THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, May 4, 1995 TAG: 9505030176
SECTION: SUFFOLK SUN PAGE: 03 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY SHIRLEY BRINKLEY, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: SUFFOLK LENGTH: Short : 42 lines
When news of the Oklahoma City bomb blast flashed on television screens April 19, Bill and Michelle Williams felt special empathy with parents of small children in the demolished day-care center.
The couple's three-year-old daughter, Melanie, attends a day-care center two mornings a week.
``You put your child in day-care and think that's something you'll never have to worry about,'' Michelle Williams said.
The Williamses, owners of Colley Bike West on North Main Street, decided to act on their concern by sponsoring a bicycle ride. The Red Cross said Oklahoma City had been overwhelmed with offers of assistance, so the couple decided on a ride in memory of Oklahoma City victims, with proceeds going to the Suffolk chapter of the Red Cross.
Interested bicyclists may register at 7:30 a.m. May 13 at the shop for a 30-mile, round-trip ride to Windsor, or a 63-mile, round-trip ride to Berlin. Helmets are required. Cyclists will get a free safety check.
Either ride costs $25, and Red Cross volunteers will collect funds. Proceeds from a T-shirt also will go the relief fund.
Cookies, fruit and water will be available at an appointed rest stop in Windsor and at the Harrup Store in Berlin.
There will be a police escort. The cyclists must be off the route at dusk.
Michelle cautioned about rough, dangerous railroad crossings: ``You must walk your bikes across.''
In April, the Williamses sponsored the Jerusalem Ride, which was affiliated with Obici Hospital's Tournament Day.
The couple moved to Suffolk last year after commuting from Virginia Beach for more than two years. Bill Williams manages the shop and repairs bikes; his wife is in charge of bookkeeping and advertising. by CNB