Hundreds Of People Hit The Gym In Midtown To Spin Against Rare Forms Of Cancer

NEW YORK(CBSNewYork) -- The pedals were spinning in Midtown on Sunday when hundreds of people hit the gym to cycle and raise money to fight rare forms of cancer.

Cheerleaders were on hand to root for cyclers who were riding for a purpose, CBS 2's Janelle Burrell reported.

"It's exciting to be here and it is incredible. We're here to raise a ton of money. We've raised over $50-million sine the cycle started," Christian Litke said.

Licky, a cancer survivor, cheered on teams of over 1,000 participants which included CBS 2's Chris Wragge. The teams took over the cycling studio at a Midtown Equinox and raised funds to pay for clinical trials and studies at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center.

"They're saving hundreds and thousands of lives a year, very literally, and you have so many survivors here. So many stories," Litke said.

For many riders the event is personal.

"My sister-in-law her name is Paula Rose, she died of lymphoma two years ago," Felicia Cofeild said.

The event is not exclusive to New York. More than 15,000 riders around the country have taken part in the event. Every penny raised will go directly to cancer research.

One rider told CBS 2's Burrell that they are continued to winning the fight against cancer.

"If I could use my legs to maybe that much closer to a cure I will," Kate Joyce said.

Cycle for survival was started by cancer patient Jennifer Goodman Lynn and her husband in 2007. Jennifer Passed away four years later.

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