Ride Benefits Paul Anderson Park, Youth Home

The legacy of Paul Anderson lives on again this year in a benefit bike ride.

The second annual “ride strong” bicycle event left the Paul Anderson park in Toccoa on Saturday morning and made it to Vidalia on Sunday.

More than a dozen riders covered the 200 miles over the course of two days.

Ride Coordinator Gary Bellamy said it is a growing event that allows Paul Anderson Park supporters to connect with boys at the Paul Anderson Youth Home in Vidalia.

“We ride 100 miles the first day and 100 miles the second day,” said Bellamy. “Last year, it was one of the best experiences I think I have ever had. When we roll in to the boys’ home, the boys meet us, ride the last part of it with us. We go in. The boys cook us dinner that night. We have a program to talk about their lives and how it has turned around and things of that nature. It is really a good, fun bonding experience.”

Bellamy went on to say that the money raised from the ride goes to benefit both the park and the youth home.

“We pay expenses and then we split the remaining balance with the youth home and the park,” said Bellamy. “The money at the youth home then goes to fund some of their projects. The money here goes to help us fund the maintenance and the improvements and things we need to do to keep our park pristine and in top-rate condition.”

Organizers said that the concept of the “Ride Strong” event was inspired by a bike ride that Paul Anderson completed in 1961 in hopes of raising awareness about starting a youth home.

That year, Anderson cycled from Vidalia to Boys Town in Omaha, Nebraska, while his wife accompanied him in a van bearing “the World’s Strongest Man” banner.

It was during that ride Anderson met S. Truett Cathy, the founder of Chik-fil-A, who then made a major contribution toward the start of the youth home.

Now each year, the boys of the Paul Anderson Youth Home carry on the tradition started by Anderson, to bicycle long distances to raise awareness and funding for the home.