Welcome to Martha's Miles!

"Martha's Miles" is a 5-day cycling festival to raise funds for the National Children's Cancer Society (NCCS). The ride was first done as a Chicago to St. Louis trip by two 14-year old friends in 1979 and then resurrected in 2004 by a group of five friends as an annual event.

This year, Martha's Miles is a series of rides over Memorial Day weekend.. The main trip is a 360-mile, five-day ride from St. Louis, MO to Chicago, IL. The event has expanded this year to include a three-day, 235-mile journey from St. Louis, MO to Pontiac, IL and a one day ride with three mileage options (10, 22, and 40 miles). All rides will depart on Saturday, May 27, 2006 from the Chain of Rocks Bridge in St. Louis.

Proceeds benefit the National Children's Cancer Society and help support the invaluable services they provide to these special children battling cancer and their families.

5-day trip from St. Louis to Chicago, Including lodging, return transportation, and SAG support.

3-day journey from St. Louis to Pontiac, Il. Including lodging, return transportation, and SAG support

1-day rides of varying distances. Include SAG support. All routes end at the starting point.

In the winter of 1979, two fourteen-year-old friends from Pattonville Heights Junior High began to discuss doing a Chicago to St. Louis bicycle ride for charity. The idea began as a fictional answer to a classmate's question about their summer plans, since they had none. Soon it had taken on a life of its own, and they began to try to design a ride that their parents would agree to.

Perhaps chalking it up to a "folly of youth", the parents actually consented that the two could. Over the next few months, a route was created, sponsors collected, and a cancer charity was selected.. As the ride got close, the parents began to have second thoughts about two teenagers cycling alone across Illinois, but decided to let the ride go on. For the two friends, it became and adventure of a lifetime, bicycling through the countryside, meeting parents and family nightly at campgrounds along the route and completing the ride in five days. The two raised a little over $600 for the charity and shared a journey that is relived to this day.

In 2004, five friends resurrected the ride again as a 25th anniversary celebration of the first trip and named it "Martha's Miles." The ride is named in honor of Martha Howard, one of the parents that made the first ride possible. Martha lost her battle with cancer in 1998. "Martha's Miles" is one of many ways her spirit lives on

In 2004, the ride raised over $7,000 and grew to over $12,000 in 2005, thanks to additional riders and the continued and growing support of many donors. Proceeds from the ride help the NCCS continue assisting children with cancer and their families as they battle a very difficult disease.

The ride is a great experience that supports a wonderful cause. We'd be honored if you'd ride with us.