The Becel Heart&Stroke Ride for Heart is one of Canada's largest charity cycling events in support of heart disease and stroke research. Participants ride or in-line skate traffic-free along the Don Valley Parkway (DVP) and Gardiner Expressway in Toronto on the first Sunday of June every year.

The Ride takes place on Sunday June 6, 2010 along the Gardiner Expressway and Don Valley Parkway, beginning and ending at Exhibition Place. Start time varies by route. The 75KM route starts at 6:45am and the General start time for the 25/50KM route is 8:00am. Click here for more route information.

The Becel Heart&Stroke Ride for Heart takes place at Exhibition Place, downtown Toronto: Enter through Prince's Gates off of Strachan Blvd at Lakeshore for access to the event Start/Finish Location.

The safety of all Becel Heart&Stroke Ride for Heart participants is of paramount importance to the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Ontario. Our goal is to ensure all participants enjoy a spectacular, safe and memorable Ride experience. As our participant numbers increase, so must our efforts to ensure their safety. We therefore kindly ask that you please do your part in helping us to make our goal a reality by adhering to our new mandatory helmet policy.

The cycling portion of the event will not be impacted by rain. However, for safety, heavy rain may result in the cancellation of the in-line skate portion of the event. If in doubt, please contact the Ride line on the morning of Sunday June 6, 2010 for up to date information. (416)486-RIDE.

Thank you for your support. For the first time ever, the Becel Ride for Heart is sold out. If you have already registered or fundraised, we look forward to seeing you at this year?s event.

Pre-event Check-in Centres: Heart and Stroke Foundation Area Offices:

Toronto - 2300 Yonge St., 13^th Floor (N/W corner of Yonge & Eglinton)

• Thursday, June 3: 12:00pm - 8:00pm
• Friday, June 4: 12:00pm - 8:00pm
• Saturday, June 5: 9:00am - 4:00pm

Richmond Hill - York South Area Office, 9251 Yonge St., Suite 204

• Saturday, June 5: 9:00am - 4:00pm

Brampton Peel Area Office, 201 Country Court Blvd., Suite 306

• Saturday, June 5: 9:00am - 4:00pm

Thank you for your support. For the first time ever, the Becel Ride for Heart is sold out. If you have already registered or fundraised, we look forward to seeing you at this year?s event.

*Registration fee plus $80 fundraising is required for 75km Route and Early Bird 7:15 am Start

Online:

All donations made online will be receipted electronically to the email address provided by the donor.

Offline:

Sponsor and personal donations of $20 or more will automatically be receipted. Participants/Sponsors may request receipts for donations less than $20 by inserting a checkmark on the fundraising form under the column "Tx Rcpt".

The Heart and Stroke Foundation does not issue tax receipts for registration fees. Registration fees are used to help to offset the costs of putting on this exceptional event therefore, according to Canada Customs and Revenue Agency regulations, they do not qualify for charitable tax receipts.

Tax receipts will be issued by September 2010 if not before.

Due to the high volume of registrants, it is likely that too many people are trying to access the online registration system at the same time. Try again later and the problem should be resolved.

If it happens again, take note of the exact error message and send it to Becel Heart&Stroke Ride for Heart customer service ride@hsf.on.ca for further investigation along with your email and phone number.

Each participant must complete a separate registration form and sign an event waiver in order to participate. Please note: if a participant is under 18 years old the parent must sign the waiver on the child's behalf.

If you wish to register as a Group or Family, the group/family leader selects a team name, then each group/family member can register under that group/family name created online or by writing the group name on the registration form and mailing it in to the address provided below:
Becel Heart&Stroke Ride for Heart
PO Box 1227, Station K
2384 Yonge Street
Toronto, ON
M4P 3E4

If you are registering group members over the phone, each group member will need to visit one of our pre-event Check-in Centres or our registration tables on event day to sign a waiver before Rider ID stickers can be issued.

• Login to www.rideforheart.ca
• Click on "Register now" then click "Register now" again
• Click "I agree" (waiver)
• Select "Register a Family or Join an existing Family Group"
• Select "Join a Family Team"
• Select the Family name and continue
• Hit "Process order "
• Complete the above steps for all members of the family. *Note that you do not need to pay any additional registration fees for the family members.

You can obtain your stickers for event day by either visiting one of our 3 Pre Event Check-in Centres or you can go to the Registration and Pledge area of the Better Living Centre on event day - please remember to allow plenty of time to ensure you don't miss the chute cut off times.

The Pre-event Check-in Centre schedule is listed below:

Toronto - 2300 Yonge St., 13^th Floor (N/W corner of Yonge & Eglinton)

• Thursday, June 3: 12:00pm - 8:00pm
• Friday, June 4: 12:00pm - 8:00pm
• Saturday, June 5: 9:00am - 4:00

Richmond Hill - York South Area Office, 9251 Yonge St., Suite 204

• Saturday, June 5: 9:00am - 4:00pm

Brampton Peel Area Office, 201 Country Court Blvd., Suite 306

• Saturday, June 5: 9:00am - 4:00

Please note that all families registering online must have a profile created for each member in order to receive the appropriate number of ID stickers for each rider.

Unfortunately you will have to register as a group and not as a family. This is because the Heart and Stroke Foundation tracks closely the number of families that register online. A family is considered 1-2 adults and up to 4 children under the age of 18. Registering non-families as families will result in inaccurate information for the Heart and Stroke Foundation.

While registration fees cannot be "converted" into donations, on occasion and within reason, they can be refunded allowing the participant to make a donation instead. The details of the participant should be forwarded to the Ride Customer Service Coordinator at ride@hsf.on.ca or call 416-489-7111 x336. The Heart and Stroke Foundation will refund the money - once the refund has been made, the participant can make an online donation to the Heart and Stroke Foundation at www.heartandstroke.ca and click on DONATE NOW. You will also receive a tax receipt immediately upon making your donation online through that link.

Yes, you can email the request to ride@hsf.on.ca or call 416-486-RIDE. We will withdraw both registrations and refund the money. Once the registration has been removed/refunded, the participant will be able initiate the registration process again and start a family team - please be advised that the registration fee will reflect the 'family' option.

Yes, log in and select "Edit my Profile" and make the change at the bottom. Click "update" to ensure the changes are saved.

You can see your group members by doing the following:

• Login
• Click on "My webpage"
• Click on "View Personnel Page"
• Click on "My Group Page"

All corporate team members must register online. Ask your team captain for information about your corporate team (i.e. team name) to sign up

Please contact the Corporate Challenge Coordinator at corporatechallenge@hsf.on.ca or 416-489-7111 x751.

Every 7 minutes, someone dies of heart disease or stroke. 1 in every 3 deaths in Canada are the result of heart disease or stroke. At the Heart and Stroke Foundation, we want to change these alarming statistics. Our ultimate goal is to eradicate heart disease and stroke. Your support of the Becel Heart&Stroke Ride for Heart will help to bring us one step closer to this goal through funding ongoing research, scientific breakthroughs, educational programs and initiatives to effect social change that benefits Canadians health. The Heart and Stroke Foundation is leading national efforts to reverse these deadly trends. We rely on the generosity of people like you for crucial fundraising dollars. For more information, please visit the Ride for Heart website www.rideforheart.ca

Your registration fee helps to off-set the costs associated with putting on this tremendous event in this unique location. Your registration fee covers traffic-free access to the DVP and Gardiner, rest stations with food and beverages, route marshals for your safety along with other event day costs. Fundraising is strongly encouraged as this support is vital in helping the Heart and Stroke Foundation fund life-saving research.
Minimum fundraising of $80 is required for 75km Route and Early Bird Start prior to event day (alternatively you can make a $80 donation.)

You can send automatic emails in six easy steps:

Step 1 - Click on the login tab on the left side of the Ride for Heart home page
Step 2 - Login with your username and password in the Ride For Heart login
Step 3 - Click on the email tab at the top of your fundraising page
Step 4 - Put YOUR email address into the recipient email section along with "Dear Family and Friends" in the greeting section.
Step 5 - Preview your email and make sure it meets all of your requirements
Step 6 - Press send email. Once you receive the email in your inbox, forward it to all of your family and friends from your contact list.
Click here for screen shots.

Online: to go directly to our fundraising page click here.
In person: you can find the fundraising form here or in our Brochure

You can submit by:

Pre- Event Check-in Centre - You can submit your fundraising money in person at one of our pre-event Check-in Centres and collect your fundraising incentive.

Event Day - If you are unable to attend one of the pre-event Check-in Centres you can submit your money on event day in the Better Living Centre.

Mail - Mail in a cheque for your total amount raised along with your completed pledge form by June 14th to:
The Becel Heart&Stroke Ride for Heart
P.O. Box 1227, Station K
2384 Yonge St.
Toronto, ON M4P 3E4

To direct your sponsors to your personal page:

• On your personal profile page use the email template to send directly to your friends and family requesting sponsorship!
• Direct them to the Ride for Heart website - www.rideforheart.ca
• Along the left navigation bar - have your sponsor select Sponsor a Rider
• They will be brought to a sponsor search page - have them enter in your name in the fields below
• Your name will appear in the list below highlighted in red
• Have your sponsor click on your name
• They will be brought to your personal donation page where they can made a donation as well as see your progress

To view other team mates progress in your group:

• From your own personal page, click on My Group Page written in red at the top of your profile.
• Along the right side of the page will be a list of all the members and the total amount fundraised to date as well as a breakdown of how much each member has fundraised to make up the grand total.

Fundraising Form or on the back of your brochure

To qualify for a prize, participants must raise $100 or more and submit the money to Heart and Stroke prior to June 14, 2010. Fundraising prizes for fundraising levels 1-7 will be distributed via:

• Pre-event Check-in Centres: Heart and Stroke Foundation Area Offices
• Pre-Event on Event Day, in the Better Living Centre while supplies last (east side of Better Living Centre for non-corporate participants and in the west side for corporate team participants).
• Mail: If participants can not pick up their fundraising prizes, the prizes will be shipped by the end of August 2010. The prize(s) will be shipped to the shipping address provided at time of registration (Please note: someone must be available to sign for the package).

You have the opportunity to receive prizes depending on the level of fundraising achieved. To see all prizes and levels click here.

Yes - please ensure to bring the participants fundraising form and money (unless fundraising took place online) in order to receive their prize. Prizes can be collected at one of the 3 pre-event Check-In Centres or on event day.

Please send your contact information to ride@hsf.on.ca.

If you access your profile, you will see a list of menu options (tabs) along the top of your profile. One of the options is REPORTS located on the top right hand side. If you click on this menu option you will be brought to a Donation Status page - scroll down to view your registration information as well as a complete list of all your online sponsors.

• Click 'login' located along the left navigation bar
• Enter username and password
• Click on 'Tools' tab located along the top
• Adjust any required fields
• Click UPDATE

Note: if UPDATE is not clicked then changes will not be saved

Go to the main login page and select "Forgot username and / or Password" - the system will email you the information. Please note this information may not be sent immediately. Information will be sent based on system capabilities.

It can be difficult to diagnose the problem due to the variety of reasons that may be causing this. Below are some suggested workarounds to help solve the problem:

• Make sure that you are not entering hyphens or spaces between the numbers.
• Close your browser then re-open the browser and go back to the registration/donation page.
• Attempt to make the submission again to rule out the possibility that an isolated network problem or browser problem may have caused the problem the first time.
• In some cases like this, the card is failing because information we are sending to your credit card company is not matching their records so they are rejecting the transaction. Please ensure the following:
• Confirm the expiration date and billing address (including postal code) is correct
• Confirm the cardholder name matches the name the credit card company has on file
• Inquire if there's fraud protection on the card? If so, the credit card company may be rejecting the transaction.
• If multiple donations have been made on the same site, your credit card company may flag that as suspicious activity. If the situation persists, email ride@hsf.on.ca with the issue, or call 416-486-RIDE for assistance.

• Login to your online headquarters/profile
• Click on the Tools tab
• Click the Enter Pledge button
• Enter in all offline sponsor information in the fields of the Donor Information Form Note: all fields with a red asterisks are mandatory and must be populated in order to proceed)
• Choose the payment method of your offline sponsor from the Payment Type drop down menu
• If your sponsor pays by cheque, please include the cheque number in the corresponding field.
• Enter the amount of your sponsor's donation
• Click Submit
• Continue the above process until all offline pledges have been entered into your online headquarters/profile

Volunteers are an integral part of the Becel Heart&Stroke Ride for Heart click here to find out how!

Unfortunately there is no way to support participants in other locations. The Heart and Stroke Foundation also wouldn't be able to track individuals who ride alone as having participated with ease. The participant would be required to pay the registration fee which also takes into consideration the event experience the individual would not receive if choosing to ride alone.

You can write a cheque in the name of Heart and Stroke Foundation and send it to the address below with a note of the contact details (name, address, phone number) of the person you are sponsoring. This way the link will be made to the person you are sponsoring. If your donation is under $20 please write a note indicating you would like a tax receipt, otherwise one will be issued automatically once the amount is over $20.
The Becel Heart&Stroke Ride for Heart
PO Box 1227, Station K
2384 Yonge Street
Toronto, ON M4P 3E4

Yes, as long as all the donors names and addresses are clearly written on the pledge form. Also, they should indicate whether or not they require a tax receipt if the donation is under $20. The pledge sheet(s) and the cheque(s) or the credit card number with expiry date can be mailed in to the address below:
The Becel Heart&Stroke Ride for Heart
PO Box 1227, Station K
2384 Yonge Street
Toronto, ON M4P 3E4

Or you could take the pledge form and cheque(s) along with your credit card to one of our Check-In Centres.

Reminder Check-In Centre dates/times:
Pre-event Check-in Centres: Heart and Stroke Foundation Area Offices:

Toronto - 2300 Yonge St., 13^th Floor (N/W corner of Yonge & Eglinton)

• Thursday, June 3: 12:00pm - 8:00pm
• Friday, June 4: 12:00pm - 8:00pm
• Saturday, June 5: 9:00am - 4:00pm

Richmond Hill - York South Area Office, 9251 Yonge St., Suite 204

• Saturday, June 5: 9:00am - 4:00pm

Brampton Peel Area Office, 201 Country Court Blvd., Suite 306

• Saturday, June 5: 9:00am - 4:00pm

NOTE: If you use your credit card online to pay for donations made offline, the credit card holder will get the tax e-receipt and not the donor.

Badges can be swapped at either one of the Check-In Centre locations or on event day in the registration and pledge area of the Better Living Centre. Participants should take the sticker they received with them and exchange it for the time that they prefer. The 75km route (6:30am start) and Early Bird 50km route (7:15am start) require a minimum of $80 fundraised above and beyond the registration prior to event day.

We do encourage fundraising as the registration fee only helps offset the costs to host this unique event. Your registration fee covers traffic-free access to the DVP and Gardiner, rest stations with food and beverages, route marshals for your safety along with other event day costs. It is not mandatory however we rely on the generosity of people like you for crucial fundraising dollars that helps us in our mission to fund research that saves lives.

In order for pending donations to show as "paid", all donations marked as "unpaid" must be received by Heart and Stroke Foundation - upon request by participants Heart and Stroke Foundation can change the status to reflect "paid" so long as all donations have been confirmed. In order to submit your "unpaid" donations to Heart and Stroke Foundation, please complete and submit a pledge form listing your participant information as well as all donor information - for extra measure, attach the online print out listing all "unpaid" donor information to the pledge form

All signs on the route will be more than doubled this year to remind users about Passing/Slower Lanes and Rest Stations up ahead. Also there will be on course marshals equipped with bull horns and vests to:

• Direct slow riders into right hand lanes
• Alert riders to turns, merging, down hills
• Draw attention to rest station turn off
• Traffic control at turnaround points

Yes there will be Toronto EMS and many other private medical service providers along the routes to provide support participants and this will help to minimize emergency response delays.