Local Cylist Ready to Coast for a Cure This Weekend

Last year when Andre Vega started riding his bicycle to work in Boston he had a lot of very good reasons for doing so. Most of all he wanted to get into better shape. The father of three kids - Mason, Randall and Sydney - Vega didn’t exactly have a lot of extra time to spend at the gym. 

An active member of the community and a well known volunteer in a number of Wilmington Youth Sports including travel basketball and lacrosse, Vega found himself spending more and more time coaching others and less time actually exercising himself.

Like so many parents, Vega decided that multitasking was his best option and decided that his ride into work offered a great opportunity to combine fitness with commuting. It didn’t take long for Vega start racking up the miles and feeling stronger and more confident on his bike.

What Vega didn’t imagine, however, was that all his efforts at his own fitness would eventually offer him a chance to ride for and help others. This Saturday, Sept. 8, Vega will be getting on his bike and riding 60 miles in the Neurofibromatosis (NF) Coast for a Cure in Ipswich, Mass. 

Thanks to a little help from his wife, Michelle, Andre Vega will be riding as part of “Team Ryno” in honor of a family friend who has been touched by the disease. 

Much like her husband Andre, Michelle Vega is also a well known volunteer around Wilmington. Over the years she spent time volunteering at the Woburn Street School in Christen Tozza’s second grade classroom and the two became friends. 

It was then that Michelle learned that Tozza’s nephew, Ryan, was suffering from Neurofibromatosis.  The disease is, as the Neurofibromatosis Northeast, Inc. website explains, “a genetic disorder of the nervous system that causes tumors to form on the nerves anywhere in or on the body at any time. NF affects all races, all ethnic groups and both sexes equally. NF affects more people than Cystic Fibrosis and Muscular Dystrophy combined.”

It didn’t take long for Tozza to hear about Andre’s new found love for biking and, before long, she asked Michelle if he would be interested in joining “Team Ryno” in the NF Coast for a Cure.

“I didn't know what NF was, so I looked it up and decided to ride for the cause,” said Vega. “Christen's sister and brother in-law are very nice people and their son is too cute for words.”

The ride will benefit NFNE which is committed to supporting research, advocacy and awareness along with offering an extensive research center for patients and their families. 

Vega is hoping to raise at least $1000 as part of “Team Ryno.” You can learn more about the event and support Vega's ride by visiting his giving page.