Team Seeley Shelley McGraves, Jaycee McGraves and Diane Jones after logging more than eight miles June 4. Jaycee and Shelley moved from Eureka Springs, Ark. to Seeley Lake last November because they needed a change. They enjoy the people in Seeley Lake and said it feels like home. They are excited to put Seeley Lake on the map in this challenge and hope other riders will join them, if not this year, next.
The Great Cycle Challenge had a Tribute Day on May 25 where the top 2,500 fundraisers for the challenge had their profile photo displayed on the New York Times board. Jaycee McGraves of Team Seeley appeared in the bottom right corner.
SEELEY LAKE – While being the first one to cross the finish line in a bicycle race is not a goal of Seeley Lake's Jaycee McGraves, helping others and staying active are. She, along with Shelley McGraves and Diane Jones, started Team Seeley in the Great Cycle Challenge USA. They will ride through the month of June while raising money to fund childhood cancer research.
Jaycee learned about the Great Cycle Challenge last year. The Great Cycle Challenge started in 2015 and has grown to become one of the biggest cycling events in the United States. This year it includes 37,642 riders. People of all ages, abilities and from every state set personal riding goals and log their miles through the month of June. The funds raised support the Children's Cancer Research Fund to help develop better treatments and find a cure for childhood cancer.
While Jaycee has ridden bicycles as a mode of transportation since she was young, she said this gave her an opportunity to get back on her bike and start riding again.
"It sounded really good. Not only does it benefit these kids, it benefits myself too," said Jaycee. "It's great exercise, low impact and it's fun. You can see so much from a bike and there is such great scenery around here."
Shelley said the flexibility of the challenge is also a huge plus.
"You can do your daily stuff and then ride when you have the opportunity to," said Shelley. "This really helps for people who are disabled."
Shelley used to run competitively and missed making the Olympic Team by five hundredths of a second in the mile.
"Up until 1995 when I hurt my back I was running a five minute mile," said Shelley. "Now I'm having a good day if I'm upright. Biking helps me stay fit."
Each rider sets up a profile page on the Great Cycle Challenge website. Riders download the Great Cycle Challenge USA app for free on their phone. It records their miles ridden and automatically updates their profile. Sponsors can also donate directly to an individual or team through their profile page, can join a team and/or follow the riders.
Each of the Team Seeley members set their individual goals to ride 100 miles and to raise $500 this month.
"We are out here to have fun, help people and get other people motivated," said Shelley.
"There are a lot of kids that their parents can't afford insurance and they can't make it to St. Jude Children's Research Hospital. This organization really helps these kids," said Jaycee. "They are our future. So showing a good example to them helps keep them strong and gets them the help that they need."
As of June 5, Team Seeley has raised $140. Jaycee was ranked 3,314 in the nation, 13th in Montana and Team Seeley is first out of 13 teams in the state for their fundraising efforts.
"It was really cool to see Team Seeley as number one. I want to keep that spot," said Jaycee. She continued, "We know we can do this and help these kids. We hope to make our goal plus some but it helps get the word out there."
"Due to physical restrictions this is the one thing we can do to help," said Shelley. "We want to help as much as we can. The more people who join, the more we can help."
To join Team Seeley or support Jaycee, Shelley or Diane visit greatcyclechallenge.com or call Jaycee at 406-274-4054 or email jayceemcgraves@gmail.com. Business sponsorships are also welcome.
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