Bicyclists tour OC

COSTA MESA — Jay Weil had two goals in mind when he mounted his bike at the starting line of the Tour de OC Saturday morning — to ride 100 miles for the first time in his life, and to prove his doctors wrong.

The financial planner, who lives in Mission Viejo, was diagnosed with a brain tumor 13 months ago and underwent surgery in August. The doctors told him it would likely take two years to recover completely, but Weil — who had been training for a 100-mile ride when he was diagnosed — bounced back sooner than expected.

A month ago, he and his family vacationed in Southeast Asia and bicycled through Vietnam, Cambodia and Thailand. On Saturday, Weil decided to push himself again.

“I told my friend I was determined to do a century [100-mile ride] within a year after my surgery,” Weil said shortly before the starting gun sounded at Vanguard University. “And he said, ‘Forget August or September. Let’s do it this weekend.’”

Seconds later, Bill Richardson, the director of the Royal Family Kids Camp, pulled the trigger, and Weil and several dozen others took off on a route that would wind through Costa Mesa, Santiago Canyon, Dana Point, Lake Forest and back to Vanguard again.

About 200 people were expected to join in the 14th annual charity ride, but there would be no winner in terms of finishing first. The Tour de OC raises money yearly for Richardson’s camp, which hosts a summer retreat for abused and neglected children, and the only prizes were reserved for the people who gathered the most pledges.

The camp, Richardson said, costs about $50,000 to put on every year, and the Tour de OC serves as its top fundraiser, typically covering more than $30,000 of the bill. Randy Davenport, a co-founder of the ride and sometime counselor at the Royal Family Kids Camp, said he was reminded of the fundraiser’s importance every time he made the trek to the mountains.

“A lot of the kids have never had a birthday party,” he said. “We have an ‘all-birthday party’ up there. Everyone gets a shoe box full of goodies.”

The three people who raised the most in pledges, event Chairman David Brooks said, would receive a night at a luxury hotel, tickets to the Orange County Performing Artscenter or dinner at a high-end restaurant. Some years, he added, the first-prize winner turned in as much as $8,000.

Jill White, a Huntington Beach resident who works for AT&T;, learned about the Tour de OC when she saw an event flier at Wahoo’s Fish Taco. By Saturday morning, she had amassed $350 in pledges, while her boyfriend, Scott Nagel, chipped in $300.

“They were all very enthusiastic,” Nagel said. “It’s a great cause.”

MICHAEL MILLER may be reached at (714) 966-4617 or at [email protected].