Dunedin Attracts Cyclists on 500-Mile Fundraiser

Four cyclists filming their 500-mile journey on Pinellas Trail this week are stopping for lunch in Dunedin today, according to Visit Dunedin.

Residents and merchants are invited to cheer the cyclists on at Oak Tree Plaza beginning at noon and possibly be featured in a video documentary to be aired at a conference with 6,500 travel industry attendees from the United States and abroad next week, a Visit Dunedin spokeswoman said.

The cyclists are employees of InterContinental Hotels' Group, the parent company for the Holiday Inn Express, which has a location in Dunedin. They cycling 500 miles before their conference in Orlando to raise money for a non-profit called "Give Kids the World Village," a resort that provides children with terminal and chronic illnesses and their families with a cost-free dream vacation, the organization's website says. The funds will help build a new villa at the foundation's storybook village near Walt Disney World in Orlando.

The cyclists are traveling 500 miles by traveling on the Pinellas Trail between Largo and Tarpon Springs each day between Oct. 16 and 22. The video featuring their fundraising efforts and 500-mile journey will be aired at the conference in Orlando. 

The cyclists have raised $15,501 so far. They have a $30,000 goal.

They are lodging at BayStar Hotel Group's Holiday Inn Express Hotel and Suites in Largo while they bike the trail.