Cincinnati Cycle Dawgs Team Pedal 328 Miles to Help Fight Cancer

This week, Tony Kellerman and eight of his Cincinnati Cycle Dawg teammates will embark on the 328-mile 17th annual Pan Ohio Hope Ride from Cleveland to their hometown of Cincinnati to help fight cancer with the American Cancer Society.

The four-day journey begins at John Carroll University in Cleveland on Thursday, July 20, 2023, and finishes at Yeatman’s Cove in Cincinnati on Saturday afternoon, July 23.

This is Tony’s 8th year with the Pan Ohio Hope Ride. In 2019, he founded the Cincinnati Cycle Dawgs to create a stronger Cincinnati presence for the ride. Tony joined the Pan Ohio after meeting a group of cyclists one morning on a bike trail. “There were flying by me in matching shirts. I caught up and started talking with them, and they told me, ‘You have to do this ride,’” says Tony, who since then has overcome rain, wind, and even a collapsed lung to complete the ride.

“The thing that drives us to do this ride is not only to help save lives from cancer, but also the people participating. After a 15-minute conversation the first year I rode with cancer survivor James Bond, whose wife created the ride, and after meeting other riders, I was hooked. I even joined the volunteer executive committee the next year. You make friends on the ride. They are all just fantastic people. Everybody works hard to accomplish the ride and fundraise. It’s a brotherhood.”

Tony’s younger sister, Tamee Tumbleson, is a long-time volunteer for the ride’s water stops. Tony calls her his “bubble wrap” because she’s been looking out for him ever since he suffered a collapsed lung as a result of taking a spill during the 2017 Pan Ohio. He was so determined to finish the ride that after being discharged from the hospital, he biked the last five miles into Cincinnati – with his doctor’s permission.

“We’ve all been affected by cancer,” says Tony, whose older sister Peggy was diagnosed with cervical cancer earlier this year. “We’ve all planned and trained for this ride for a whole year, and crossing the finish line is where it really hits.” The other Cincinnati Cycle Dawg team members are Carol and Andrew Cromer, Jeffrey Darpel, Jamie Flynt, Brandon Heffernan, Benjamin Jeschke, Daniel Mallahley, Jennifer Netherton, Steve Olenick, Teresa Stemann, and Todd Wesley.

Every year, Todd wears a special shirt for one day of the ride with the names of all the cancer survivors the Cincinnati Cycle Dawgs ride for on the front, and all those they ride in memory of who have passed from cancer on the back. Tony will wear the shirt this year too. His employer Smartz Solutions is the team’s sponsor and purchased the shirts. The Cincinnati Cycle Dawgs’ goal is to raise $50,000 this year.

The 17th annual Pan Ohio Hope Ride supports Cleveland Hope Lodge, one of 31 free American Cancer Society Hope Lodges across the U.S. and in Puerto Rico where cancer patients can stay at no cost when they need to travel long distance for treatment. To learn more and support the Cincinnati Cycle Dawgs or any of the other participants, see www.pohr.org. Approximately 75 of the ride’s participants are from the Cincinnati area.