Woman on fundraising bike ride in memory of late father
Pedaling a bicycle across America requires, above all else, dedication and perseverance, according to Laura Crago.
“I’m in this. I’m fully in this. There’s nowhere I’d rather be, and there’s nothing I’d rather be doing and that’s an incredible feeling,” Crago said Friday during a rest stop on her 3,372-mile journey.
Crago, a Butler native who lives in Los Angeles, was in Butler as she makes her way from Santa Monica, Calif., to New York City.
She is riding in memory of her father Wil, who died from a heart attack in 1994 when she was 14 years old. Before the ride, Crago founded daughters4fathers, an organization dedicated to “bringing together girls who have lost their fathers and trying to enact positive change in their memory,” according to its website.
Her goal is to raise $20,000 to donate to Habitat for Humanity of Butler County, which she chose because her father was a carpenter.
She has been collecting money through a Go Fund Me page and also from people on the road.
She used Friday as a day to rest and to visit with family. She also did a short bike tour around the area which included visiting her father’s grave and a brick engraved in his honor at Butler High School.
Friday night she attended a fundraiser at Snack-N-Pack. She received a police escort and was greeted by cheers and people ringing cowbells.
Crago raised $9,000 for charity before she started her ride. Along with the additional money she collected on her trip and the event Friday, that total now is over $12,000.
