How one man hopped on his bike and started one of Charlotte’s largest charity events
Who: Spencer Lueders decided 16 years ago that he wanted to do something to help people affected by cancer. So he hopped on his bike and rode around the “Booty Loop” in Myers Park for 24 hours. And 24 Hours of Booty was born.
During that initial ride, Lueders said friends and strangers kept showing up to ride with him, sharing their personal stories about cancer and survivorship. What started as one man riding his bike has turned into a national foundation aimed at “aiding in the revolution of cancer navigation and survivorship.”
We talked about the growth of 24 Hours of Booty — and all of the amazing stories that have come out of it — on this week’s episode of the CharlotteFive Podcast.
What: The 24 Foundation, which hosts 24 Hours of Booty and other events in Baltimore and Indianapolis, has raised more than $17 million since it started. The funds go to help a wide range of organizations dedicated to cancer navigation and survivorship, from the LIVESTRONG Foundation to the Levine Children’s Hospital.
The next Charlotte event is July 28-29 (register here). And this isn’t some kind of hyper-competitive bike race — everyone is welcome, including, for the first time this year, walkers.
The event attracts more than 1,200 riders (including me the past two years — go team The Fast and the Cureous!) and the Myers Park community rallies around it, hosting parties and cheering along the 3(ish)-mile route.
Anything else?
– We explain what the Booty Loop is, for any Charlotte newbies who are wondering what the heck we’re talking about.
– Trivia! That’s right, we had a little Charlotte trivia contest at the beginning of this week’s episode. It wasn’t quite as intense as Charlotte Trivia Game Show from Episode 30, but bragging rights were on the line and Sarah and I are super competitive so we took it entirely too seriously.
– And we talk about what you should be doing this weekend. Here’s a hint.
The CharlotteFive Podcast — presented by The Charlotte Observer and powered by OrthoCarolina — is a weekly podcast that aims to get you Charlotte Smart, Fast with fun, interesting and useful news about the city. It’s hosted by Corey Inscoe and Sarah Crosland, and produced by Richard Brooke and 2Waves Media.
You can find The CharlotteFive Podcast on Soundcloud, iTunes, Google Play, Stitcher and TuneIn. You can follow us on Twitter @Charlotte_Five, on Instagram @cltfive, and on Facebook, and you can shoot us an email to charlottefive@charlottefive.com.
Photos: Courtesy of 24 Foundation
This story was originally published May 30, 2017 at 11:07 PM with the headline "How one man hopped on his bike and started one of Charlotte’s largest charity events."