McPherson Institute seeks cyclists to raise money for vision research

Macular degeneration. Retinitis pigmentosa. Glaucoma. Usher syndrome. Diabetic retinopathy. All are diseases of the eye (and sometimes more) that can lead to blindness or severe vision loss. 

Raising money for research into such disorders is the aim of the McPherson Eye Research Institutes’s “Cycle for Sight” indoor cycling fundraiser Saturday, March 2, 2013 at both the Natatorium and the SERF on the UW–Madison campus. Registration is now open for the event, in which anyone may participate — individually or as a team of four.

UW–Madison is an international hub for vision research, with investigators across campus researching various aspects of both healthy and impaired vision. Many of them work with the McPherson ERI, a cross-departmental unit which aims to develop new approaches to vision research by bringing together investigators in different disciplines.

Here is how Cycle for Sight works: Team captains or individuals sign up online. There is a registration fee of $40 per team, or $10 per individual. Participants will be assigned a riding time for their team on the day of the event. Team members ride, with spinning instructor guidance or at their own pace, for about 50 minutes each. Efforts will be made to schedule riders on a team simultaneously, although there may be exceptions. Each team rides for a total of four hours. Riders who sign up as an individual will be assigned to a team.

The institute is asking team members to raise a minimum of $500 per team, through individual donations and team sponsorships. The organizers welcome and encourage raising much more, as all donations directly support vision research at UW–Madison.

Cycle for Sight is billed as a great winter-month opportunity to exercise while working for an important cause. For more information, contact Michael Chaim. More about the McPherson ERI can be found here.