Orlando charity event combines excercise and gambling

Cyclists all over town are preparing their poker faces for this year’s upcoming Pedal & Poker for Charity event on Sept. 13.

Actual poker skills aren’t required, and you don’t have to be a Tour de France caliber cyclist to participate.

All you need is a bike, a skateboard, jogging shoes, or perhaps a motorized beverage cooler to get you from one stop to the next.

If you’re not your best on two wheels, especially after a drink or two, hitching a ride with Uber is also acceptable.

The second annual Pedal & Poker for Charity event will start at noon on Saturday, Sept. 13, at The Hammered Lamb on North Orange Avenue just south of Winter Park.

There, participants will check in and collect the first two poker cards that will make up their hand.

Then riders will head off to the next stop, Saddle Up, to pick up another card.

The day progresses thusly until the course brings riders back to The Hammered Lamb to see who turns up with the best hand of five cards.

The top 10 best hands will take home prizes including vacation stays in Mexico, Miami, spa treatments, jewelry and more.

Twenty percent of the proceeds go to benefit Habitat for Humanity of Greater Orlando.

“We were very pleased to see how last year’s event turned out,” said Jennifer Gallagher, director of community outreach for Habitat for Humanity. “We are looking forward to seeing it grow this year.”

At the event Habitat will have volunteers on hand to discuss their mission and how the community can help, either through donations or becoming volunteers themselves.

Although the event benefits a serious cause, raising money is half the fun, said the event’s organizer Heissam Jebailey.

“This year we lowered the price to make it more affordable for everyone to participate and we’ve added contests to up the competitive spirit,” he said.

There will be prizes awarded for the best team outfits and to sweeten the deal, teams of four can register for the price of three.

And it’s time to get creative because there will also be a prize for the best-looking bike.

“This is not your typical bar crawl,” Jebailey said. “Not only will you have way more fun, we are helping out a great cause in Habitat for Humanity.”

“It’s through partnerships like these that we exist,” Gallagher said. “We are hoping this will become a long-standing partnership in the years to come.”

Tickets for the event are $15 in advance and $20 the day of. Tickets include one free drink at any venue and discounts for food and drinks at all stops along the way.

Participants are sure to encounter some interesting characters like “Cooler Bill” who rides his motorized UCF themed cooler all around downtown Orlando.

“Cooler Bill,” aka Bill Herb, built the custom cooler ride himself which doubles as his motorized wheelchair when his chronic back problems make walking difficult.

His extreme wheelchair comes equipped with all terrain wheels, a misting system, supercharged sound system, sirens, back up alerts, led lights and a built in WiFi linked to a cellphone app his friend designed to keep track of the battery and performance levels.

“People’s reactions when I roll up on this thing are great,” Herb said. “I use it almost everyday to get around town.”

Regardless of how you choose to get there, by bike, scooter, or taxi, the Pedal and Poker event promises to be a good time for a good cause. Just be careful how you choose to get home.