Local retailer does a lot of cycling for a good cause

Scott Fisher has done a lot of bicycling lately.
“I’m not a cyclist,” he said in a recent telephone interview, “but I trained for six months in preparation for this event.”
The event, was Ace Hardware’s fifth annual “Tour de Kids” bike ride for the Children’s Miracle Network.
Each year, Ace employees cycle from their corporate headquarters in Oak Brook, Illinois to the site of that year’s convention.
This year’s was in St. Louis, so Fisher, of Seashore Ace, 260 96th St., Stone Harbor, had a 350-mile trek to get in shape for.
“I eventually got up to 70 to 90 miles per day during training,” he said. “I had three training circuits mapped out around Cape May County—one 17 miles, one 26, and another about 40 miles.”
About 70 Ace riders took off Sept. 11, and five days later ended their journey at St. Louis Children’s Hospital, where they visited with many of the child patients and their families.
“This is one of the more rewarding things I’ve ever done in my life,” Fisher said. “We met the kids, their parents, and heard their stories. You don’t often get a chance to help people like this—people that you’ve never met before.”
Fisher said that the ride this year raised about $550,000 for the Children’s Miracle Network. Cyclists stop and visit each of the Children’s Miracle Network hospitals along their route.
“This is something important,” Fisher noted. “It’s a great cause. People need to hear these stories and see these kids. It’s amazing what a little bit of money can do to help people.”
Next year’s convention is being held in Atlanta, so the trip will be about 1,000 miles.
“I’m not sure if I’ll ever be able to do this again,” Fisher said. “With training and working at the store, I didn’t have a lot of time to myself.
“It’s possible,” he continued, “but truthfully, I haven’t been on a bike since getting back home.”
In addition to the Ace retailers, employees, and vendors raising funds for the Tour de Kids effort, members of the public can contribute via the Tour de Kids Web site, acetourdekids.com.