The Rona MS Bike Tour in Hinton is fast approaching, and the Jasper Rockhoppers are looking to expand their team members and reach their team goal of raising $100,000 for MS research.

The country-wide bike fundraiser is an annual event, but the two-day, 90km Hinton bike tour is the only mountain bike event on the circuit, and the Jasper Rockhoppers – a group of cyclists based out of Jasper – are looking for more members for this year’s race.

Last year the 30-person team raised $72,000 dollars, motivating them to push their 2009 goal to $100,000, and have some fun along the way.

Team member Greg Van Tighem says they hope to get at least 10 more people to join their team and help reach their goal.

To date, the team has raised about $18,000 – a far cry from their goal. But they are hopeful they can still reach it with some exciting upcoming activities and individual pledges.

On August 27, the Rockhoppers, a team based around seven Jasper firefighters and friends that now spans to Edmonton and Calgary, will turn the corner of Connaught Dr. and Hazel Ave. into a 1950s era roller skate burger joint. With the help from A&W and the Shell gas station parking lot, there will be a 50’s style car and bike wash, burgers and food from A&W served by waitresses on roller skates, an antique car show, and of course, the team members dressed like they are from the 50s.

Van Tighem says part of the reason the idea came to be was because the corporation A&W is a nation-wide sponsor of MS Canada, and on Aug. 27 one dollar from every Teen Burger sold will go to the MS research fund. He says Cruise the Dub, as they are going to call it, will be a lot of fun.

“We’re going to have tons of giveaways, A&W has donated boxes of stuff like Frisbees and t-shirts to give away, and we’re going to turn it into a kind of fun street-party atmosphere,” he says. “We’re going to call it a bikini bike wash and a topless car wash. So I don’t know what that’s going to look like, it might be topless guys, and who knows. It definitely won’t be topless women.”

Van Tighem got involved in the Hinton MS Bike Tour because he has a few friends with MS, one that passed away before the race last year due to complications of the disease.

He said there are several other people in Jasper that have MS, and that the bike race is a fun way to raise a lot of money and awareness in support of finding a cure.

“We’ve got a bit of a reputation of having a lot of fun when we’re in the tour. So what we do is we take over a large portion of the (tent area in Hinton), and set up big tents and bring in food and refreshments. So everybody sort of camps together, stays together, socializes together. Last year we had half the other teams come to visit us just because all the activities we had going.”

Last year 300 people took part in the Hinton tour, raising more than $400,000 for multiple sclerosis research and services. This year the race falls on Sept 12 and 13 and is a 45 kilometre per day event, with a bus that brings all the bikers back to the camping area after day one, and takes them back to the second day starting area where they left off, the next morning.

Van Tighem says since practically everybody in Jasper rides a bike, he’s hoping they can get a few more members for this year’s race. “There is a ton of really good athletes in Jasper – but there are also a lot of people who have no inclination to be a competitive mountain biker, and they might enjoy something like this.”

The reward, he says, is that you are raising funds for MS, and even if they only reach half their goal, and the entire tour raises a million dollars, that’s a lot of money going toward the cause.

A $275 minimum pledge is required to enter the race, and a $1000 pledge is required to get a team jersey for the Rockhoppers.

Be sure to check out the other fundraising activities this month, including the BBQ at the Parks Canada Wildlife Festival on Aug. 29.

For information on joining the team, email Greg Van Tighem at gvantighem@town.jasper.ab.ca or come by the Fire Hall at 7pm for the team’s weekly ride. For information on upcoming events you can visit their Facebook page – Jasper Rockhoppers, or visit http://www.mssociety.ca/Alberta/bike-MBT.htm