Westlake Village bicyclist embarks on a mission to help




MARATHON MAN—For Bill Larson of Westlake Village, a bike ride is anything but relaxing. Larson specializes in century rides, 100-mile courses, and solicits money for charity as he goes. To date, Larson has raised more than $165,000 for various groups.

MARATHON MAN—For Bill Larson of Westlake Village, a bike ride is anything but relaxing. Larson specializes in century rides, 100-mile courses, and solicits money for charity as he goes. To date, Larson has raised more than $165,000 for various groups.

Bill Larson of Westlake Village is a bicyclist on a mission.

For the past seven years, Larson, 56, has ridden his Giant TCR Advanced racing bike thousands of miles to raise money for charity.

Larson’s bike riding has helped him raise more than $165,000 for Habitat for Humanity, the Leukemia and Lymphoma Foundation and the Arthritis Foundation.

Biking for charity isn’t for the casual bicyclist. Larson participates in “century rides,” 100-mile treks that take participants up and down coastlines, hillsides, cityscapes and beyond.

Century rides, Larson said, “are kind of like the equivalent of a marathon for runners.”

In August Larson rode in the 15th annual Cool Breeze, which started in Carpinteria, turned inland through the orchards and flower ranches of East Santa Barbara, went into East Ojai and over the Casitas Pass and ended in Goleta. Larson raised $26,000 for Habitat for Humanity of Ventura County.

Larson said his interest in raising funds for Habitat was sparked when he joined the Habitat committee at his parish, St. Maximilian Kolbe Catholic Church in Westlake Village. The ministry, he said, has already raised enough money for the construction of two homes, a single family residence and a duplex. The money raised by Larson will go toward a third Habitat home in Oxnard.

Since 2003, Larson has raised $70,000 for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Foundation and $68,000 for the Arthritis Foundation.

Maureen Hamilton, a member of the St. Max Habitat for Humanity ministry, said in an e-mail that Larson chose specific charities based on his personal experiences.

“Bill’s support of the Leukemia/Lymphoma Foundation stems from the death of his cousin at age 8 of leukemia,” Hamilton said. Larson supports the Arthritis Foundation because in 2005 he had to have a shoulder replaced due to arthritis, she said.

Sometimes Larson’s charity bike rides go beyond 100 miles. In 2006 and 2007, he participated in the California Coast Classic, a 530-mile trip from San Francisco to Santa Monica, to benefit the Arthritis Foundation.

One of Larson’s favorite rides was in Lake Tahoe. In 2005, he raised $21,000 for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Foundation on what he calls the “most beautiful ride in America.”

Larson’s other long-distance charity rides include one in Paso Robles and the Tour de Tucson, which he rode in 2004. He raised $23,000 for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Foundation through those two rides.

Although Larson enjoys riding his bike all year round, he must train seriously for two months before any century ride, Hamilton said.

Larson is vice president of Allied Beverage in Los Angeles and says that the beer manufacturers have given him the greatest financial support in his fundraising efforts.

Larson has lived in Westlake Village for 26 years with his wife, Joan, and children Julie and Ian.


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