Bicyclists ride to honor mother who died from breast cancer

REDMOND, Wash. — You see bicyclists all over the Pacific Northwest during the summer, but come mid-August, you will see two riders who are hitting the road for a special reason.

Doug Chesney and David Sheppard will be riding in the second annual Denise M. Chesney Memorial Bike Ride, raising money for breast cancer research, and inviting the public to join.



Denise Chesney passed away from breast cancer in 2007. Her son, Doug, and his good friend, David decided they wanted to honor Denise in the best way they knew they could.

The two will depart from Marymoor Park in Redmond on August 12 and finish their ride in Leavenworth the next day. Their hope is to make the ride an inclusive, community oriented event.

Doug and David say they will be riding at a leisurely pace—a pace that anyone can join in on. They said they hope neither distance nor prior biking experience deters anyone from joining.

If you don’t want to ride—they ask you cheer them on via social media. They want the world to know about their beloved mother and friend.

The duo also started a campaign to raise money for breast cancer research.

In 2015, they biked from Redmond to their alma mater, Gonzaga University, in Spokane, Washington and raised more than $5,000.