Cowansville, september 14th, 2009 – On Sunday, September 13th over 240 enthusiasts biked for their health at the 11th edition of the BMP Bike-a-thon and raised $80,175 which will be used to purchase a new optical coherence tomographer for the BMP Hospital (CSSS La Pommeraie).

Young and old were joined on their outing by Lyne Bessette, world class cycling champion and Bike-a-thon spokesperson.  After the ride the fun continued with lunch and the presentation of numerous prizes.

Pledge champions: Two new bicycles, compliments of Raleigh Canada and VeloBrome, were awarded to the top fund raisers. The champions with their pledge amounts are M. Charles Fournier - $13,525 and M. René-Claude Gagnon - $5,793.  

The pledge champion teams are Hockey Bromont - $7,513 and Uniprix - Entreprises René-Claude Gagnon - $7,086. Each winning team won a season’s ski pass, compliments of Mont Sutton, and Ski Owl’s Head.  

The Junior pledge champion (13 years a nd under), 8 year old Alex Daviault, raised $484 and won a bicycle, compliments of Entreprises Clermont Turcotte .  

Organizing committee members, sponsors, volunteers and participants all made vital contributions to the resounding success of this 11th edition of the BMP Bike-a-thon.

Once again our community demonstrated its commitment and attachment to the BMP Hospital (CSSS La Pommeraie) and made this a great cycling day.

BMP Bike-thon partners:  Uniprix inc., Canadian Tire, Énergie Sud, Assurances Roy Yelle, Plastiques Berry, Caisse populaire de Brome-Missisquoi, Cobi Informatique, IBM – Usine de Bromont, Landry Boucher et associés avocats, Les Équipements Pinso, Plomberie Goyer, Pompex, RONA Rénovateur J.O. Lévesque, Ski Owl’s Head, Ski Mont Sutton, Raleigh Canada, Entreprises Clermont Turcotte, Vélobrome, D2 Communication Marketing, M-105, Brome County News, le Guide, la Sûreté du Québec, le club Estricycle, la Ville de Cowansville et LEK inc.

The ten previous editions of the BMP Bike-a-thon have raised over $370,000 towards the purchase of advanced medical equipment.