Brian Railsback pedaled his mountain bike from WCU’s Reynolds Hall to Richland Balsam, the highest point on the Blue Ridge Parkway at 6,053 feet, and then back to Cullowhee on Tuesday, Sept. 30. All the money raised through the 56-mile pledge ride will go into a scholarship fund that provides tuition assistance to deserving Honors College students.

Railsback had planned the ride for Saturday, Sept. 27, but a shaky weather forecast prompted him to delay it to Sept. 30. Railsback said he could see thunderstorms in the distance as he rode the parkway section of the route that day, but none ever came too close.

After 10 hours on the road, Railsback pedaled back onto WCU’s campus and joined about 100 Honors College students in a pizza party on the lawn of Reynolds Hall.

The college’s student scholarship fund reached the $85,000 level earlier this year, which meant it had become large enough to be “endowed” – scholarships can now be paid out from interest earned, rather than being taken from the fund itself. Once that goal had been achieved, the college set a new goal of reaching the $100,000 level, and started a campaign to seek donations from Honors College alumni.

Recent donations have boosted the fund to $88,000, and Honors College students and staff are hoping the infusion of money from the alumni campaign, the bike ride and other individual donations will take the fund to the $100,000 mark by the end of the year.

Railsback has undertaken six other pledge rides since 1997 to raise money for the fund, but he said the latest ride was his final pedaling-for-pledges effort. Over the years, more than $40,000 has been raised through the rides for the scholarship fund.

Anyone interested in making a pledge or learning more about the Honors College should call its office at (828) 227-7383.

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Last modified: Friday, Oct. 3, 2008