More than 600 cyclists from all over the Midwest took to the streets throughout Porter County, LaPorte County and into Michigan to participate in Lorie’s Lakeside Century on Saturday, September 14th to benefit the Visiting Nurse Association of Porter County (VNA). The event has seen a steady increase in ridership over the last few years and this year broke the 600 rider mark.
Lorie’s Lakeside Century is in memory of Lorie Kirkley who was a cardiac rehabilitation nurse at Porter and an avid cyclist who died in 1999 after being abducted from her home.
The ride is a community effort, manned by more than 90 volunteers at the ride headquarters at Liberty Bible Church in Chesterton, along the route and at SAG stops at the Lakeview Overlook, Art Barn, Garwood Orchard and the Lions Pavilion in New Buffalo.
This year cyclists from 5 states helped to raise nearly $20,000 to support the care provided by the VNA. New this year was a focus on farm to table, featuring locally produced pulled pork from Ruge and Sons Meats and roasted Indiana sweet corn, grown by Ed Burek and roasted by Jim Shaw.
The VNA is grateful to all who participated, donated, volunteered and to the 2013 Sponsors: Porter Health System, Urschel Laboratories, Barile Ford, Emerson Industrial Automation, Buck’s Bicycle Shop, Coastal Valley Water Company, Silver Beach Pizza, Family Express, Golden Tech, Jones & Kirkley Families, Cindy Sausman, Smith Family, William Fisher Sr., Martin Binder Jeweler, Porter County Pulmonary & Critical Care Medicine, Prudential Executive Group, Philips Ace Hardware, Schoolhouse Shop, Task Force Tips Inc., Smiles by Arnold, Orthodontics by Dr. Hyde, Valparaiso Family Dentistry, and Valpo Velvet.
A couple of interesting twists have been suggested for next year’s ride and the VNA is always on the look out for new ideas. If you are interested in serving on a committee for Lorie’s Lakeside Century 2014, please contact the VNA.
The VNA is a nonprofit home health care agency serving Porter County and contiguous portions of Lake, LaPorte, Stark and Jasper counties. Services provided include skilled nursing; physical, occupational and speech therapy; home health aides; social services, telehealth, home and inpatient hospice care and bereavement programs. The VNA also provides assistive care, including Meals on Wheels, Homemaker/Companion Care and Lifeline as well as grief support for children and their families at the VNA Phoenix Center.
For more information about the VNA and programs and services offered or to volunteer, call the VNA at (219) 462-5195 or visit the VNA’s website at www.VNAportercounty.org.