About le Tour de Femme:
le Tour de Femme is a women's only bike ride in Cary which benefits cancer charities:  The Lance Armstrong Foundation and the Rex Hospital Angel Fund.  Grab My Wheel is the presenting sponsor for the 2010 event which will take place on Saturday, October 9th.

The mission of the all women's ride is to raise community awareness and funding for Cancer Research and Cancer Survivorship programs. The ride is open to all female cyclist, at all skill levels, to participate in a ride of 15 miles, 31.2 miles or 62.4 miles in length. The post-ride celebration will allow or participants to celebrate their accomplishments while enjoying refreshments and intermingling with one another and sponsors.

The ride kicks off at Cycling Spoken Here in Cary. WRAL-TV Meteorologist Elizabeth Gardner has signed on to ride and is promoting the event. She is blogging about her training and preparation on WRAL.com.

Gardner will be accompanied by WRAL-TV Creative Director Shelly Leslie on the ride; the two are training partners as well.

Why ride? Leslie explains. "Cancer takes too many people. It took my Grandma before I was born. She was just 42 and left five kids and husband behind.

This all women's ride galvanizes the passion of many against this awful disease and the families it impacts. The money raised by le Tour de Femme directly impacts research and supports local families. Sponsors pay for many of the logistics and the event is staffed by an army of volunteers so that our money can do the most good.

This will be my second year supporting this great cause. I'll be the one riding with "Grandma Taylor" on my arm.

The ride is fully supported with rest stops and even a motorcycle crew escorting the course. It’s a real rush!

I’m more than thrilled that WRAL is sponsoring the ride. Our goal is to grow it from 238 riders last year to 500."