Cyclists Arrive in La Jolla after 620-Mile Fundraising Ride

About 150 cyclists arrived at La Jolla Shores Friday afternoon, capping off a seven-day, 620-mile ride along the coast from the San Francisco Bay Area that raised about $1.4 million to support physically challenged athletes, event officials said.

The riders, which included physically challenged as well as professional athletes, hit the road in Sausalito on Saturday as the Challenged Athletes Foundation's eighth annual Dodge Million Dollar Challenge got underway.

Each cyclist pledged to raise $12,500 or more for adaptive sports equipment, training and competition expenses, mentoring and sports clinics for athletes with permanent disabilities, according to foundation officials.

"The MDC journey is about so much more than the miles you cover," Dodge Million Dollar Challenge Co-Chair Dean Roeper said. "It is about discovering the incredible capabilities of the human body and spirit. Riding side-by-side with the very challenged athletes who benefit from this event is truly a life-changing experience, and the speed with which this event sells out is a true testament of that."

Spots for this year's event sold out in about nine hours, according to event officials.

Challenged Athletes Foundation spokeswoman Jenna Novotny said the riders pulled into La Jolla Shores as a group around 2 p.m. and were greeted by cheering friends and family members, as well as other challenged athletes.

A few of the riders also planned to join the about 850 people set to participate in the foundation's San Diego Triathlon Challenge at La Jolla Shores park on Sunday, she said. Four survivors of the Boston Marathon bombings also are scheduled to participate.

—City News Service