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By
Katie Scarvey
Salisbury Post
Sunday's cyclocross race at
Salisbury Community Park will benefit Adam Haynes, a North Carolina
State student who was paralyzed in a July 4th boating accident.
Haynes is currently in a rehabilitation program at the Shepherd
Center in Atlanta.
Cyclocross racer Charlie
Brown had read about Adam's courageous rehab efforts in the Post; as
a cyclist, he was particularly fascinated by Haynes' use of a
special bike to help him recover the use of his leg muscles.
His teammate Kerry Shields,
one of the founders of the Carolina Masters Cycling Team, which
coordinates the major cycling events in Salisbury, had also heard
about Haynes through his connection with Salisbury High School.
Shields' daughters,
Katherine and Emily, who are on the cross country team at Salisbury
High School, knew that their teammate Allie Wagner was exploring the
possibility of the Key Club sponsoring a 5K race to benefit Haynes,
who is a graduate of Salisbury High. Haynes' mother, Debbie, is a
teacher at Salisbury High, although she is currently on unpaid leave
so she can be with her son in Atlanta.
When Shields heard about
Wagner's plans, it gave him an idea — his team, Carolina Masters
Cycling, was sponsoring a North Carolina Cyclocross Series race at
Salisbury Community Park. Why not get the Key Club involved in that
and let them donate the event proceeds to the Haynes family?
He talked to Brown, who
thought it was a great idea — as did Wagner and the Key Club — so
this Sunday's cyclocross event, besides being a great family event
to participate in or watch, will help Haynes continue his
rehabilitation at the Shepherd Center.
"We feel good about this,"
Shields says. He believes the event could raise between $500 and
$1,000.
Through their sponsorship of
recent races this year, including the City Park Criterium and the
Third Annual Downtown Salisbury Criterium, the Carolina Masters
Cycling Team has also raised money for several other causes,
including the LandTrust and Rowan Helping Ministries.
Wagner, a senior Key Club
officer, has organized club members to get prizes from local
businesses. Some will go to winning cyclists, and the bigger prizes
— a year-long YMCA membership and a Piedmont Players Theatre season
membership — will be raffled off at Sunday's event.
Key Club members will also
assist organizers in setting up the course on Saturday and will help
at the event on Sunday.
Brown says he anticipates
250 racers at this year's event.
"It'll be a spectacle," he
says. "It's good competition, and it's getting bigger every year."
In its fourth year, the
Salisbury cyclocross event is the result of a partnership between
Salisbury Parks and Recreation and the North Carolina Cyclo-Cross
Series. This Sunday's race is the second in this year's series.
For the past two years, the
race at Salisbury Community Park has been the largest in the series.
Cyclocross is sometimes
described as the steeplechase of cycling. It's usually held in a
city park around a course of approximately one mile, made up of a
combination of grass, trails, and pavement. Cyclocross courses also
feature manmade and natural obstacles as well. There are categories
for all ages and skill levels.
Sunday's races begin at 10
a.m. The last race starts at 2:30 p.m. Registration begins at 8:30
a.m. Racers without a license may acquire a one-day license to
compete on race day.
Salisbury Community Park is
located at 935 Hurley School Road.
For more information about
Carolina Masters Cycling, go to
www.carolinamasterscycling.com. For more information about cyclo-cross
in North Carolina, go to
www.nccyclocross.com.
If you'd like to donate to
the Haynes Hope Fund, checks can be made payable to: Milford Hills
Baptist Church in care of the Haynes Hope Fund. Mail donations to
the Milford Hills Baptist Church, 1238 East Colonial Drive,
Salisbury 28144. ATTN: William G. Goodman, CPA. Donations are
tax-deductible.
Contact
Katie Scarvey at
704-797-4270 or
kscarvey@salisburypost.com..
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