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Pony Express Ride 2007

The Bracelin/Bratcher 1000 The next Pony Express Ride is scheduled for 2007 and will be billed as "The Bracelin/Bratcher 1000," in memory and honor of Pony Express Riders Bill Bracelin and Dottty Bracherand and their battles with breast cancer. See Bill and Dotty's stories.

The venue will change for 2007. Traditionally, we've ridden three relay legs a day. This involved packing up and moving each morning. We'd travel 300 miles over the course of the day. To make our scheduled stops on time, we very often were required to use interstates. At the end of the day, we'd all drag into a motel, jump into the pool, wash our bikes and fall into bed exhilarated, but exhausted to the bone.

In 2007, the Pony Express Rides will morph into a Pony Express community that has a home base for five nights and five days. Four of those days will involve 250 mile riding days on the beautiful winding roads found in California's Gold Country, its Vineyards, and mountains. Our home base will be Lake Frances RV Resort in Dobbins, CA. Information on the resort can be found at www.lakefrancisrv.com.

Lake Frances RV Resort has RV spaces with full hook-ups, cabin camping and beautiful tent sites. It also has its own village which together we will transform into a Pony Express Way Station, a place where we gather to break bread, laugh, learn, recreate and continue our mission. As Pony Express Riders, we have committed ourselves to putting breast cancer into the history books. You will often hear us say, "We will not give up, be turned back, nor stop riding hard until Breast Cancer is history!"

We mean it. But, why not honor our pledges during September, one of the most beautiful weather months in the Sierra-Nevada region which is also one of the most scenic areas in the United States! To participate in Pony Express Ride 2007 The Bracelin/Bratcher 1000, one has to make two commitments. A rider commits to becoming a member of the Pony Express Community by registering and lodging on site at the Lake Frances Resort. Additionally, each Pony Express Rider is required to raise and submit in advance a minimum of $1000. Proceeds from the 2007 event will go to two beneficiaries.

LakeFrances Resort is owned and operated by Environmental Alternatives, a 501(c)3 charity that exists to provide foster care services for children all over Northern California. All proceeds from Lake Frances' operations go 100% to Environmental Alternatives. Lake Frances is working hard with WMF, Inc. to provide a lodging and meal plan program that is extremely affordable knowing that Pony Express Riders take on most or all of their own expenses to participate. As a result of their work and efforts on the Riders' behalf, 25% of the 2007 proceeds will go to Environmental Alternatives to support their foster care services. Whereas 75% of the proceeds will go to the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation, Inc.

Throughout the Pony Express Rides, we stop to pass the medallion. the medallion is made up of four parts.