COCOA, Fla. — A cyclist riding more than 2,400 miles to raise money for cancer research is expected to stop in Cocoa later this month.
Jay Weedall is scheduled to ride through Cocoa on Monday, July 20, as part of a fundraising journey supporting the Pan-Mass Challenge, an annual bike-a-thon that raises money for cancer research and care at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute.
Weedall, a Manchester, England native who now lives in Boston, plans to begin his ride Saturday, July 18, from Key West.
Over the next two weeks, he plans to ride about 1,800 miles to the start line of the Pan-Mass Challenge in Worcester, Massachusetts. He will then complete the two-day ride from Worcester to Provincetown.
After surpassing his original fundraising goal, Weedall now plans to continue riding toward the Canadian border.
Weedall is riding in memory of his close friend Jason Smart, who died after a three-year fight with young-onset colorectal cancer. Smart was 38.
According to organizers, Weedall and Smart were on a cycling trip in Norway in 2022 when Smart first realized something was wrong. Days later, he was diagnosed with stage 4 colorectal cancer.
Weedall originally pledged to ride from Key West to Worcester if he raised $20,000. After donations passed $30,000, he committed to continuing north after the Pan-Mass Challenge.
His fundraising has now topped $42,000, with a new goal of $50,000, organizers said.
The Pan-Mass Challenge says 100% of every rider-raised dollar goes directly to Dana-Farber Cancer Institute.
Weedall is expected to stop in Cocoa after riding from West Palm Beach. He plans to end the next day in St. Augustine.
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