Kinetico Congratulates Ride For Your Lives! Team for Finishing
Bike Race Across America and Raising Funds for
Important Water Causes
Kinetico officially and proudly announces the winners of our Hydrated by Kinetico Sweepstakes. Congratulations to the following winners!
Grand Prize - Diana McGinnis - Ohio
First Prize - Loren Lewis - Connecticut
Second Prize - Jeff Norman - Illinois
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Newbury, Ohio - June 27, 2011 - Yesterday Katie Spotz, 24, and her teammates Sam Williams, 27, Kevin Malone, 24, and Anne Miltenberger, 27, crossed the Annapolis, Md., finish line and concluded a 3,000-mile Ride for Your Lives! bicycle race across America that began on June 18, in Oceanside, Calif.
Spotz, known for her record-setting 70-day solo row across the Atlantic Ocean in 2010, had been training for months and felt prepared for the challenge. Days before the beginning of the race, the Mentor, Ohio, native fell from her bike during a training session, and x-rays showed she had a fractured pelvis. Suddenly her goal of setting a world record on a bike (paired with fellow ocean rower Sam Williams) seemed out of reach.
Never one to give up easily, Spotz quickly tapped into her resources and located a hand-cycle and recruited two additional teammates to help make her portion of the ride possible. The goal for the ride was to increase awareness of the need for clean drinking water, while raising at least $50,000 to help Blue Planet Network and FARM-Africa support drought-prone northern Kenya with clean water for growing crops and raising livestock.
Although she used the hand-cycle during the early stages of the race, Spotz was only able to cover about 20 miles a day, at about 12 miles an hour, and her teammates picked up the remaining miles. The frustration mounted for Spotz, and with the eventual approval of her doctor as her initial healing progressed, she returned to her original two-wheel race bike for the second half of the race, riding 80 to 100 miles a day at about 22 miles an hour. The team crossed the finish line at 10:29 a.m. on Sunday, June 26, after biking seven days, 16 hours and 59 minutes. They are continuing to raise post-race funds for charity as they take a few days to recover and work their way home.
Meet the team
Katie Spotz, describes herself as having been the "benchwarmer" throughout her life, but on March 14, 2010 she landed her 19-foot row boat in Guyana, South America, setting the world record as the youngest person to row solo across the Atlantic in 70 days, traveling 3,038 miles from her departure point in Senegal, West Africa.
Throughout her row, Spotz wasn't just seeking to make history. She was also raising money for the Blue Planet Network, a San Francisco-based non-profit, funding safe drinking water projects around the world. As interest grew in Spotz' amazing adventure, donations came flooding in and the total currently stands at over $100,000.
"I couldn't have done the race without the support of my sponsor, Kinetico. I am pleased to be a part of the company because we share a passion for clean water," said Spotz.
When Sam Williams, of London, England, got into "Pacific Pete," his 23-foot rowing boat in the Canary Islands, off the coast of Northern Africa, he had no idea what he was about to face. However, he achieved what many had failed to do, and completed a solo unsupported row across the Atlantic Ocean, eventually reaching land 75 days and 3,750 miles later in Antigua in the West Indies.
But his expedition wasn't all about striving to achieve the seemingly impossible; Williams raised money for FARM-Africa, a charity supporting sustainable farming ventures in eastern Africa. With the support of the public and media in both the UK and USA, around $50,000 was raised.
Kevin Malone, from Cleveland, Ohio, played Association Football for Rutgers and Cleveland State and now works in a Cleveland suburb as a test engineer. In his spare time he runs/swims/bikes until he can't walk...he broke both his feet doing just that (a few years ago) and is an endurance athlete.
Born in Denver, Colo., Anne Miltenberger, of Boulder, is a graduate of the University of Colorado Leeds Business School. After graduation, she spent three months riding her bike across the northern tier of the United States. After finishing her trip she began pursuing her next adventure: rowing the Atlantic Ocean. In February 2010, Anne and a crew of 12 successfully rowed the Atlantic Ocean in 38 days. After the row, Anne began working for a manufacturer of indoor rock climbing holds.
About the beneficiaries
Blue Planet Network connects donors, implementers and local communities around the world to create and maintain access to safe drinking water. Unsafe drinking water is the world's leading cause of sickness and disease, but this crisis is solvable. For only $30, you can give someone a lifetime of safe drinking water.
Since 2002, Blue Planet Network has supported member projects in over 1,000 communities, bringing safe drinking water and/or sanitation to nearly 750,000 people. Nearly $29 million of member project data is managed and shared online to promote learning and best practices. To learn more, please visit www.blueplanetnetwork.org.
FARM-Africa works directly with smallholder farmers, pastoralists and forest communities, supporting them to grow more and better quality crops, care for their livestock and manage their natural resources sustainably. For more information about FARM-Africa please visit www.farmafrica.org.uk
About the Kinetico
Headquartered in Newbury, Ohio, U.S.A., Kinetico is a leading manufacturer of water treatment systems. An extensive network of Kinetico dealers serving residential and commercial customers has helped more than a million people in nearly 100 countries experience the benefits of better water. Since 1970, Kinetico has prided itself on creating state-of-the-art water treatment systems that serve customers in an expanding variety of applications. The company also has offices and facilities in the United Kingdom, Canada, France and Denmark. Further information is available at www.kinetico.com.
"Kinetico is pleased to have sponsored this adventure and to help bring clean water to those in need. We were a sponsor of Katie's amazing ocean row and saw the impact she had increasing awareness of the world's need for clean drinking water while raising over $100,000 to provide clean drinking water to those in need. Today Katie works for Kinetico in our marketing department and is continuing her role as a safe water advocate," said Toby Thomas, Chief Marketing Officer of Kinetico Incorporated. "We are proud of all that she has accomplished and are happy to have played an integral part in the Ride for Your Lives! race."
Details on the race, blogs and video can be found at www.rideforyourlives.com.
