The University’s cycling team, known as “The Auburn Flyers”, will be hosting its second annual Everest Challenge on Saturday, Nov. 5 on Mount Cheaha in Anniston.
The Everest Challenge is open to the public and includes a climb to Mount Cheaha.
The cycling team’s goal is to climb the 1,630-foot-tall Cheaha 18 times, until the 29,340-foot height of Mount Everest is reached. Three of 12 Auburn Flyers cyclists reached “Mount Everest” last year, but the squad is optimistic the number will increase this year.
Jacob Schwyn, junior in industrial systems/engineering, said there are also smaller checkpoints along the way, including “The Vesuvius”, “The Fuji” and “The Kilimanjaro.”
“Last year’s event was hard, but so worth it,” Schwyn said. “About five reps in, the Anniston Star showed up and interviewed us, and that gave us a huge morale boost. We had a lot of support.”
Michael Sweet, senior in mechanical engineering, said last year’s event raised approximately $2,000, making the Everest Challenge the team’s most successful fundraiser.
“This year’s fundraiser is very crucial for us,” Sweet said. “Last year we averaged close to 20 riders on the season, and this year we’ve almost doubled in size.”
Three different seasons will be added to the team’s schedule, Sweet said.
“We’re competing in more events than ever before, and plan on taking more people to all the races,” Sweet said. “The goal is to cover as much of the race fees as possible, including gas and lodging and maybe even some food.”
Sweet said the team is passionate about what they do.
“We know that this isn’t always an option for everyone, because of financial reasons,” Sweet said. “As a team, we want to do as much as possible to make it accessible for everyone.”
Last year’s team competed in rides in Florida, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Georgia and Alabama. Sweet said.
“If you want to come out and ride, anyone is more than welcome, however many reps you want to try,” Sweet said. “The event really has a social atmosphere.We’re going to have a pavilion with food, watching the football games and overall just having a good time.”
Though the event is a chance for a physical and mental challenge, Sweet said the team ultimately wanted people in attendance to have fun.
“This is a challenging event if you push yourself, but mainly we just want to have fun and promote our cycling in a positive way to the community,” Sweet said. “We love cycling, and we want to share that with everyone.”
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