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Nearly 500 miles in six days: Cyclists ride across Texas to promote organ donations

The Lone Star Circle of Life bike tour started in Tyler on Sept. 22 and ends in Corpus Christi. The group will stop in Waco at the Grant Teaff Pavilion at 5:30 p.m.

WACO, Texas — A group of cyclists started a nearly 500-mile bike ride across Texas to raise awareness for organ, tissue, bone marrow and blood donations. 

"It's amazing. It's awesome to do it as a sportsman and it's even more awesome to do it for a good cause," Cyclist EJ Tamez said.

The cyclists stopped in several cities, including Waco, along their journey.

"My quads are yelling today, but it's all worth it," Cyclist Melanie Hartman said.  

Each cyclist is connected to a donation in some way while each leg of the ride is in honor of someone who has donated or received a donation.

Ailani Myers was one person sponsored. She was diagnosed March 2 with Pre B-Cell Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (ALL) with MLL rearrangement gene. Myers' dad was her donor for a bone marrow transplant. 

"Your life is this way, fine one day and the next day it can change in the wink of an eye," Giggett Johnson, Myers' family member said.

Luis Tamez was sponsored by his brother EJ Tamez on the Waco leg of the tour. EJ donated his kidney to Luis.

"When I saw him struggling to pick up my nephew that's what really clicked in my mind. I said 'there's got to be something else out there'," EJ Tamez said. 

The tour began in Tyler on Sept. 22 and will end in Corpus Christi on Sept. 27. 

The cyclists were Waco at the Grant Teaff pavilion behind the Mayborn Museum on Monday at 5:30 p.m.

If you are between the ages of 18 and 44 and would like to sign up, go to https://join.bethematch.org/baylorlym or https://join.bethematch.org/fortworth.

You can also text Cure87 to 61474

For more information, contact the tour coordinator at LSCOL17@yahoo.com or click here.

RELATED: A Temple man's journey to getting a new kidney

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