For Sandpoint teacher William "Mac" Hollan, riding his bike for a good cause is something he'd do in a heartbeat - charity or not.

Hollan, along with two friends, will attempt to ride from Sandpoint to Prudhoe Bay, Alaska, this summer to raise funds for students in the Sandpoint area.

FOR HOLLAN, the ride is nothing new.

"Long distance adventures like this have been a large part of my life since college," Hollan said. "I did a southbound hike of The Appalachian Trail from Maine to Georgia. This trip was 2,187 miles of hiking, and the beginning of a decade of adventures."

The ride, called "The Point to Bay" ride, is a 100 percent self-supported (no support vehicle, with everything carried on their bikes) to benefit the Sandpoint Backpack Program - which is operated through the Bonner Community Food Center and provides backpacks full of food for 175 students who might otherwise eat little, if at all, over the weekend.

He'll leave Sandpoint on June 17 and estimates it will take 6 1/2 weeks to complete.

"We'll be doing 80 miles a day, six days a week, with one to relax," said Hollan, who will also travel with his friends Jordan Achilli of New York and Gabe Dawson from Ashland, Ore.

"These trips are an important part of my life," Hollan said. "These are the types of things I would be doing whether or not for charity. For this reason, I feel it is important that I pay my own way and allow people to give with the confidence that their money is going where it should be, and use the nature of the ride to gain awareness for my chosen causes."

His first ride came in 2005.

"It was a solo 4,200-mile cross country ride on The Transamerican Route that benefited my hometown of Winston-Salem, N.C."

He raised $53,000 on that ride.

THE RIDE for the students in Sandpoint got started when a student in one of his classes came to school hungry.

“She spent the entire morning staring at the clock waiting for lunch,” Hollan said. “A fellow teacher introduced me to the program and I knew right away what was my next ride.

Hollan is in the final process of completing his K-8 teaching certification, and will be student teaching at Farmin-Stidwell Elementary in Sandpoint in the fall.

“In subbing around the district and during two semesters of teacher training, I have seen firsthand the effects of our recent economy,” Hollan said. “And the tough economy of our area in general on my students.”

His goal is to raise $25,000 for the school, and estimates it will take $50,000 to cover the entire district.

“I don’t only want to fund this coming school year completely,” Hollan said, “but to begin an endowment that can eradicate this program for years to come.”

To learn more about the ride, visit www.pointtobay.com.

Jason Elliott is a sports writer for the Coeur d’Alene Press. He can be reached by telephone at 664-8176, Ext. 2020 or via email at jelliott@cdapress.com.