Cyclists prepare for long trek

STAFF REPORT

BOARDMAN — Scott Finamore of Poland and Sam Malaska of Youngstown are gearing up for the bicycle ride of their lives.

The two will set out Thursday on a 3,000-mile trip from Boardman to San Francisco, hoping to raise as much as $15,000 for the Akron Children’s Hospital of the Mahoning Valley as part of the experience.

“We are ready to go,” Finamore, 23, of Poland, said Thursday.

He and Malaska, 19, of Youngstown, have been riding together for years but this is their first undertaking of a trip longer than 100 miles. They’ll depart around 5 or 6 a.m. that day from Cycle Sales, 7394 Market St., Boardman. Cycle Sales is providing the bicycles they will ride.

The pair plan to fly back to Youngstown on June 29.

They got an endorsement from middleweight boxing champion Kelly Pavlik, but the fundraising hasn’t gone as well as hoped, Finamore said, citing the state of the economy as the primary factor.

He and Malaska, both musicians, have formed a ’60s/’70s rock cover band that will perform at 7 p.m. today at Chipper’s Sports Bar & Grille, 5 N. Edgehill Ave., Austintown, to help gather more financial support.

There also will be a wine tasting at 7 p.m. Saturday at Havana House,, 5801 Youngstown-Warren Road, Niles.

Anyone wishing to make a donation or sponsor part of the trip can visit www.califorkids.com for information.