Cross Country Bikers Visit Upstate Chabad House

A group of Israeli bicyclists called “Bike for the Fight” is bicycling across the United States to raise money and awareness for cancer research. On Sunday, they made a stop at the Syracuse, NY Chabad House to spread their message.

Tom Peled‘s father died of incurable cancer, so Peled decided to turn his sadness into something positive. He created the group Bike for the Fight, which not only bikes long distances spreading awareness for cancer research, but also fundraises for the cause.

Peled biked across Europe first, then traveled from Los Angeles to Washington, D.C. last year, raising $100,000. Every dollar will help researches get a step closer to hopefully curing cancer.

Peled said they are also working to spread the message. He said, “We’re not just fundraising, we’re friend-raising. We’re inspiration-raising and showing people that it’s possible to take a very negative thing in your life and first heal yourself and then project it into something positive.”

Peled has five teammates, including Eldar Noyman, who lost a friend and grandfather to cancer. Noyman said, “We get to meet and experience the real America. It’s something I think, by vehicle, you can never experience.”

Along their journey, the group stopped at the Chabad House at Syracuse University to spread their message to the community.

Peled said, “Syracuse was one of our first choices because there’s so many campuses here, so many medical facilities, so many young people we can spread the word to.

Rabbi Yaakov Rapoport of the Chabad House welcomed the group with open arms. He said, “To transform the negative experience into something positive, that’s really the job of what Chabad does. Transform darkness into light.”

The group will head east towards Boston before making the turn south to Washington, D.C.