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SNOWBASIN — Friday night, adults and children will ride their bikes under the moonlight and launch balloons in memory of a Utah father and his daughter who were killed in a car accident nearly one year ago.
Ryan and Evelyn Chambers were killed Aug. 23, 2015, when a driver collided with the back of their car on I-15, sending them into the back of a semitruck. Alyssa Chambers and her other daughter, Kaya, were both critically injured during the accident.
The Friday night event, “Ride for Ryan Fly with Evee,” will take place at 8:30 p.m. Participants will gather at Snowbasin near the Sardine Peak trailhead, according to Alyssa Chambers.
“We’re going to be doing a moonlight mountain bike ride and then a kiddie bike ride and a balloon launch,” Chambers said.
Before he died, Ryan Chambers and his brothers went on moonlight bike rides on or near the full moon throughout the summer. After his and his daughter’s deaths, people gathered for this same event last year near the full moon in honor of that tradition. “Ride for Ryan Fly with Evee” will be an annual event, Chambers said.
According to a YouTube video from last year’s event, Evee had been growing her hair out to be like Rapunzel, so the balloon launch represented the lanterns from the movie “Tangled.”
Anyone is welcome to attend the free event. Participants need to bring a headlamp or a light for their bike, Chambers said.
“And it’s a fundraiser, so all the money that we make from — we made shirts this year — so all the money that we make from the shirts and anything else that we sell will go toward eventually dedicating a new mountain biking trail/hiking trail in Ryan and Evee’s name,” Alyssa Chambers said. “And then we’d also like to use that money to help underprivileged children get new bikes. So it will be definitely an ongoing thing it’ll take a while to do those things, but that’s our goal.”
At the event, participants will have the option to purchase a T-shirt and a few other items. If they’d like to help with the cause, they can also simply donate money. Those who would like to purchase a T-shirt can do so online or at the event. They will need to pick up their shirt at the event, since they will not be shipped out. Those who wish can pre-order their shirt online; those who plan to buy one at the event should be aware that they will be sold on a first come, first served basis, according to Chambers. “I hope (the event) makes them proud, and I hope it just reminds them how much we love them and we wanna keep their memory alive,” Chambers said. “And they were just so wonderful in this life and we just wanna share that goodness and life and love for the outdoors and God’s creations with other people. And by creating this trail, I think that just will really keep that memory alive, and every time someone bikes or hikes along that trail they’ll know that a lot of love and time went into it and it is to honor two really incredible, awesome people.”
