Bo Jackson touts annual charity bike ride’s success, pledges long-term support of event

Bo Jackson quietly set a goal to raise a million dollar with his annual charity bike ride Bo Bikes Bama.

The former Heisman winner started the charity event to help raise money in the wake of the devastating tornadoes that swept across Alabama on April 27, 2011.

On Wednesday in downtown Montgomery, Jackson previewed the fifth annual Bo Bikes Bama scheduled for Saturday in Auburn and proudly announced the event crossed his fundraising milestone. The news came with a pledge from Jackson to keep his pet project alive for years to come or as he joked, “Bo can’t bike anymore.”

“This past winter we reached that mark and now it’s time to set a new goal,” Jackson said. “It’s a big mark. We are going to try to raise another million dollars.”

Jackson traces his dedication to the event to his experience of riding across the state during the first Bo Bikes Bama.

While Auburn has hosted the ride in recent years, the inaugural event was a five-day ride across Alabama on the first anniversary of the tornadoes with stops in the areas that most affected by the storms.

“We biked that whole trail that the tornado took and saw the devastation,” Jackson said. “We talked to people that were caught up in it. I think we were coming out of Coleman and I stopped to speak to a family. It was an elderly woman with her kids and grandkids. Her house was ripped from the foundation and her family found her the next morning out about 200 yards from where her house used to sit.”

Money raised for the event has gone to the Governor’s Emergency Relief Fund (GERF) to repair more than 600 homes, create 60 community shelters and install warning systems across the state.

“You can never fight mother nature, but you sure as heck can get out of her way,” Jackson said of the focus on shelters and warning sirens.

Organizers expect more than 1,000 cyclists to join Jackson on Saturday for the ride. Participants can choose between a 20-mile and 60-mile route.

A group of celebrity VIP Riders joining Jackson on the ride this year includes Lance Armstrong, actor Andre Holland and Auburn football coach Gus Malzahn.

Jackson teased Malzahn for being a “weekend warrior” type on the bike, but encouraged cyclists of all skill levels to participate.

“He’s pretty good, but he sticks to the 20-mile ride, the weekend warriors groups, but it’s not a race, it’s a ride,” Jackson said. “Usually you pair up with someone or someone pairs up with you that’s riding at the same level and you just peddle and talk. You let the speedsters go off and disappear…We are having a good time riding bikes, but also raising awareness of how severe mother nature can be.”

The event also includes a silent auction Friday night at The Hotel at Auburn University.

This story was originally published April 27, 2016 at 4:01 PM with the headline "Bo Jackson touts annual charity bike ride’s success, pledges long-term support of event."