Organizers of the Freeborn County Bike-A-Thon over the last 44 years are reflecting on their memories from past years as the final ride approaches on Saturday.

The 100-mile ride will begin at 6 a.m. at the Sibley Elementary School warming house, south of Skyline Plaza.

The Bike-A-Thon began in 1973 and has raised well over $1.38 million in its existence — with over $1 million of that coming in the first 30 years. Money raised has gone to support the American Cancer Society.

Carolyn Neale, whose husband, Herb, was involved with amateur radio and co-chaired the event at one point, said at the height of the event, there were 1,200 riders.

In 2015, there were only about 60.

The logistics of dealing with over 1,000 riders was a major task, said Don Nolander, who was sheriff during several years of the event. He said it was always a challenge, as the riders would be spread out over a long route, with the faster ones being done by noon and the slower ones not getting back until later in the evening.

“The No. 1 thing was safety,” Nolander said.

Because of this, there were always a few ambulances that tagged along for the ride. The amateur radio club was also crucial to the safety of the event.

Over the years, the riders encountered various types of weather, including heavy wind, snow and even a tornado warning.

Neale said she remembers having to walk her bike downhill in the 1980s because of how bad the wind was.

Nolander, who participated as sheriff and co-chairman from 1981 to 2010, recalled some cold years and the year of the tornado warning when the event was called off and buses and trucks had to pick up all the people and their bikes.

Neale, Nolander and another organizer, Wanda Dorman, recalled some of the big-time participants, including an oncologist from St. Paul, Irving Lerner, a bicyclist, who participated for 27 or 28 years. They estimated  he brought in about a third of the money during the years he participated.

When the event first started, there were young children who participated and who would get pledges for how much they completed.

Though there have been younger participants in recent years, those numbers have lowered.

Eunice Hatleli helped organize bank nights, whenpeople would bring in their money for the event.

“It was a fun night because everybody when they’d come in were so energetic and so thrilled to see exactly how much money they brought in.”

“It was just a fun time,” she said. “We got along so well, and we retained that friendship all these years.”

The group remembered the years with fondness and many laughs. They said they were sad to see it come to a close.

“It was a great group of people,” Nolander said. “Everyone just jumped on and knew their jobs. It just clicked.”

They thanked all of the dedicated volunteers and participants.

The Bike-A-Thon last year raised more than $16,000.

Participants have the option of riding the full 100 miles or finishing at one of the other checkpoints along the way.

Your memories

We asked readers to share their memories of the Freeborn County Bike-A-Thon over the last 44 years. See More than 4 decades of memories from the Freeborn County Bike-a-thon here.