoy, Pinchos Rabinowitz, and Rochelle Goldberg.
The excitement began at 7:45 a.m. as the “50 milers,” pumped and helmeted, left the beautiful grounds of Ateres Elke followed by the “25 milers” at 9:00 a.m., and finally the “10 milers” at 10:30 a.m. The beautiful weather and scenic country-side routes made this the “most enjoyable and pleasant ride,” remarked one of our long-time cyclists.
Family and friends were on hand to cheer each group at the finish line with homemade signs and tremendous applause. Laughter, excitement and a tremendous feeling of accomplishment by cyclists and spectators pervaded the parking lot of Ateres Elke. After the ride, everyone enjoyed the lavish and delicious barbeque prepared by Yaffa caterers.
Master of Ceremonies, Rabbi Pinchos Rabinowitz, spoke straight from the heart in his remarks, explaining that just as a non-cyclist cannot fathom a person riding a bike for 50 miles, so too “we cannot understand what is going through the minds of those facing a medical crisis or the feeling of relief when after one phone call to Bikur Cholim, one knows that all his needs will be taken care of and he can just focus on his loved one-the choleh ( the person with the illness).”
Mordechai Gottlieb, event chairmen awarded the trophies to this top fundraisers: Bill Goldberg ($18,204), Avie Rock ($10,528) who was riding in memory of his dear brother-in-law, Yoel Benyowitz z”l,
Kenny Freidman ($7,562), SIC Team, Yitzchok Polsky, Gill Neuman, and Mahti Topas ($8,579) and our top mileage rider, clocking in at a mind-blowing 2,214 miles, Howard Shiman.
While the fundraising was incredible and is vital to continuing our Mission of Kindness, we are especially proud of the atmosphere of achdus (togetherness) as people from all over our community come together, cycle together, and laugh together for a great cause.
Bikur Cholim of Baltimore will utilize these much-needed funds to service the needs of the cholim and their families in our community. Please check our website at BaltimoreBikurCholim.org and get involved, there are opportunities for all, www.baltimorebikurcholim.org
As we turn the page on another successful Biker Cholim, we say thank you to our sponsors, thank you to our cyclists, and thank you to our volunteers for always enabling us to raise the bar! Start training for our 10th ANNIVERSARY Biker Cholim 2023!
Photo Credits: B. Ansbacher Photography
