Twenty years ago, a Cincinnati family turned their grief into a bike ride. On Saturday morning, cyclists will gather at Sawyer Point for the 20th running of Ride Cincinnati, an event that began as a tribute to one woman and has since grown into the region's leading cycling fundraiser, having distributed more than $10.9 million in grants along the way.
The ride traces back to Marlene Harris, who died of breast cancer in 2005 at age 61 after battling the disease for 15 years, according to Cincinnati Magazine. Her husband, Harvey Harris, a Cincinnati dentist, started the ride with his family in 2007 alongside co-founders Ronald Stern and Craig Cowit, with proceeds originally benefiting breast cancer research at the University of Cincinnati's Barrett Cancer Center. That first event, which began at Yeatman's Cove and included a kids' rally across the Purple People Bridge, blew past its modest fundraising target, according to the University of Cincinnati. The Harris family had set a first-year goal of $50,000 and ended up raising $143,000.
Marlene's daughter, Allison Harris-Gordon, co-founded the ride and has since carried its mission in an unusually personal way. Now 56, she has been diagnosed with cancer three times herself, the first time at age 25. “Little did I know that I would be diagnosed,” Harris-Gordon said, per the same account from Cincinnati Magazine. “Tomorrow is never promised,” she added, a line that has become something of a guiding ethos for the organization she helped build.
From a Single Beneficiary to a Regional Grant Network
What started as a fundraiser for one cancer center has since broadened dramatically. Ride Cincinnati has provided more than 100 grants for cancer research, education, and care throughout the city, per Cincinnati Magazine's reporting on the anniversary. In August 2025, the organization restructured how it distributes that money, partnering with the Cincinnati Cancer Foundation to create a competitive grantmaking process open to regional healthcare systems and non-profits, rather than directing funds to a single institution.
The Cincinnati Cancer Foundation now provides grants to research programs, community programs, and nonprofits supporting people living with cancer, according to Cincinnati Magazine. Allison Schroeder, the ride's PR director, said the localized model is central to the mission. “Every dollar stays local, which is really important,” Schroeder said, adding that Ride Cincinnati aims to make Cincinnati the best place for people to receive cancer treatment.
That shift paid off in a big way this year. Ride Cincinnati raised a record $2.1 million during its 2025 campaign and distributed 27 community grants across Greater Cincinnati, according to Western & Southern Financial Group, whose announcement noted the record total was unveiled during a grant award ceremony at the Cincinnati Cancer Foundation's Rookwood offices. Schroeder put the same 2025 figure at 27 grants awarded to organizations around Cincinnati, per Cincinnati Magazine. Recipients from that grant cohort included CancerFree KIDS, Pink Ribbon Good, The Christ Hospital, Mercy Health, St. Elizabeth Foundation, and Wood Hudson Cancer Research Laboratory, according to Movers & Makers, spreading support across clinical research, direct patient care, and education in both Ohio and Northern Kentucky.
Seed Money With Outsized Reach
The stakes behind that funding model are steep in a region where, according to UC Health, roughly one in two men and one in three women in Greater Cincinnati will receive a cancer diagnosis during their lifetime. Small pilot grants funded by Ride Cincinnati have already helped University of Cincinnati researchers leverage more than $17 million in follow-on federal grants from the National Cancer Institute and other national organizations, per the University of Cincinnati, since seed grants provide the initial data researchers need for competitive federal applications.
Ride Cincinnati has also partnered with regional institutions. Miami University Athletics named Ride Cincinnati the sole beneficiary of its 10th annual Love.Honor.Care cancer awareness weekend in February 2025, an initiative that has raised nearly $200,000 for cancer causes over a decade, per the Miami University RedHawks. The Cincinnati Open tennis tournament designated Ride Cincinnati as a community partner for its inaugural Community Weekend in August 2026, featuring ride activations before main draw play began.
What to Expect Saturday at Sawyer Point
Saturday's anniversary ride starts at Sawyer Point, with riders dispatched beginning at 7:30 a.m., according to Cincinnati Magazine. Participants can choose a four-mile loop or open-road courses of 30, 50, or 60 miles, with routes crossing the Taylor-Southgate Bridge and extending as far as Butler, Kentucky. Every rider will receive an RFID tracker so friends and family can follow their progress along the course.
Cincinnati Red Bike, a longtime sponsor, will let riders rent a bike at Sawyer Point for $5. Western & Southern Financial Group has been an anchor sponsor of Ride Cincinnati since its founding year.
The day wraps with an afterparty at Yeatman's Cove and Sawyer Point at the Banks, featuring food, drinks, and entertainment, according to Cincinnati Magazine. Kiss 107.1's JonJon is slated to appear at the celebration. Over its two decades, Ride Cincinnati has attracted more than 10,000 riders and connected families like that of Eileen Barrett and John Barrett with Harris-Gordon, weaving a wide network of survivors, riders, and donors around a single Saturday in September.
