Riders a quarter of the way to Alaska

They’ve biked more than 1,100 miles, but the trip is far from over.

Starting at the end of the last month, 27 University of Texas students set out on a 10-week journey from Austin, Texas, to Anchorage, Alaska, as part of the Texas 4000, an event designed to raise funds and awareness to fight cancer.

On Sunday, they stopped in Springfield, 1,124 miles into the 4,500-mile bicycle ride.

The group was welcomed in Springfield by the Heart of the Ozarks Sertoma Club, which prepared brats, hot dogs and hamburgers for the riders, and the Doubletree by Hilton Hotel, which offered free rooms.

Their stay wasn’t expected to be long, with the group set for Waynesville today.

The journey through the Ozarks is just one of three routes students ride in the Texas 4000. Another group travels through the Rocky Mountains, while a third heads through the Sierra Nevada.

This is the 10th year for the ride, though only the second year a group has traveled through the Ozarks.

by Stephen Herzog

http://www.news-leader.com/story/news/local/ozarks/2014/06/15/riders-quarter-way-alaska/10563711/