Cross-country bikers will set off Saturday

staff report

BOARDMAN — Scott Finamore, 23, of Poland and Sam Malaska, 19, of Youngstown will be leaving at 5 a.m. Saturday to cycle cross-country to San Francisco to raise funds for Akron Children’s Hospital Mahoning Valley.

They will depart from Cycle Sales, one of their sponsors, 7394 Market St. in Boardman. They plan to arrive in San Francisco on June 28 and will be cycling more than 3,000 miles in 51 days.

Funds are being raised through pledges on the Web site they’ve created, www.califorkids.com. Donors can support their efforts by pledging per mile or per day of the trip. Day sponsors are $100 each, and mile sponsorships can be made for as little as one cent per mile, or $30 for the entire trip.

Additionally, their Web site will be used for updates along the way. Finamore and Malaska will be updating the site with a blog, photos and video taken along their journey.

Their first stop Saturday will be at Akron Children’s Hospital’s main campus in Akron.

After touring the hospital’s new Boardman campus, Finamore and Malaska were committed to raising funds to help the hospital.