Tonia Reyes has a very personal reason for suiting up for a weekend bike ride in Lake Tahoe. She has joined with the local Team in Training, raising money and awareness for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. She rides in honor of her daughter, Faith, who battled a cancerous brain tumor, diagnosed in July of 2016 while attending Collegeville Elementary School.

Now finishing her sophomore year at Escalon High, Reyes said Faith still has challenges as a result of the tumor but the support they received during the journey prompted her to give back in a positive way, taking part in the Team in Training program.

Reyes will be in Lake Tahoe for the June 5 ride, choosing to do the 72-mile loop. Others on the team – which is led by area resident Melvin Bradley – will do the 100-mile ‘century’ ride but Reyes opted for the shorter route in her first time out.

She has been doing weekly rides with the other team members for months, in preparation for the Tahoe event.

“We ride in all different locations,” she said, whether it is in Tracy, conquering Del Puerto Canyon, country rides on back roads, and more.

Getting involved in causes is not new for Reyes, who has done the American Cancer Society’s Relay For Life, the Make-A-Wish Walk, and Alzheimer’s Society fundraisers, among others.

“I’ve done a lot of charitable walks and runs and a friend mentioned this to me,” she explained of the Team in Training.

It seemed to be a good fit, so she plunged into it full force.

“We trained every Saturday and we started in the month of February, we did not have too many rainouts,” Reyes said. “And we still had to do our spin cycles during the weekdays.”

The team started out with relatively short rides, about 20 miles, and continued to build up by adding a few miles at a time, with a recent Saturday covering 66 miles.

“It is an all week process with the long rides on Saturdays,” added Reyes. “We actually train harder than the Tahoe route itself so we can be ready for the elevation, the road conditions, the weather.”

She pointed to a ride in El Diablo as not being “too bad” while the trek to Del Puerto Canyon “was a tough one” for her, but all have helped prepare her for the 72-mile fundraising ride.

With team members from several different communities, they meet each Saturday at a central location, then get on the bikes and ride.

“We have a team meeting first, so we all know who is there; make sure we know who is outgoing so we can track all the incoming” and not leave anyone behind, she said.

There is also a driver along that can pick up bicyclists if they have difficulties along the route.

Reyes said she is proud to be a part of Team 209 for the Team in Training event, and has made connections with people from throughout the region as a result of the new venture.

“Many members on the team have had some type of cancer in their family,” she said. “We have a rider himself who is a cancer survivor; it attacked his spleen, and in the process of dealing with that, they found it in his kidney, he lost a kidney but he still rides.”

Faith, now 15, and twin sister Destiny are both at Escalon High School, involved in a variety of activities and looking forward to starting their junior year in the fall. They are both in FFA, Faith has played tennis for two years, Destiny has played soccer and been in cross country.

Reyes said Faith still has an annual MRI to make sure no growth has returned.

“It did leave her with some disabilities, she is a couple of years behind socially and academically,” Reyes said of her daughter battling through brain cancer. “But she gives it her best shot daily.”

The family will be heading to Lake Tahoe, as there are multiple spots along the route where spectators can cheer on the riders. Reyes said Destiny has already expressed an interest in being part of the Team in Training and Faith would also like to eventually take part.

“I am excited, a little nervous because of the weather, you never know what to expect,” Reyes said. “This will be the biggest ride I’ve done so far and they’ll be going with me, the whole family is going for support.”