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Ride Your Guts Out for Crohn’s & Colitis

  • Ron 

Get Your Guts in Gear, The Ride for Crohn’s and Colitis, (GYGIG), has opened registration for its 2015 rides.

Now in its 12th ride season, GYGIG continues to create and produce unique cycling events that provide a supportive community of people from around the country who are affected in some way by Crohn’s disease, ulcerative colitis, or ostomy surgery. This year’s Rides will take place in New York’s Hudson Valley beginning and ending on West Point Military Academy on June 13th-14th and in Ohio on Sandusky Bay on August 14th-15th.

Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis are painful, medically incurable diseases that attack the digestive system. As many as 1.4 million American adults and children suffer from Crohn’s disease or ulcerative colitis. 50,000 children are affected by IBD, and that number is growing.

GYGIG creates an environment where those impacted by these diseases — patients, family members, friends and caregivers — join cyclists and fitness enthusiasts as riders or crew to accomplish an important goal in a fun, challenging and energetic environment. Participants are given all the necessary tools to help them on their journey, including fundraising support, training advice, and assistance.

“Our events are more than bicycle rides, and are unique in the IBD and ostomy communities” says Gary Beckman, Board President of Get Your Guts in Gear. “GYGIG creates a positive, life-altering experience for participants, many of whom are on a journey with this often invisible disease. We not only raise funds. We create a sense of community that inspires and empowers participants long after our events are done. ”

“IBD is a serious lifelong condition for which there is currently no cure,” explains Dr. Anthony Weiss, an assistant Professor of Medicine at the Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York, where he has served as the Associate Director of the Gastroenterology Training Program, and Director of the Gastroenterology Clinic. “While everyone wants a medical cure for these diseases, GYGIG’s Rides, along with the empowerment and connections they create, help sustain a healthier, more positive way of living with these often isolating diseases today”.

There is a registration fee of $35 per day and a $325 fundraising minimum for all riders.There is no registration fee or fundraising minimum to volunteer on Saturday and a $35 registration fee and no fundraising minimum for Sundayvolunteers.

In 2015, GYGIG will continue its mission of creating events and fostering experiences that inspire and empower people touched by digestive diseases, forming communities focused on well-being. This year’s Rides will benefit Get Your Guts in Gear, Inc., the Crohn’s & Colitis Foundation of America, and the United Ostomy Associations of America. These worthy charities have a wide reach within the targeted community.

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