Local Teen Bikes Around Lake Tahoe for Charity

When many teenaged girls are planning what to wear or where to hang out on a Saturday night, 15 year old Mykala Muskovitz of South Lake Tahoe is training for the Tour de Tahoe bike ride around Lake Tahoe on September 8. And she isn’t just going to ride, she is going to fundraise with every turn of the pedal.

This is Mykala’s 2nd Tour de Tahoe, having done the first one at age 13. She rode in the 2011 event with her parents Adam and Wendy Muskovitz. The family team made the trip in 4.5 hours with stops only at the designated stops for a quick piece of fruit or some protein. When asked what the most memorable part of that ride was, Mykala quickly answers “the Sand Harbor stretch!” The 10 miles from Incline Village to Highway 50 in almost completely an uphill climb but she never gave up and never got off her bike as many do.

The fundraising portion of Mykala’s ride started with a challenge by Lake Tahoe businesswoman Jana Spano. Jana along with Mykala and her family all take spinning classes at the same gym and when Jana found out that Mykala was going to ride in the 2011 Tour de Tahoe she gave her a challenge. Spano gave her $300 to give to a charity upon the completion of her ride. This inspired Mykala to do more fundraising and she raised over $1000 more to give to two local projects. The Boys & Girls Club of Lake Tahoe got a large portion. The rest went to the purchase of hats and gloves that were given to the children of Live Violence Free clients at the annual Tahoe Douglas Rotary Christmas Party. Mykala was on hand to present every child with their gift and she loved seeing their smiles.

Tour de Tahoe organizer Curtis Fong found out why Mykala rode during the last race and has sponsored the whole Muskovitz family this year so they can concentrate on training and fundraising.

Mykala has a new fundraising goal this year. As a dancer at Marcia Sarosik Dance Studio she sees many children who can’t afford to dance. Sarosik’s non-profit Lake Tahoe Shining Stars supports dancers who can’t afford to dance so Mykala is raising money to support a dancer (or two) for the whole year. She hopes to raise at least $2,000 in donations so she can also buy the hats and gloves for the kids again as well as give money to the Boys & Girls Club of Lake Tahoe. Spano has given her a financial start again. They are accepting donations, so if you’re interested, contact the family at muskovitz@sbcglobal.net.