Sonora, CA…In partnership with the City of Sonora and the U.S. Forest Service, Sonora Regional Medical Center will again sponsor the Sonora Gran Fondo, a cycling event benefiting its Live Well, Be Well wellness program, which offers free and low-cost exercise/health classes and support groups to the community. The ride will occur on Sunday, May 1. “We have riders coming from all over Northern California,” says Gail Witzlsteiner, the Medical Center’s Foundation Executive Director. “This year we have added two new rides to the event, a fifteen-mile mini ride and a fifty-mile ride out to Cherry Lake with a vehicle shuttle return. We hope the additional ride options will encourage more local cyclists of varying abilities to participate.” Witzlsteiner adds that riders who choose one of the three longer routes will be able to see the recovering Rim Fire landscape.

The event includes five ride choices:
Rim Fire Century Ride – a 100-mile ride from Sonora Regional Medical Center to Cherry Lake and back.
Gran Fondo – a 70-mile ride to the Clavey River and back.
Medio Fondo – a 50-mile ride to Cherry Lake with a vehicle shuttle back. This is open to the first 25 riders to register for it.
Piccolo Fondo – a 30-mile ride to Tuolumne Park via Algerine and Yosemite Roads, and back.
Mini Ride – a 15-mile ride to Tuolumne Park. Riders provide their own transportation back.
Sign-in will begin at 7:00 am at Sonora Regional Medical Center. The ride will begin at 8:00 am with a police-escorted, rolling start through the stoplights on Greenley Road. Rest stops will be located approximately every 20 miles/2 hours average ride time apart. Food and beverages will be provided, including a barbeque at the end of the race.

Riders’ finish times will be recorded and published on usacycling.org following the event. The top three men and top three women finishers of each ride will receive prizes.
The late registration entry fees for each of the rides are as follows: Century – $75, Gran Fondo – $60, Medio Fondo – $60, Piccolo Fondo – $40, and Mini Ride – $30.
To enter, register online at usacycling.org or call 209-536-5029. Registrations will be taken on the day of the ride, but entrants are encouraged to sign up early to avoid the late sign-up fee. The event will be held rain or shine. No refunds. The race will be held under USA Cycling event permit and rules.
Anyone interested in sponsoring or volunteering should call 209-536-5029 or email gail.witzlsteiner@ah.org.
For more information contact Gail at the Foundation office at 209-532-5029, email at gail.witzlsteiner@ah.org, or visit the event website at www.usacycling.org/events, then click on Northern California on the map.
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About Sonora Regional Medical Center
Sonora Regional Medical Center is a not-for-profit 152-bed health care facility including 72 acute beds, 12 swing beds, 68 skilled nursing beds and a large network of clinics, owned and operated by Adventist Health/Roseville, California. In addition to emergency and acute care services, Sonora Regional Medical Center offers advanced cardiac care, a cancer center, diagnostic imaging, home health, hospice, intensive care, obstetrics, rural health, surgical services, a wellness center, wound care and hyperbaric oxygen treatment, and over 20 primary care, urgent care and specialty clinics. The Medical Center provided over 289,799 outpatient visits in 2011. Staffed by over 175 physicians, 1,250 employees and 175 volunteers, Sonora Regional Medical Center is the largest private employer in Tuolumne County. To find a physician in the area, contact the Physician Referral Line at (209) 536-3344.

For more information about the Medical Center visit www.sonoramedicalcenter.org.

About Adventist Health
Sonora Regional Medical Center is part of Adventist Health, a faith-based, not-for-profit integrated health care delivery system serving communities in California, Hawaii, Oregon and Washington. Our workforce of 28,700 includes more than 21,000 employees; 4,500 medical staff physicians; and 3,000 volunteers. Founded on Seventh-day Adventist health values, Adventist Health provides compassionate care in 19 hospitals, more than 150 clinics (hospital-based, rural health and physician clinics), 14 home care agencies, six hospice agencies and four joint-venture retirement centers. We invite you to AdventistHealth.org for more information.